Author Dybek shares expertise with Sandburg students

In the latest installment of the Visiting Writers Series, acclaimed writer Stuart Dybek visited Carl Sandburg High School. Dybek began the day by awarding the winners of the 2015 Fiction Contest and read and answered questions from students both 3rd and 4th hour.

In the afternoon he conducted a seminar for students who had entered the fiction contest.

A Chicago native and current Distinguished Writer in Residence at Northwestern University, Dybek has won numerous awards including a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship and MacArthur Foundation Fellowship. Dybek’s expertise was evident throughout the day. From his insights into the art of reading to an explanation on the types of endings available to a writer, Dybek dissected numerous writing topics during his readings and discussions.

Teachers Kathryn Guelcher and Tom Maguire were excited to bring a writer of such prestige and caliber to Sandburg to interact with students.

“When we began this program it was a long term goal to bring in a writer like Dybek. We’re very thankful to the D230 Foundation that we were able to make this happen so soon,” said Maguire.

Mrs. Guelcher echoed the sentiment, “It stills seems incredible that Stuart Dybek was willing to come to Sandburg for the day. He mentioned numerous times that he was happy to support a program like ours because he didn’t write much when he was in high school, and he would have “thought [he] died and went to heaven if an opportunity like this had existed for [him].”

Following his visit, student Ciara Newman offered her reaction, “I was slightly surprised at how humble he was about his work considering… [he] has won multiple awards, teaches… at Northwestern University, and has his own Wikipedia page. That’s basically celebrity status.”

Additionally, Newman was most impressed by an explanation Dybek had when asked about the endings of his stories, “he compared [some of ] the endings of his stories to the [freeze frame] ends of action films… Right in that moment, I could recall the endings of all the stories I’ve read by him, and it all made sense.”

Dybek’s visit was the latest in a series that has included Kathleen Rooney and George Bilgere. Guelcher and Maguire look forward to the next installment in the spring when they bring in a poet.