Capital University faculty member, Dr. Angela Buck, shared short stories and answered questions during a recent campus event for her newest book, Horses Dream of Money.
“Humans dream of flying through space, but horses do not because those things are commonplace. Horses dream of money” (Dr. Angela Buck).
The public event took place on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2021, in the Ruff Learning Center. Dr. Angela Buck was assisted by Dr. Liam O’Loughlin in conducting a Q&A session following her reading of two short stories within the book, “Work” and “MAG”.
The event was attended by students, faculty, community members, and President Dave Kaufman.
During the event, Buck discussed her writing experience, explaining that Horses Dream of Money is a collection of short stories written between 2012-2018.
The book was published by FC2, an author-run publisher established in 1974.
A horse in 16th-century German armor is featured on the light pink cover, an image that is meant to portray decadence and derangement.
Buck began her writing career as a poet but has since also enjoyed working in fiction. There is a strong poetic influence throughout the book, as many of the stories echo elements of prose poetry.
Opting for a collection of short stories, instead of a full-length novel, gave Buck more freedom and flexibility for creative experimentation. Many of the stories were inspired by her dreams.
Buck confessed to having a minimal revision process, but said that, “I write really bad stuff for months. Suddenly, I’ll write something good. I write in bursts”.
Dr. Sergey Rybas, department chair and associate professor of English, was in attendance and asked about her favorite parts of Horses Dream of Money.
Outside of “Bisquit”, the story that inspired the book’s title, and “MAG”, a story that happens in two parts simultaneously, Buck said, “I’m always most fond of whatever I just wrote…I’ve gotten sick of some of my older stories, but it’s nice to see someone read it for the first time, even if you can’t get that spark anymore.”
Besides introducing Horses Dream of Money, the event explored the role of literature in times of crisis, naming COVID-19, racism, climate change, and student debt as some of the influencing factors.
As an author, Buck said, “There is this feeling of ‘what will the future look like?’ I think that puts a lot of pressure on artists… You’re not going to solve these crises. [Art] is giving yourself a sense of reality… I think of art on a basic level, a necessary thing, like cooking”.
Buck’s unconventional bio has also garnered attention. By cataloging a number of odd jobs within her bio, Buck was looking to destroy the “specialness around writing”, but also admitted that she just wanted to see if she’d be able to get away with it.
Buck is currently working on a novel and continues teaching at Capital University.
