photo by Yelena Ovcharenko
Campus Times
March 4, 2005
ULV English professor and author Kenneth Scambray gave the audience an introduction to his recently published book,”Surface Roots,” during a book reading and master class on Feb. 24 in the Cabaret Theatre. Staying connected with his culture, Scambray visits Italy every year and bases portions of his work on stories passed down from his mother.
“The fun of poetry and of literature is that you find it in the details, in the tiniest details sometimes,” faculty member Kenneth Scambray said during his book reading and master class Thursday in the Cabaret Theatre.
Scambray’s reading and lecture was one in a series of monthly readings and master classes hosted by Voice in Action, a sect of the creative writing program at the University of La Verne. Voice in Action is partly sponsored by the Campus Diversity Initiative Fund.
For the book-reading portion of the night, Scambray read passages from his latest book, “Surface Roots,” a collection of short stories about Italian Americans in Southern California during different time periods.
“It really wasn’t my type of reading, but he got me into it,” Stephen Roybal, a freshman business major, said.
After each reading, Scambray commented on his thinking behind each story and a brief history on how he came up with the story.
“These stories are based on my experiences and writers should write on what they know,” Scambray said. “Some of these were based on oral history that was reconstructed.”
“I’ve never heard his creative writing before or heard him read his stories before, so I was really excited to hear them,” Haley Stokes, senior English major, said.
Following the readings, the audience was given a chance to speak with him and buy “Surface Roots” along with another of his books for a low price.
“After he read the excerpts, I was very eager to buy the book,” Stokes said. “He made me want to know what was going on.”
Shortly after a brief intermission, a more intimate setting was made for the master class portion of the night. During this time, Scambray and the students sat around a table, where an informal discussion on poetry and short story writing began. Students were encouraged to share their experiences in the writing process. Scambray explained in greater detail what his writing process was.
“[The lecture was] very informative,” Roybal said. “It broadened my thinking on instead of just critically writing to take a look at the basic interpretation of things.”
Other words by Scambray include “A Varied Harvest: The Life and Works of Henry Blake Fuller,” “The North American Italian Renaissance: Italian Writing in America and Canada” and “Surface Roots: Stories.” Also, he has recently completed a collection of essays entitled “Queen Calafia’s Paradise: California and the Italian Novel.”
Scambray has taught at the University in the English Department since 1981. Besides American literature courses, he also teaches courses on North American Italian literature and Los Angeles fiction as well as a culture course which includes a tour of Italy in January.
Andres Rivera can be reached at arivera3@ulv.edu.