George Saunders & Joshua Lutz: Orange Blossom Trail

by George Saunders (Photographer)

Genres: Art

150 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2024

About the author

George Saunders was born December 2, 1958 and raised on the south side of Chicago. In 1981 he received a B.S. in Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado. He worked at Radian International, an environmental engineering firm in Rochester, NY as a technical writer and geophysical engineer from 1989 to 1996. He has also worked in Sumatra on an oil exploration geophysics crew, as a doorman in Beverly Hills, a roofer in Chicago, a convenience store clerk, a guitarist in a Texas country-and-western band, and a knuckle-puller in a West Texas slaughterhouse.

After reading in People magazine about the Master's program at Syracuse University, he applied. Mr. Saunders received an MA with an emphasis in creative writing in 1988. His thesis advisor was Doug Unger.

He has been an Assistant Professor, Syracuse University Creative Writing Program since 1997. He has also been a Visiting Writer at Vermont Studio Center, University of Georgia MayMester Program, University of Denver, University of Texas at Austin, St. Petersburg Literary Seminar (St. Petersburg, Russia, Summer 2000), Brown University, Dickinson College, Hobart & William Smith Colleges.

He conducted a Guest Workshop at the Eastman School of Music, Fall 1995, and was an Adjunct Professor at Saint John Fisher College, Rochester, New York, 1990-1995; and Adjunct Professor at Siena College, Loudonville, New York in Fall 1989.

He is married and has two children.

His favorite charity is a project to educate Tibetan refugee children in Nepal. Information on this can be found at http://www.tibetan-buddhist.org/index...

Reviews

[Terzah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would probably read George Saunders' shopping list so I picked this one up right away when I saw it on the new non-fiction shelf at work. I'd read the two short stories reprinted in this one already, but I enjoyed reading them again. And the essay "Thought Experiment" was new to me and reminded me I need read Saunders' essay collection "Braindead Megaphone." I didn't entirely agree with this essay--I actually do think not all of the evil people do can be attributed to circumstances beyond their control--but I do agree that reframing how I react when others come off as mean could help make me a better person and the world a better place. As for the photos, some of them are interesting, especially the ones with people's faces. But I didn't really see the point of the ones of rotting oranges covered in snails.

[Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

This small volume is photojournalism by Lutz that complements the sparse writing of Saunders' few short stories. At least one of the short stories is a recycle from another set of his, but it was good to read it again, as chilling as it is in what feels like past, present, and future merging.

Orange Blossom Trail is a place that the photojournalism highlights through images of blue collar workers, small business districts, and homeless people. There's a continuing theme with potent symbology within them.

I consider Orange Blossom Trail an experimental genre. It feels like a jigsaw puzzle that will take some time to put together.

Fortunately my district library takes requests for books and this is one they bought. Bonus!

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasing modest book of photography paired with some Saunders excerpts. Nicely printed and bound.

[David Pederson · Rating 4 out of 5]

George Saunders is always my stretch goal. His talent is beyond my ability to read quickly; this book is no exception.