TJ Klune, author of “The House in the Cerulean Sea,” visited campus on Thursday, Sept. 11 as the second guest in the Living Writers series.
Associate Professor of English CJ Hauser introduced Klune to a packed audience in Love Auditorium.
“TJ’s world is affirming, cozy and positive,” Hauser said. “These books make many readers feel seen and represented, and maybe most importantly to me, neurodiverse and queer kids. For many folks, to get to live in Klune’s cerulean world for a while is a gift and a relief.”
These words rang true during Klune’s hour-and-a-half talk. He began by telling a few anecdotes in order to ease any tension in the room and be seen as simply another human, not a famous author.
“I’m gonna give you some facts about myself that are very embarrassing,” Klune said. “That way, it will dissuade you from thinking that I’m very cool.”
He spoke about his journey as a writer, highlighting pivotal moments in his early childhood in which he was inspired by the power of the written word. His final story included the publication of “The House in the Cerulean Sea,” and was met with consistent laughter from the audience.
“When growing up, I was told many, many times, ‘Why are you the way you are?’” Klune said. “‘Why are you like this? Why can’t you be normal?’ So I wrote this book.”
“The House in the Cerulean Sea” is a novel about belonging, found family and being true to one’s identity in a world where that identity is villainized. Readers of all ages have beloved stepping into Klune’s whimsical world.
Klune spent the rest of his time speaking about the context of the book and the social climate in which it was published, particularly the danger of banning queer literature.
“I am a cisgender white dude who writes about queer people finding happiness and joy,” Klune said. “I think they see me as a safe gay.”
Klune’s talk focused heavily on LGBTQ+ rights, with a big focus on trans rights. Growing up, he did not have the amount of queer literature to choose from that exists today.
“Stories are important for marginalized groups all over the world because [they give] them a chance to point to a book and say, ‘This feels like it could be about me,’” Klune said. “Seeing yourself in a piece of media is important, especially when you come from a marginalized group.”
After the talk, Klune signed books in the lobby. The line ran out the doors and into the hallway, with some people holding multiple copies of “The House in the Cerulean Sea” as well as his other books.
Junior Sophie Wohlstadter, a student in the Living Writers course, enjoyed Klune’s talk.
“I think that in some ways the event was very similar to the book itself,” Wohlstadter said. “While Klune did talk about some very serious issues in our society, he was also able to get the whole auditorium laughing through stories from his journey as an author. I think I left the event liking ‘The House in the Cerulean Sea’ even more than I did before, and now I definitely want to check out the sequel.”
Correction — In the Sept. 19 version of this story, Klune was misquoted as saying “I think they see me as a safe guy.” The correct quote is “I think they see me as a safe gay.” Additionally, Klune identified themselves as “cisgender,” not “cishet.” We regret the error.
