ASU English professor and author Ron Carlson will be reading a chapter from his first novel in 22 years Wednesday at Changing Hands Bookstore in Tempe.
"I think this novel is a real fresh look at that old thing - the rites of passage," said Carlson in an interview in his ASU office on Monday. "I tried to write this book very, very vividly - not trading on any conventions, but trying to bring the conventions to life."
The reading will be held at 7 p.m. at 6228 S. McClintock Drive.
"The Speed of Light," his seventh book and third novel, is set in early adolescence, but the subject matter is more mature. Although the main characters are 12 years old, Carlson's ideal minimum age for readers of his book is 15. "It's being marketed as a 'young adult' book," Carlson said. "But that's a marketing term.
"There's a time in life when the changes start coming at you pretty fast, and you feel like you're on the change committee," he said. "You think you invented sex and death, and fundamentals of science like gravity and time."
The book, which is made up of stories about the last summer of a group friendship, was originally conceived as a loosely related series of short stories, published over the years in various books, newspapers, and journals, including Sports Illustrated magazine.
"I saw the potential to make a novel," said Carlson, but his busy academic schedule prevented him from taking the time. Finally, he made the time. "I was so glad to jump on it and make it into the form it is now," he said.
Carlson said some of his life experiences served as the "germ" of episodes in the book. He said he used things he heard and saw in his youth and took them "as far as [he] could."
"I had a friend whose alligator was killed," he said, referring to a part in the book where the friends try to resurrect an alligator with water and electricity. The invented games are from his youth, too.
"The Speed of Light" is Carlson's second book published this year. A short story collection, "At the Jim Bridger," was released in paperback in May, and a selection of his stories called "A Kind of Flying" will come out next month. He's also working on a novel, which he says is "different from what I've done before," to be published in late 2004.
He also writes one poem a year. "By the time I get about 60 [poems], I'll put it in a book," he said. They should be ready in 2009.
As for Carlson's own reading habits, he said he doesn't have a lot of time to read for pleasure. He's in demand as an editor and judge. On top of the novels and stories written by his students at ASU that he constantly reviews, he just finished judging 400 stories for the National Endowment for the Arts fellowship. He's currently judging a contest with 270 book entries.
Changing Hands spokeswoman Ann Chatfield called Carlson a "local literary giant."
"He's been a longtime friend of the store," Chatfield said. "We have a great deal of respect for him."
Bob Sommer, a co-owner of Changing Hands and an acquaintance of Carlson's, described Carlson's writing as "great parodies that leave you gasping for air."
"It's hard to think of any other short story writer who's been as good as him," he added. "I like his humor - it's beyond humor, it's wit."
Another famous short story writer and novelist, Stephen King, has written of Carlson, "Ron Carlson is doing good work, one word at a time."
Reach the reporter at jesse.christopherson@asu.edu.
