Pulitzer Prize Book Club: Demon Copperhead, Night Watch, and Wednesday’s Child: Stories (DRAKE HALL)

The Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, which recognizes distinguished work by an American author, is arguably the most prestigious award an American novelist might win. Among the Pulitzer Prize Winners are some of the best authors our nation has produced, including Edith Wharton, Willa Cather, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemingway, and Toni Morrison. In terms of their artistic merit and what they reveal about the human condition, Pulitzer-winning novels have so much to teach us. Together we’ll read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver, the 2023 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips, the 2024 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, and Wednesday’s Child: Stories by Yinyun Li, a finalist for the 2024 prize. We’ll meet once a month for a guided discussion about each book. We’ll examine each book in terms of its artistic achievement and what it reveals to us about what it is to be human. 

Sarah Olson has spent the past two decades studying and teaching American literature. Originally from the Midwest, Sarah has her B.A. in English Literature from Northwestern University, her MA in English Literature from Middlebury’s Bread Loaf School of English, and an MFA in Creative Writing from Colorado State University. She has taught literature and writing to all ages, from first graders to high school boarding students, to college students at CSU. She loves to create a space where students can wonder and tinker and think, no matter their age. Currently at work on a novel, Sarah lives in Fort Collins with her husband and three young children. 

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Recommendations

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver - 3/4
Night Watch by Jayne Anne Phillips - 4/1
Wednesday's Child: Stories by Yinyun Li - 5/6