Dr. John Vanderslice
University of Central Arkansas Professor Dr. John Vanderslice, along with his latest novel, “The Lady Days of Oscar Wilde,” will be featured Friday on Arts & Letters on KUAR 89.1 FM.
The show will air on the National Public Radio affiliate at 7 p.m. Friday, March 9, and at 9 p.m. on Sunday, March 11.
This 30-minute episode, “Oscar Wilde: Signs, Omens, Portents & Divinations”, is a glimpse into the notorious life of the writer and the friends who filled his last days. Vanderslice writes about Wilde’s lesser-known years. His book is a fictional account of 1898-1900, dramatizing Wilde’s life after the scandal, after the trial and after his poem “Ballad of Reading Gaol.”
“The novel begins after Wilde has been released from prison and now lives in Paris,” said J. Bradley Minnick, host and executive producer of Arts & Letters. “His few close friends urge him to begin writing again: to start another story, another poem. Despite their attempts, he only recites the poems to them he refuses to put to paper.”
Vanderslice, professor of Creative Writing, has published almost 80 short stories in literary journals and anthologies, including Seattle Review, Sou’wester, Laurel Review, Southern Humanities Review and Crazyhorse. He is the author of “Island Fog”, named by Library Journal as one of the Top 15 Indie Fiction titles of 2014.
Vanderslice earned an MFA from George Mason University and a Ph.D. from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.
Original music for the episode is provided by Amyjo Savannah of Hot Springs with the score composed by Silas Hite of Los Angeles.
Produced by Minnick and Mary Ellen Kubit, Arts & Letters is an educational radio show that strives to enlighten its audience with authentic Southern voices. It is dedicated to showcasing aspects of the humanities and literary arts in Arkansas, the Mid-South and beyond. This program was made possible through a grant from the Arkansas Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
After the broadcasts, the Arts & Letters podcast may be accessed online at artsandlettersradio.org, NPR One App, iTunes, PlayerFM and the NPR Podcast page.
“The Last Days of Oscar Wilde” is available online and through Burlesque Press.
The UCA College of Fine Arts and Communication includes the Departments of Art, Music, and Film, Theatre and Creative Writing as well as the School of Communication. The college’s primary mission is the preparation of the next generation of artists, educators, and communicators. For more information about CFAC, visit www.uca.edu/cfac or call 501-450-3293.
