By Matt Holsapple
Staff Writer

Friday night, Purdue students will have the opportunity to see one of today’s top writers reading his work.

Steve Yarbrough will be giving a public reading at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Hicks Undergraduate Library Bookstall.

According to Patricia Henley, a professor in the department of English, all students would enjoy the reading, not just students that consider themselves "literary."

"He tells a good story. Even if you don’t consider yourself a literary person, everyone likes to hear a good story," she said.

Yarbrough’s latest book, "The Oxygen Man," follows the story of a brother and a sister growing up in 1970s Mississippi under a difficult family situation. The story also follows the brother and sister in the present time and explores how the past informs the future.

Barb Lawhorn-Harroun, a graduate student, said that this use of time is the real strength of the book.

"This book was incredible. He uses time so interestingly and differently than other authors," Lawhorn-Harroun said.

This year, Yarbrough, who usually teaches in California, is the Grisham Visiting Writer at the University of Mississippi. According to Henley, that was instrumental in bringing him to Purdue.

"California is a little too far for him to come. Mississippi is a lot closer, so it makes it easier for him to come," said Henley.

Another strength of Yarbrough, according to Henley, is the way he approaches his subjects.

"He uses such tenderness when he writes, but he is not afraid to approach difficult subject matter," Henley said.

Yarbrough was originally scheduled to come to Purdue in January but because of a snowstorm, he could not fly out of Mississippi.

Henley said that visiting writers usually have fairly large crowds. The English department is expecting at least 100 people for the reading.