On Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Department of English and Writing Arts invited students and faculty to engage in a reading and discussion with Dr. Joyce Hinnefeld on her newest novel, “The Dime Museum.” An emeritus professor at Moravian and a published writer, Hinnefeld has an extensive literary catalog with short story collections such as “Tell Me Everything and Other Stories” and “The Beauty of Their Youth.”
Before reading brief excerpts from it, she described “The Dime Museum” as a novel in stories, exploring the lives of characters from the early 20th century to the COVID-19 pandemic and themes of wealth disparity, masculinity, and the impact of 20th-century America on 21st-century youth. Hinnefeld specifically dedicated her novel to her students and their influence on her work.
Hinnefeld read excerpts from the stories “L’Acqua Alta” and “Tenderness” before engaging in a Q&A session with Kate Brandes, professor of writing and geology at Moravian, and students and professors in attendance.
When asked about the changed vision for the novel during the writing process, Hinnefeld stated, “I went to hear the writer Rachel Kushner at Lafayette [College] yesterday, and it was so interesting to hear her talk about the process of entering a novel. It reassured me because there’s nothing like getting to a good point in your writing. But it can take forever to get to that point, and with this book, this goes way back, as so many of my books do, to initial ideas I had.”
She also shared that her initial interest was in the wives of modernist figures such as the poets Ezra Pound and Wallace Stevens, which ultimately transformed her writing process.
Dr. Andrew Crooke, assistant professor of practice at Moravian, asked, “How deliberately did you think about the structure of the entire work as you were writing the individual pieces?”
Hinnefeld answered by talking about her admiration for writer Joan Silber, “who has published a lot of story cycles, books, collections that really function as story cycles. I was hoping to emulate her, but by the time it [my novel] was finished, I felt like it really is more of a novel. It has the trajectory of one, but some of these pieces definitely stand alone as stories, though not all of them do.”
Hinnfeld’s book discussion highlighted how intricate the writing process is and how stories transform from personal experiences.
You can purchase “The Dime Museum” online at bookshop.org or at your local bookstore.
