Contact Samantha Smith for more information on scheduling a visit. Samantha.Smith@david-rice.com
David Rice enjoys literary discussions with students, and he has done plenty of it. During the past four years, he has spoken with over 25,000 high school, junior high, elementary, and college students across the country.
His books of short stories, Give the Pig a Chance and Crazy Loco, are required reading at Stanford University, St. Edward’s University, Texas State University, Our Lady of the Lake University, UT Austin, UT Brownsville, UT Pan American, Texas Lutheran University, and over 60 public schools.
His plays and one-man show have been performed all across the Rio Grande Valley, San Antonio, Austin, Our Lady of the Lake University, St. Edward’s University, UT Pan American, and Stanford University.
Before Mr. Rice visits a school he likes to have conversations with faculty and staff in order to understand the strengths and needs of that particular campus. He does this as part of a very important preparation process. He operates on the notion that he can best maximize the visit and experience if both he and the school clearly understand each other’s expectations.
Presentations by Mr. Rice are designed to encourage student interaction. Though he enjoys reading to audiences, and especially kids, he is emphatic about not reading to students during one-day visits, simply because of the time constraints; he’d rather students be fully engaged than to exercise passive listening. Students are challenged to arrive at the talk prepared to partake in a vibrant and provocative dialogue on literature and the life embedded in that literature.
Students are required to read three stories written by Mr. Rice and to bring a copy of the short story to the talk. Each student must be prepared to ask at least one question. Mr. Rice will introduce himself, and at random, he’ll point to a student and ask, “What’s your question?”
Each session is one hour long and each session preferably attended by no more than 50 students. The sessions will cover any questions students have about the stories, or about how to write a story.
