Author Ismet Prcic will discuss his book, “Shards,” on Thursday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. in the Austin Reading Room at Nicholson Library at Linfield College.
The reading is a part of this year’s MacReads program and PLACE (Program for Liberal Arts and Civic Engagement) initiative.
In its 10th year, MacReads is a community-wide book reading and discussion that culminates in a presentation by the author. Schools, book clubs and residents throughout Yamhill County are encouraged to participate. Books will be available for purchase and signing at the event, which is open to the public.
“Shards” describes the story of a young Bosnian, also named Ismet Prcic, who has recently fled the city of Tuzla during the Bosnian war. He escapes Tuzla with a theatre troupe on its way to Scotland, and ultimately finds his way into the U.S. Throughout the story, Ismet, also known as Izzy, battles the guilt he feels for leaving his family behind. To deal with this guilt and make peace with his past, Izzy writes down all of his memories, thoughts and feelings. One aspect of his writing includes a viewpoint of another young man, real or imagined, named Mustafa, who stayed in Bosnia to fight. The result of these conflicting viewpoints and experiences reveals a truthful description of one man’s journey to make sense of the life he left behind in Bosnia, while at the same time piecing his life together in the U.S.
Prcic was born in Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 1977 and lived there until he immigrated to the U.S. in 1996. He received a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California, Irvine. He is also a recipient of the 2010 National Endowment for the Arts and fellow for the 2011 Sundance Screenwriting Lab. In addition, Prcic won the 2013 Oregon Book Awards’ Ken Kesey Award for “Shards.” Prcic lives in Portland with his wife.
MacReads uses a common book to create community conversations that cross lines of generation and acquaintance. It is sponsored by Nicholson Library, McMinnville Public Library, Third Street Books and the Linfield English Department.
This year’s PLACE program, “Legacies of War,” seeks to create a common space within the Linfield community to discuss the causes, consequences and legacies of war from a variety of perspectives and from an array of disciplines.
For more information, contact Susan Barnes Whyte, director of Linfield libraries, 503-883-2517.
