Award winning author visits SU

The Southern University Honors College hosted a program honoring the first annual recipient of the Ernest J. Gaines Award for Literary Excellence, Olympia Vernon, on Tuesday, Jan. 22.
Ernest J. Gaines, a Louisiana native, is the author of “A Lesson Before Dying” and “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.”
Southern students and professors, along with representatives from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation, filled the PBS Pinchback Auditorium.
Many of the students attended the program at the request of some of their teachers.
“I came to the presentation because I received an invitation in my colloquium class, but I think that I would have attended regardless,” said Rahim Sonnier, a freshman animal science major from Opelousas.
According to Dean Beverly Wade, the Pinchback Auditorium was chosen because its setup creates a chance for the students to better interact with the author.
Vernon, who was selected out of a pool of 29 entrants to receive the Ernest J. Gaines Award, stood before the crowd and a chapter of her award winning novel “A Killing In This Town.”
As a part of her award, Vernon was presented with a $10,000 donation and a sculpture created by Robert Morland on Jan. 24 at the Manship Theater in Baton Rouge.
In the excerpt, which was written from a Klansman’s perspective, Vernon depicted a graphic scene in which the Klansman is standing over the body of a murdered black man.
“I think southern African American writers can’t completely call themselves a writer until they have dealt with the issue of racism,” said Vernon explaining her stance on writers who focus more about lighter subjects instead of tackling issues.
Following the presentation, audience members posed questions and commented about the excerpt. Some students felt as though Vernon’s passion for her work showed in her presentation.
“I think it was awesome. A lot of times, you don’t find people who are pursuing a career and are passionate about it,” said Whitney Allen, freshman biology major from White Castle.
Many of the questions were focused on the process Vernon goes through to write her novels and how she handles criticism.
Vernon mentioned that she gets the ideas for her novels all at once and then she automatically writes them down.
“It is as if, when I am writing, I am burned with sweat. I am, too, hungry, exhausted, suffocating . . . I am drowning and it is only when the novel is finished that I come up for air. And what breath it is I breathe when that moment occurs, I do not have the strength or vocabulary to explain it,” said Vernon in an article on nola.com.
At the beginning of her reading she stressed the importance of knowing your history in order to ensure that the audience members would listen with a purpose and leave with an understanding of how blacks were viewed years ago.
“I don’t want you to forget someone died for us to be here today; someone fought for us to be here; someone was hosed down for us to be here,” said Vernon. “I want you all to remember who you are no matter where you are.”