Robert Olen Butler Pt. 1

By Kate Lochte

Murray, KY – The writer of ten novels and three collections of short stories, writer Robert Olen Butler says he goes into a trance when he works, inhabiting voices of his characters. He reads from his works at Murray State this Friday evening to open a week long series of readings for participants in Murray's MFA program in Creative Writing and for our regional community. His collection of short stories, "A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain," won the Pulitzer prize for fiction in 1993. Mr. Butler also teaches at Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Click the "Listen" icon above to hear the first part of Kate Lochte's interview with Butler as he discusses what he looks for in writing students and about his experiences in Vietnam that influenced his writing.