By Catherine Probst
There’s plenty of room for books at the Well in the many cubes that line the walls. Creative Services photo
For the past year, the Well Bar and Lounge at the Mason Inn Conference Center and Hotel has been slowly building its library with a collection of books written by George Mason University faculty.
This year, the Well Library will induct its first alumni authors during Alumni Weekend at an event on Friday, October 4. The alumni authors are Ken Budd, BA English ’88 and MA English ’97; Dallas Hudgens, MFA Creative Writing ’92; and Nadine Meyer, MFA Creative Writing ’02.
The event kicks off at 4 p.m. in Mason Hall with readings from Alan Cheuse, University Professor of English; Jessica McCaughey, MA English ’05 and MFA Creative Writing ’11; Alyson Foster, MFA Creative Writing ’10; and Jack Snyder, MFA Creative Writing ’12. The induction follows at 5:30 p.m. at a cocktail hour at the Well Library in the Mason Inn.
During the ceremony, copies of the writers’ books will be placed in wooden cubes that line the walls of the Well. Guests are welcome to browse the selected titles to sample the university’s best writers and scholars.
“I’m so thrilled that my book, The Voluntourist, is being inducted in the Well Library. It tells the story of my six-country quest to find meaning in life, but that search really began at Mason,” says Budd. “The university has influenced me both personally and professionally. And to have the book inducted in a bar’s library, well, how cool is that?”
The Well Library was created in partnership with the annual Fall for the Book festival. The library showcases the accomplishments of George Mason faculty authors and makes their works available to visitors at the Mason Inn. Since the library’s inception in fall 2012, numerous faculty members have been inducted, including Paula Gilbert, professor of French, Canadian and women and gender studies; Todd Kashdan, associate professor of psychology; and Mason’s provost Peter Stearns.