Ronit Plank, writer, actor and podcaster, presented her latest publication at the Peeler Auditorium on Oct. 2. Plank read selections from her memoir “When She Comes Back” and her short story collection “Home is a Made-Up Place.” Both were inspired by personal events, from the experience of losing her mother to a cult led by guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh in India. Her presentation is part of DePauw's Kelly Writers series, an ongoing program which has been inviting poets, playwright, and other authors for readings and discussion since 1999.
Plank was introduced by English Professor Deborah Geis, who introduced the poet's impressive background, including an MFA in nonfiction writing from Pacific University, and work published in The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The New York Times and The Iowa Review. Professor Geis referred to Plank's six short stories as "unforgettable" and her memoir as "courageous and moving." Geis noted her enjoyment of Plank's candor, vulnerability and humor within her memoir.
Plank began her first reading from the prologue of “When She Comes Back.” She described the feelings of disorientation, fear and longing when she reconnected with her father at Newark Airport at the age of six. She noticed her parents falling out of love and watched her mother leave for a flight without her.
Plank recounted, "The excitement of travel pulsed and swelled all around us, but I honed in on the silence swirling between my parents directly above me. I had been sucked into their whirlpool, once again drawn to their center."
Plank continued to read from the chapter “End of A Long Run.” The chapter occurs at a sleepaway summer camp in upstate New York when she was 12 years old. She explored her feelings as she listened to a guest speaker discuss the characteristics of a cult — shortly after her mother had left to see her guru in Oregon.
Feeling exposed as her friends knew about her situation, Plank recalled, "I listened along with the other kids but felt as if I had a cartoon arrow pointing at my head."
Plank comforted her upset sister after a man confronted them about their mother. After this draining experience, Plank recalled, "I walked back to my own cabin in a daze, trying to sort out what I learned."
For her last reading, Plank read the first story in “Home is A Made-Up Place” entitled "House in the Woods." This story describes a married couple, Kevin and Nicole, and their two kids’ arrival at their new home in Anchorage, Alaska. Plank illustrated, "There was nothing but forest and open space around them. Tundra beyond that and no neighbors, either, except the Clark's next door."
The trip to the new home also marked a reunion for the family after Kevin's three-month oil rig training. When Kevin reveals that his work schedule changed to have him start earlier, Nicole is wounded. Plank emphasized the heartache by detailing the "clung and icy patches on the clearing directly in front of the house."
Audience members were eager to ask Plank about her book covers, the complexities of writing about traumatic experiences, attending graduate school in her 40s and how memoirs affect family relationships. When asked about how to write a memoir, Plank suggested, "Make a list of 10 to 12 events that have stayed with you" and then "write the stuff around it, which becomes the connective tissue." She also encouraged attendees to "set a timer for 10 minutes" when writing about traumatic experiences.
In her brief and first time in Indiana, Plank has made a significant impact within DePauw's English Department. Her work is being taught in multiple courses, including Geis's first-year seminar Alternative Autobiographies, Associate Professor Karin Wimbley's U.S. Women's Autobiography and Associate Professor Samuel Autman's 300-level creative nonfiction writing seminar. In addition, Plank has agreed to visit select classes in the department to further discuss her work.
If you want to learn more about Plank, you can visit her website at ronitplank.com. Students can purchase her published works including “When She Comes Back” or “Home is a Made-Up Place” and listen to all three of her podcasts including “Let's Talk Memoir.”
The Kelly Writers series will host its next reading by Zoë Bossierem, managing editor of “Brevity: A Journal of Concise Literary Nonfiction” on Feb. 19, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. in the Peeler Auditorium. Interested attendees can visit the Kelly Writers series webpage for more updates.