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Sophomores still struggling their way into English 201 should be relieved to know that it is no longer a prerequisite for being an accomplished author. In fact, Amy Bloom ’75 who read Wednesday night at the Russell House, never even took an English class while at Wesleyan.

Nevertheless, Bloom, whose work appeared in the Best American Short Stories in 1991 and 1992, has received her share of accolades. In 1993, her first collection of short fiction, "Come to Me," was selected as a finalist for the National Book Award.

Professor of English Phyllis Rose, who teaches "Come to Me" in her class Fiction Now, said she feels Bloom is one of fiction’s most original voices.

"She writes about cross-dressers, transsexuals, schizophrenics who’ve become ‘mountains of Thorazined fat’ with the elegance, delicacy, and respect of Chekhov writing about faded Russian aristocrats," Rose said.

Bloom read "Rowing to Eden," a story from her most recent volume of fiction, "A Blind Man Can See How Much I Love You." The story evolves out of the relationships between Mya, who has been diagnosed with breast cancer, her best friend Ellie, who is a lesbian and has survived breast cancer, herself, and Charlie, Mya’s dolt husband. Bloom’s first novel, "Love Invents Us," was published in 1997. She is currently working on a nonfiction book about gender for Random House. 

Bloom said she likes writing short fiction because her biggest fear is over-writing. Short stories force her to cut out all but the essential information.

"The goal for me would be to see if I could get a novel into forty pages," Bloom said. "... With [short fiction] you can’t digress. There are no extended wheat-threshing scenes... I want to be able to write about everything that matters and skip the parts that aren’t interesting."

Before becoming a writer, Bloom worked as a psychotherapist, Although she still continues to practice, she said the growing demands on her writing career have cut down on her psychotherapy practice. 

"The listening and observing I’ve had to acquire [in the practice of psychotherapy] has been useful in my writing," Bloom said. "Unfortunately, the only impact the writing has had on my practice has been negative in that my practice is smaller."

Bloom said her start as a writer was not too unusual from that of many aspiring authors.

"I wrote terrible poetry about things I’d never experienced," Bloom said. "I was fond of marches through Siberia and tenement fires, which was totally out of my range as a kid on Long Island."

While Bloom did take a break from writing to major in political science and theatre at Wesleyan and become one of the founders of Oddfellows Playhouse, she later returned to teach in the English Department and participate in the Wesleyan Writers Conference.

When asked about how Wesleyan influenced her writing, Bloom said it was difficult to determine a specific factor.

"Well... let’s see," Bloom said and paused. "I’m sure it did somehow. I know I had a really good time in college."

Bloom later said, however, the diversity she found in Wesleyan’s student body played a large role in shaping her characters.

"Most of my friends [growing up on Long Island] were either white and Catholic or black and Methodist," Bloom said. "Then at Wesleyan I had either black or Dominican boyfriends. It continued something that had begun in my childhood. Never having had to lead a segregated life shows up in my work."

Many students said they enjoyed hearing Bloom speak.

"I thought she was very eloquent," said Cari Laughlin ’02. "Usually there have been authors who’ve read there works–and I’ve not fallen asleep–but my mind has wandered. But [Bloom] held my attention the entire time. I loved her story."

Unlike many contemporary writers, Bloom writes many of her stories in the first person. However, Bloom said that while many people have asked her, it would be impractical for all of these stories to be about her life.

"I’m very touched when someone thinks that when I write in the first person it’s true," Bloom said. "But, then again, that would mean I’ve left several husbands, had a schizophrenic sister, been a black man, and taken care of a transsexual child."