Reprinted by permission of The Norman Dispatch
Published August 18, 20--
By Judy Sumner
SUGAR ROSES - Local author Zachary Heath is proud to announce the release of his debut novel, "Commedia dell'Heartland." Dr. Heath is a tenured professor of theater at Southern Oklahoma State University. The novel will be published and distributed by CreateSpace, a division of Amazon devoted to the on-demand printing of works by new and otherwise unpublished authors. Commedia dell'arte was a form of satirical, improvisational theater native to sixteenth-century Italy but influential throughout Europe.
Dr. Heath was born in Sugar Roses and earned his bachelor in communication (theater emphasis) from SOSU. He also carries a master of arts in playwriting from Southern Illinois University - Carbondale and a doctorate in education from Oklahoma University. His play "Ding Dang Doo" received an Oklahoma Theater Association Award in 2002, and a poem, "Villanelle for Alyssa," was featured in New Letters for spring 2004. His story "Buyer’s Remorse" has been selected for publication in Southern Humanities Review.
"Ever since I wrote my first play, 'Hillbilly Hoedown,' back in the late nineties," Heath explains, "I've focused most of my writing on small towns in Oklahoma. You know, it's hard for a kid with a more artistic, curious nature to grow up here. Conformity is king in the Bible Belt. At least, it was when I came of age. You weren't supposed to ask a lot of questions, just smile at the neighbors and pray for their sins."
Heath's views and writing have been known to attract controversy. "I did a production of 'Boston Marriage' here a few years ago that led to some hurt feelings." That play, by Chicago playwright David Mamet, is about a pair of women presumed to be a lesbian couple. "Then I asked to direct a play I wrote called 'Polymorphously Baptist,' and I was pretty much laughed out of the room," Heath admits.
"Commedia dell'Heartland" is the story of a young man growing up in the fictional town of Canaan, Oklahoma. His father, fiery Pastor Ezekiel Jennings Herod, wages a tragicomic battle against the encroachment of demon rum, Catholic bingo, and Playboy magazine. "I'm looking forward to watching this thing go off like a mushroom cloud in Sugar Roses," Heath laughed. "I think it's going to be a big hit."
The novel is available for pre-order on Amazon.com, where it is currently ranked 402,318th in overall sales.