Author speaks as part of "Caught in the Creative Act" series
David Shield's penis size is 6 inches, boringly average in his words.
Shields is "a great writer and a babe to boot," as he said someone once scribbled on a stall in the women's bathroom of a bookstore.
The author gave a lecture Wednesday evening in the Gambrell Auditorium as part of the 10th annual "Caught in the Creative Act" spring session.
On Monday, Janette Turner Hospital, Carolina Distinguished Professor of Emerita of English, gave a lecture on Shield's book "The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead," and on Wednesday Shields read parts from his book, discussed how the book came about and answered questions from the audience.
"The fundamental fact of our lives is the fact we die," Shields said.
Shields said the book includes data, quotations and personal anecdotes related to his father, biology, mortality and sex.
Shields said his father was a central figure in his book because he was amazed at how actively his father lived. When he was 86 years old, Shield's father had a mild heart attack while playing tennis, and he didn't leave the court until he had finished the set.
Hospital, founder of "Caught in the Creative Act," was also greatly inspired by her own father.
"I've always liked the idea of teaching a university course that would be open to the public," Hospital said. "I always wanted to do this because my own dad never finished high school because of the Depression and the war, but he always wished he could go to college."
After her dad retired, Hospital encouraged him to complete the Australian equivalent of a GED, and he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in his late 60s and a Master of Arts in his 70s.
This inspired Hospital to open up the university to the community by starting "Caught in the Creative Act." Hospital said the audience for the series always includes science professors, professors from the medical school and law school and people who see advertisements in the newspaper. She said people whohave lived in Columbia all their lives call and ask for directions to the event because they have never been to the university.
"I must say this audience feels like family to me," Hospital said. "Some of them have never missed a class in 10 years, and there are also new people who come every time."
Hospital invites writers she knows personally to be the featured authors in the series. She asks them to come for a lower amount than they are usually paid because she is on a low budget.
Shields was the first writer of this year's series and in his speech he was weirdly obsessed with mortality, and he felt confined to the prison of his body. He wrote the novel in an attempt to overcome that entrapment and obsession.
"You tend to get bored by the subject by writing about it," Shields said. "I think I bored myself to death."
The audience was mostly gray-haired, but many say Shield's books are applicable to people at all life stages, including college students.
"A lot of the way that you think now is a direct result of your biology in this moment," Shields said. "Who we are changes relatively dramatically through different physiological stages."
Shields said young people should have empathy for older people and understand that one day they will also be old. He added that young people should appreciate the physical advantages of their youth.
"You are in the flush of life now; part of it is just really appreciating the extraordinary sort of physical vitality you have now," Shields said. "I promise you it won't last forever."
While Shield's penis may be an average length, he is also incredibly normal because, just like everyone else, one day he will die.