OPRAH’S READING LIST
ECU professor’s newest novel makes ‘Best of’ list
“Paris, 7 A.M.” synopsis
courtesy of Simon & Schuster
In “Paris, 7 A.M.,” Wieland explores June 1937 — the only year Bishop, a meticulous keeper of journals, did not fully chronicle. Wieland brings the reader to Paris, where Bishop, still only a young woman and not yet one of the most influential poets of the 20th century, arrives with her college roommates.
They are in search of an escape, far from the protective world of Vassar College where they were expected to find impressive husbands, a quiet life and act accordingly, and from the sadness Bishop feels after having learned of her estranged mother’s death.
At first, Europe proves to be everything Bishop and her friends had dreamed of — a place of high art and long history and, for Bishop, at least, mysterious women who help her forget her losses.
But the world is changing, and as they explore the City of Light, the larger threats of fascism and occupation are looming. There, they meet a community of upper-crust expatriates who not only bring them along on a life-changing adventure but also into an underground world of rebellion that will quietly alter the course of Bishop’s life forever.
What happened to the 20th century poet Elizabeth Bishop during three life-changing weeks she spent in Paris amid the imminent threat of World War II?
The answer to this question is what Dr. Liza Wieland, distinguished professor of English at East Carolina University, visualizes in her newest novel “Paris, 7 A.M,” which was named to Oprah’s reading list as One of the Best Books by Women of Summer 2019.
Published on June 11 by Simon & Schuster, Wieland’s book has enjoyed wide acclaim and gained recognition from Publishers Weekly, LitHub, The Millions, Kirkus Reviews, the News & Observer and internationally by the BBC.
“I’ve long been interested in Elizabeth Bishop, ever since I didn’t get to have her as a teacher in college,” said Wieland, “and really feel like I’ve had to work at the poems. They don’t come easily to me in terms of their meaning, but they reward the work.
“I think in some ways, I feel a kind of kinship with Bishop — a little bit shy and interested in the world that we see — in scenes, and objects and stories speaking for themselves without a lot of added embellishment.”
A reviewer for Publishers Weekly wrote, “Wieland makes scrupulous use of known fact in crafting her fictional narrative, but neither rehashes familiar biography nor attempts literal interpretations of Bishop’s poems or life. Instead, her dreamlike juxtapositions of the searing and the sensual probe the artistic process, the power of the mother-daughter bond and the creative coming-of-age of one of America’s greatest poets.”
When asked about the book receiving so much early attention, Wieland said, “It feels great.”
“It’s a little daunting,” she said. “I came to know what the New York publication scene looks like with this book, which is that somewhere between 20 to 40 books are released every Tuesday by publishers. So, new releases get swallowed up pretty fast and one only has the attention of one’s publicist for a few weeks.
“It was eye-opening to publish with the New York press, but it’s wonderful attention.”
Wieland, who worked on the novel for about four years and spent the past two years with Simon & Schuster perfecting it, assisted in its promotion by using social media to announce the launch.
However, according to Wieland, Simon & Schuster has “a lot of visibility” and the genre in which the publisher marketed the book — historical fiction — assisted in catching the attention of readers.
“Historical fiction is extremely popular,” Wieland said, “and books set during, before and after World War II hold a huge attraction for readers.”
Dr. Margaret Bauer, editor of the North Carolina Literary Review and professor of English at ECU, said, “Liza’s novel ‘Paris, 7 A.M.’ will serve to broaden ECU’s profile. We are so proud and fortunate to have her on the English faculty here at ECU.”
The author of eight works of fiction and a volume of poems, Wieland is an American novelist, short story writer and poet who has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Christopher Isherwood Foundation and the North Carolina Arts Council. She is the 2017 winner of the Robert Penn Warren Award for Fiction from the Fellowship of Southern Writers. Her novel “A Watch of Nightingales” won the 2008 Michigan Literary Fiction Award and her novel “Land of Enchantment” was a longlist finalist for the 2016 Chautauqua Prize. She lives near Oriental, North Carolina.
To celebrate her latest accomplishment, the public is invited to a special reception, reading and book signing from 5:30-7 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 28, in Mendenhall Great Room 2 at ECU. The event, hosted by the Department of English and the Dr. Jesse R. Peel LGBTQ Center, is free and open to the public.
Opening for Wieland will be Melinda Thomsen, a two-year finalist in the James Applewhite Poetry Prize competition sponsored by the North Carolina Literary Review, who teaches at Pitt Community College. She will read her finalist poems published in the 2019 and forthcoming 2020 NCLR issues. Following Thomsen, Wieland will read from her novel and sign copies of her books. Books will be available for purchase. Questions may be directed to Bauer at 252-328-1537 or bauerm@ecu.edu.
Wieland’s novel envisions what 20th century poet Elizabeth Bishop did during the three weeks she spent in Paris amid the imminent threat of World War II.