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Fall 2023

English

Buddy Levy
Spring 2023

Empire of Ice and Stone: A chat with author Buddy Levy

The treacherous Arctic is the setting of a harrowing true story of shipwreck, disaster, and survival in the early twentieth century. Acclaimed adventure writer Buddy Levy, also a creative writing and English professor at Washington State University, talks with Washington State Magazine associate editor Adriana Janovich about his latest book, Empire of Ice and Stone: The Disastrous and Heroic Voyage of the Karluk.

The second of three nonfiction historical narratives by master storyteller Levy about survival and exploration in the Arctic wilderness, this book tracks the voyage of the Karluk to the Bering Sea and its destruction in the ice, leaving crew, Inuit guides, and … » More …

Butch Cougar in front of a pile of books
Spring 2021

What to read: Books by alumni, faculty, and staff

Here’s a round-up of reading recommendations featuring titles by WSU alumni, faculty, and staff—including one to watch for later this spring.

Anything and everything by Buddy Levy. The celebrated author of seven books, Levy specializes in historical narrative, particularly epic adventures and survival stories—perfect for the pandemic, which makes us all armchair travelers. Levy’s taught writing at WSU for more than 30 years, and his own writing—meticulously researched, masterfully organized—simply sings. His riveting narratives make readers feel like they are right there with protagonists, experiencing everything they’re going through.

“Buddy Levy: Historical investigator” from the Summer 2011 issue

Labyrinth … » More …

Buddy Levy trekking steep scree slopes above a glacier in Southeastern Greenland.
Summer 2020

Q&A: Buddy Levy on the art and craft of the historical narrative

Buddy Levy likes to make the trip.

He specializes in historical narrative, paying meticulous attention to detail, writing cinematically, and traveling to the sites of the stories he’s researching—sometimes several hundred years after they’ve occurred. Travel, he says, is necessary for scene-setting and description, and can be more meaningful than archival research.

His seventh book, Labyrinth of Ice, started with a visit to Greenland in 2003. But he was there to write about something else. Levy was covering a race in which Erik Weihenmayer, the first blind man to summit Mount Everest, was competing, and he managed to convince Weihenmayer to let … » More …

Unite, 1971 | Courtesy National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution
Spring 2020

Gallery: Works from the Black Arts Movement in Chicago

A group of artists, musicians, dancers, poets, and writers in Chicago gave birth to the rich aesthetic based on Black American experience known as the Black Arts Movement (BAM). Below are just a few examples of their work.

Read about a new documentary on BAM in Chicago from WSU Vancouver associate professors of English Thabiti Lewis and Pavithra Narayanan.