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KANSAN.COM
ARTS & CULTURE
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English instructor to publish first novel "Hurt People" as continuation of 2009 thesis paper
▶ SAMANTHA SEXTON
@Sambiscuit
Cote Smith, an instructor in the English department, is the University's most recent up-and-coming author, with his first novel "Hurt People" set to release March 1. The book is a continuation of Smith's MFA thesis paper, which was written while he was a graduate student and published in 2009 by One Story, a literary magazine.
Smith knew there was more to the story than what had been originally written and a new perspective to the narrative needed to be told. After the short story was published, he began adding on to it, using events and places close to his own experiences to drive the story.
"I grew up in Leavenworth, which is about 40 minutes from here, and the running joke is that it was more prisons than people," Cote said. "The story is set there in the '80s focusing around two young brothers, and it's what I just imagined might have happened or could have happened back then."
Smith said when he and his brother were kids, it
would seem as though every other week a prisoner had escaped from one of the surrounding facilities, giving good ground for an imaginative child to create thrilling and mysterious circumstances.
The story is set [in Leavenworth] in the '80s focusing around two young brothers, and it's what I just imagined might have happened or could have happened back then."
Cote Smith Author
"The two brothers are swimming in the local pool while their single mother is at work when they're approached by this escaped convict," Smith said. "Of course, I can't give away much more than that."
The story, Smith said, is less about what happens and more about how the characters respond to what is happening.
"I wanted it to be character-driven, and I wanted people to have more of an emotional connection to the characters rather than just anticipating the next scene like a murder mystery or something," Smith said. "I have no idea what the genre is, but it is about people."
Smith said he had a few inspirations when writing his novel, one of the largest being "To Kill A Mockingbird," which he said was fitting, given Harper Lee's recent passing.
Like in 'To Kill A Mockingbird,' the story is based in one central location in a set time which helps to drive the narrative and sheds a light on the characters and their motivations," Smith said. "Being stuck in the '80s, for example, cuts the characters off from any instant communications, which plays very nicely with the type of feel and story that I was trying to create."
Brett Smith, the author's older brother, said that he wasn't surprised when he heard that his younger brother had published his first novel.
"He's the person that I am most proud of and he's always been very caring and empathetic, which I think
helps him write so well," Brett said.
With brotherhood being a central theme in "Hurt People," Brett said his brother's unique style and ability to "write honestly" cause family and friends who read the story to second guess what was real and what was fiction.
"After our friends and family read the book, people kept coming up to me and asking,'Brett, did this actually happen to you?' and 'I can't believe you never told that happened.' It was pretty hard to convince everybody that nothing happened to me
could be studied as a testament to the importance of education.
"When I started my education at KU, I was not a strong writer and I barely knew how to read effectively," Cote said. "think I'm a good example of how important school is and how effective MFA programs can be."
Cote, as an English instructor himself, said he hopes his novel will be studied in the future in a
college-level creative writing class as both a novel and as an example of what can be achieved despite coming to school underprepared.
"I can't see too many
people not being able to connect with b.
connect with his story," Brett said. "It's truly about people and it doesn't matter what happens, you'll care about the characters."
Cote Smith, a professor at the University, is the author of Hurt People, a story about two brothers growing up in Leavenworth in 1988.
Paige Stingley/KANSANthers growing up in
Professor studies cultural interactions found in "narcocorridos" written about Mexican drug war
Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is made to face the press as he is escorted to a helicopter in handcuffs by Mexican soldiers and marines at a federal hangar in Mexico City, Mexico, following his recapture six months after escaping from a maximum security prison.
File photo/AP
federal hangar in
Mexican drug lord Joaquín Archivaldo Guzmán Loera, better known as El Chapo, was captured early last month after his third escape from prison. As head of the Sinaloa Cartel, he is believed to be one of the most powerful drug traffickers in the world.
▶ COURTNEY BIERMAN
@courtbierman
Professor Rafael Acosta of the Department of Spanish and Portuguese studies songs written about the drug trade and figures like El Chapo. Known as "narocorridos," the name is a derivative of the word "corrido," which refers to a type of folk song in Mexico.
Acosta grew up in Mexico and holds a doctorate in romance studies from Cornell University. He came to
Corridos have been sung in Mexico for centuries. Originally they were written to commemorate the recently deceased. They were often written about heroes and political figures such as Pancho Villa or took on an altogether fictional narrative. Around the turn of the millennium, narcocorridos developed with the escalation of the drug war.
"In many ways, narcocorridos work like the Lone Ranger did in America — they're propaganda," Acosta said.
The songs have a large market in the United States as well as Mexico. Popular narcocorrido musicians
SEE NARCOCORRIDOS
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