Surf City Luncheon To Support The Battle of the Books

The Topsail Township Friends of the Library is having their 8th annual Author's Luncheon featuring author Tim Bass on Monday, May 5. The "Friends" are dedicated to rounding up donations to keep the Topsail Branch of the public library stocked with listed books from the Battle of the Books reading list for local elementary and middle school students.

Who is Tim Bass, you ask? Aside from being a writer, he's also a lecturer and Assistant MFA Coordinator in the Department of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, where he teaches writing workshops and literature courses in fiction and creative non-fiction.

Bass, who received his own MFA from UNC-Wilmington in 2000, will be reading some of his own works at Saturday‘s luncheon, followed by a lecture and a question and answer period for the audience.

"I'm excited to be the guest speaker at the luncheon. There's no more motivated group than people who come out to these things. This is a group that is well read, so I've got to be on my toes. I think it should be a lively day," said Bass.

Bass, a former newspaper editor, has had his work published several times. One of his recent essays, a piece titled "A Refrigerator, Odd and Wonderful," was featured in the journal Small Spiral Notebook This short work of non-fiction is an interesting story about the house his parents bought because of its size - and ultimately sold because of its size.

"Plastic Language" is also a piece by Bass that will incorporate into his lecture in Surf City. The piece is about language and the way it is abused or even used to do anything but communicate the truth. He demonstrates several ways in which language is no longer used for its to clear things up; instead it is used to cloud things up even worse.

"I'm going read a couple of pieces about the language. We are also going to talk about words and word choice. We'll discuss what these words really say and don't say. I'll also give an overview of writing and I'll leave time for questions," said Bass.

The question and answer period is the part of the luncheon that Bass anticipates the most. He says that at events like this the questions will cover a variety of topics. Some people will want to know more about his own writing and his writing philosophy, others will ask questions pertaining to their own writing abilities. Bass will also field questions about the writing program at UNC-Wilmington.

"People often ask me about my stories and how I write. I tell them what I tell my students: it's easy to get distracted from writing. I struggle with it just like everybody else. I'm not as lenient as a professor as you might think. Although, I understand what my students go through when they lose their drive. I tell them that they just have to keep writing. You can't wait for inspiration to strike, because what if inspiration never strikes?" said Bass.

Fundamentals and discipline are what Bass teaches the most. His classes even have a heavy focus on punctuation and other technical aspects that many writers ignore.

"A student can't just want to be a great writer, because then we're just talking about being writers and we're not actually being writers - you have to work at it. I recently caught myself writing a 42-word sentence. After I read it, even I didn't know what I had just said. I had to make myself break it up into three sentences that someone could understand. It was one long mess," laughed Bass.

"I love writing, words and ideas. It's what I do," said Bass. "If I didn't enjoy talking about it, it would be time to find something else to do. I'm honored to be asked to speak by the Friends of the Library."

The luncheon will take place at Quartermasters Tavern in Surf City. Tickets are available at the Hampstead Branch Library until Friday. The items of choice are Crab cake, Roast Pork Loin and Chicken Salad. All meals include dessert and coffee, hot or cold tea and water. Tax and tip are included at a total of just $22. For more information, call (910) 270-4603.