Award-winning author Gautier to read from new book at Creighton

Amina Gautier will read from her latest short-story collection “The Best That You Can Do” and other works on Wednesday, March 27, at 7 p.m. in the Skutt Student Center, Mutual of Omaha Ballroom, on Creighton’s Omaha campus. The free event is open to the public.

Gautier’s stories explore the intersection of self and place with characters who navigate the pitfalls and pleasures of claiming a complex identity in a world that insists on simple answers. She often explores her Afro- Puerto-Rican heritage on the page.

“Bringing Amina Gautier to campus reflects Creighton’s commitment to diversity and inclusion and the humanities,” says Greg Zacharias, PhD, professor of English and director of the Center for Henry James Studies at Creighton, one of the event's sponsoring organizations. “She is one of the most extraordinary individuals I've ever met.

"It's so rare that someone has such an unusual combination of skills. She is great at creating personal relationships; she is a remarkable scholar of American literature; and she is a renowned fiction writer. She connects with all kinds of people, and she reflects Creighton’s Jesuit values, connecting with people where they are.”

A scholar of 19th-century American literature with a doctoral degree from the University of Pennsylvania and an undergraduate degree from Stanford University, Gautier currently holds the Women's Chair in Humanistic Studies at Marquette University, a one-year appointment, and is a professor at the University of Miami.

While visiting Creighton, Gautier will also meet with a class of creative writing students to discuss her work.

Gautier has received the Blackwell Prize, the Chicago Public Library Foundation’s 21st Century Award, the International Latino Book Award, the Mellon-Flamboyan Foundation Letras Boricuas Fellowship, and the PEN/MALAMUD Award for Excellence in the Short Story. Gautier was the first Black woman author to win the PEN/Malamud Award, which puts her in the company of such literary luminaries as Edwidge Danticat, Jhumpa Lahiri, George Saunders, Saul Bellow and John Updike.

Gautier’s other short story collections include “At-Risk,” “Now We Will Be Happy” and “The Loss of All Lost Things.” More than 140 of her stories have been published in AGNI, American Short Fiction, Boston Review, Kenyon Review, Latino Book Review, Los Angeles Review, Southern Review and TriQuarterly, among other places. In addition to writing, Gautier serves as a faculty member at the University of Miami.

Members of the public attending the lecture may park in the Lied Center for the Arts lot on 24th Street.

The reading is sponsored by the Office of the President; Division of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion; University Libraries; College of Arts and Sciences; Kingfisher Institute; Phi Beta Kappa; Center for Henry James Studies; and Lectures, Films and Concerts.