Extra Credit Talk with Barrett Bowlin

I found Barrett Bowlin’s talk very insightful and inspiring, it gave me a new perspective and a new outlook on literature and writing as a whole. I found it amazing how he intertwined science and fact with fiction and imagination in his work because those are two things are very contradictory and opposite but as he was reading his writing, I found his combination of the two fascinating and brilliant. I found the particular story he read that took place at Bartholamules hospital very interesting. Vance as a character is very complex and someone that everyone looks up to and wants to be around even though Vance is truly a condescending person. I specifically remember the part of the story that centered around the idea of the boy patient with the scars from being struck by lightning. Although this part may seem random and insignificant, I found it very heartful and deep-rooted especially when he describes the beautiful, speckled scar that the lightning has left on his chest; it makes me think of beauty in the madness and like finding light in the dark which was bittersweet. Bowlin kept stressing this idea that to be a good writer one must be an avid reader and without reading you cannot be a good writer because they go hand in hand. I also found it very interesting how he kept referring back to the cyst on one patient’s neck and although I am not sure what the deeper meaning of it was, I enjoyed pondering the idea of what it may symbolize. I found it so special and cool that he is able to include pieces of his old job and his love for science into his new life and his book writing and storytelling. The way that he is able to mend his research based scientific mind with also his creative love for imaginative storytelling and fiction is something I have never seen an author combine before in such a casual way. I was also very impressed when he discussed this idea that a lot of the times when he is working on a story, he puts it away and comes back to it when the time is right. I always thought that authors continuously write a book until they are done and don’t start other projects, but he changed my perspective and made me realize that it is okay to have unfinished projects and unfinished business and taking time to think and stay away from something can sometimes bring you more intellect and a new improved understanding rather than trying to force ideas and brilliance in a rush to succeed. Overall, I found this reading to be super inspiring and I am very glad that I went to it and experienced it. I think that his talk and his way of writing is something that I will be thinking about for a while, I also feel inspired because him becoming a writer was unplanned and not what he originally pictured for himself but along the way he ended up doing it and now he is able to incorporate every obsession and everything he loves into his writing and can combine his love for science, reading and writing all in one while interacting and inspiring others.