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An Evening with Ben Fountain

Tuesday, May 10, 2016 at 7:30pm

Lillis Business Complex, Room 182
955 E 13th Ave, Eugene, OR

Award-winning author Ben Fountain explains America—in sixty minutes or less!

Fountain is the author of an award-winning collection of short stories titled Brief Encounters with Che Guevara (2007), as well as a powerful and highly acclaimed debut novel, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2012).

Fountain captivates his readers and audiences with stories of fictional and nonfictional characters encountering the real-world issues that plague us all. In his public presentations, Fountain discusses the political and cultural environments that have inspired his stories. 

In Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (a film adaptation of which will be released on Veterans Day, November 11, 2016, directed by Ang Lee), Fountain explores the lives of eight fictional soldiers known as the Bravo Squad, who, after defeating an elite force of enemy insurgents, come home on leave from Iraq to find themselves national heroes. The Bush administration sends them on a two-week “Victory Tour,” (accompanied by a military minder, a corporate escort, and a Hollywood film producer who wants to capitalize on their exploits) which culminates with their appearance as part of a live broadcast at the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game. Things inevitably go awry. Though laced with humor, the story is far from being a cheery depiction of America; rather it is a critical portrait of a society with seriously misplaced priorities and values. The novel sheds light on our modern culture’s fascination with wealth, politics, celebrity, and militarism, and the national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad.