On Wednesday, Oct. 22, Author Eileen Garvin discussed Auburn University’s 2024 Common Book, The Music of Bees, at the Student Activities Center Auditorium. Following the discussion of her 2021 debut novel, Garvin invited the Auburn community to ask questions before signing books.
Dr. Vini Nathan, Auburn University’s provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, introduced Garvin to the stage with some background on the author and the common book selection process, but first she vowed to continue the Common Book program for the duration of her office at Auburn.
Kicking off in 2010, Auburn’s Common Book program began “as a way to provide incoming first-year students with a common educational experience, share new perspectives, and introduce them to the Auburn family.” In partnership with the Provost’s Office and the Auburn Library, the program has expanded to include all students and the Auburn community, as seen by the variety in age of the women and men in attendance for the keynote.
The Common Book Committee selected Garvin’s novel from a pool of six other books.
“This is the book at this time for all of us to read and reflect on,” Nathan said. “Six people touch different parts of this book and believe that this is a good way to bring our community and to respark this catalytic conversation that we expect to have this evening”.
Garvin’s best seller, The Music of Bees, has gained critical acclaim and accolades, including Good Morning America’s Buzz Pick and Good Housekeeping Book Club Pick. Born and raised in eastern Washington, Garvin has previously worked as a journalist and released a memoir in 2010 titled How to Be a Sister: A Love Story with a Twist of Autism.
The Music of Bees follows three lonely strangers- 44 year old widowed beekeeper Alice Holtzman, 17 year old paraplegic teenager Jake Stevenson and 24 year old drifter Harry Stokes- who band together to protect their local honeybee population against a pesticide company. Centered on themes of community, supporting mental health, sustainability and finding purpose, the novel aligns with the Auburn Common Book’s mission of “One Book. One Auburn.”
Garvin is honored to have her novel nominated as Auburn's 2024 Common Book because she believes there is value to be found through a mutual literary experience.
Regarding the special nature of the Common Book program, Garvin said, “taking time to read and sit down and talk about a book with friends is such a wonderful way to get away, to get off the merry go round and pause and give our brains a break.”
Before outlining the journey to the creation of her novel, Garvin explained her career trajectory was anything but a “beeline”. She was an English major at a Jesuit college who found that her study of literature provided insight into different life experiences and fostered compassion and connection. However, she always looked up to her STEM-minded family members with a mix of envy and curiosity.
It was this curiosity that ignited Garvin’s beekeeping and novel writing, a process she presented as "from bees to books in six steps". These steps include:
- I was curious.
- I got my bees.
- I made mistakes.
- I stayed curious.
- I followed a story.
- I paid attention.
Throughout her beekeeping experience, Garvin expressed her excitement and anxiety through poetic works such as Emily Dickinson’s “Bee! I’m expecting you!” and Slyvia Plath’s “The Arrival of the Bee Box”.
Littered with humorous anecdotes and lessons, Garvin captivated the audience during her address with her passion and deep affection for her honey bees.
Garvin shared while on a drive to pick up a new nucleus of honey bees she saw a man with a unique style that stood out in her small Oregon town. This encounter inspired the opening line of The Music of Bees: “Jacob Stevenson had the tallest mohawk in the history of Hood River Valley High School.”
Garvin decided to close her presentation with “Mary Oliver’s poem “Yes, No”.
“Imagination is better than a sharp instrument to pay attention. This is our endless and proper work,” Garvin said.
Ellison Radant, freshman in English and public and professional writing, studied the novel in an honors course this semester and attended the keynote with classmates.
“I think this book doesn't just help me find friends, because, you know, it's hard being a freshman, yes. But no, I think it really made me think about what community is and what I need to look for,” Radant said.
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Jennifer Santiago, junior majoring in political science and minoring in history, has been with The Auburn Plainsman since Fall 2024. Santiago previously served as a news writer, and she is currently serving as the Lifestyle Editor.
