The Distinguished Lecture Series is an entirely student-run organization committed to bringing influential speakers with powerful ideas to campus to give free lectures to students. On Monday, Nov. 17, the committee brought The New York Times bestselling author Bill Bryson to Shannon Hall in Memorial Union.
Bryson is a unique author in that every book he writes has a completely different topic from the last. In 1998 he published “A Walk in the Woods,” a non-fiction narrative on his unsuccessful attempt to walk the Appalachian Trails. In 2003 he radically shifted to a guide to science for the layman titled “A Short History of Nearly Everything,” with a litter of books in between on a variety of topics. One would think this constant changing of genre would make it difficult for Bryson to develop a distinct, loyal fan following. On the contrary, Bryson has sold over 15 million books worldwide and they have been translated into over 30 languages. Last year he also became the first non-Briton to become a fellow of the British Royal Society.
Bryson’s mass popularity comes from his ability to make the mundane seem astonishing. As the Chicago Sun-Times claims, “Bill Bryson could write an essay about dryer lint or fever reducers and still make us laugh out loud.” His newest book, “One Summer: America, 1927,” is a historical piece on the events of the summer of 1927. Seemingly simplistic and tedious stories and topics such as this are the material on which Bryson thrives.
This material is exactly what Bryson used during his lecture on Monday night. The Distinguished Lecture Series is not ticketed and admittance is based on a first come, first serve basis. Those who arrived 25 minutes early, including myself, were not able to enter the hall. Even more surprising was those who were locked out were willing to stay outside and listen to the broadcasted lecture.
The crowd of Bryson fans, most with journals and pens in hand, waited attentively for Bryson to begin speaking. After being introduced Bryson came out and told a story of a talk he gave in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The talk was attended by only five people. Such an event would be deemed irrelevant by most, but Bryson elaborated on it and told a narrative that made the Union erupt in laughter. Following this he recited passages from a few of his books, each one funnier than the last.
The lecture was far from traditional. Bryson had no thesis, nor did he speak of any broad, over-arching idea. He simply told stories that he found significant in. This distinct style is what has allowed Bryson to captivate millions of readers.
The Distinguished Lecture Series did the Madison community a great service by organizing Monday night’s event. The series’ next lecturer, Peabody Award-winning Radiolab host Jad Abumrad, is due to speak on Dec. 8 in Shannon Hall. I strongly encourage those who have not attended any of the lectures yet to do so. They are truly thought-provoking events that are so diverse in topic everyone is likely to be interested in at least one speaker’s topic. The exciting and humorous talk from Bryson was just one piece of this brilliant ongoing series.
Miller is a freshman columnist for The Daily Cardinal. Did you attend Bill Bryson’s talk? What was your take on it? We’d like to hear your view. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
