On Thursday, October 3rd, longtime College of Charleston professor and MFA faculty member Bret Lott gave a reading from his latest book, Gather the Olives: On Food and Hope and the Holy Land (Slant Books, 2024) to a standing-room only audience at Alumni Hall/Randolph Hall.
Gather the Olives, Lott’s fifteenth book in his distinguished career, is a collection of essays that, in the words of the publisher, seeks to explore “hope and food and community and the way there can be solidarity in sharing a meal.”
Lott began by reading a short essay, “A Word,” the preface to the book, which reflects on the events of October 7th, 2023, and their impact on the essays he’d written before those tragic events occurred. Next, he read an essay, “Cherries on the Golan,” which describes a memorable trip to Tsvat, where Lott and his fellow travelers were given a tour of a hospital near the Syrian border. The essay artfully explores the difficulties and challenges of writing creative nonfiction.
After, Lott took questions from the audience. He shared an anecdote about losing a notebook in Israel, one that had contained notes for the essays he was writing for Gather the Olives. When asked about his writing process, Lott said the best writing—the real writing—comes in solitude, when the writer is working alone, without a deadline, concerned only with getting the words right.
A book-signing and reception followed a standing ovation, a celebration of Lott’s remarkable career as a writer, teacher, and mentor at the College of Charleston.
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