Ouachita’s Mark McGraw publishes short story in “The Blue Mountain Review”
May 03, 2019
- Katelyn Myers
Ouachita Baptist University’s Dr. Mark McGraw, assistant professor of Spanish, authored
a short story titled “Mr. DeLeon” that was published recently in the 14th issue of “The Blue Mountain Review,” a journal of culture poetry, literature and
the arts by The Southern Collective Experience.
“Mr. DeLeon” is a tale of a man who has a bad habit of saying things that get him
into trouble. The story is told by an unnamed narrator – one of Mr. DeLeon’s high
school students – who recalls the impactful, yet controversial, lessons he learned
from his teacher.
“I never know whether the stories I write are good enough to publish,” McGraw said.
“Some that I think are fine turn out to not be publishable and this one, which definitely
has a Southern flavor, turned out to be a good fit for a magazine that specializes
in Southern stories and poetry. This publication is different for me because it's
purely creative, neither academic nor a translation, and I get a huge kick out of
someone telling me they read it and enjoyed it.
“I'm also thankful that my department and my school celebrate creative publications
as well as scholarly ones,” he added.
McGraw’s other published works include his English translations of Joesph Avski’s
books “Heart of Scorpio” and “One Step from Juárez,” as well as essays featured in
“The New York Times,” “Opinionator” blog, “Vital” and gracelcyclist.com.
In the fall of 2019, Lucid Books will publish McGraw’s book “Behind Friendly Lines:
Memoir of a U.S. Marine in Chile.”
“Dr. McGraw has an eye and ear for capturing, in straightforward, clear prose, an
attentive awareness to events and personalities. I hope he keeps writing,” said Dr.
Doug Sonheim, chair of Ouachita’s Department of Language and Literature.
McGraw joined the Ouachita faculty in 2013. He earned his Ph.D. in Hispanic studies
as well as bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University and also earned
a master’s degree from Webster University. He served 20 years in the U.S. Marine Corps,
where he learned Spanish and worked in 35 different countries.
For more information on Ouachita’s Department of Language and Literature, contact
Dr. Doug Sonheim at sonheimd@obu.edu or (870) 245-5554.
By Katelyn Myers
May 3, 2019
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