Author On The Arts

In a continuing series of talks with writers about how they have been influenced by the visual arts, Ellen Keiser will talk with the novelist and art writer Frederic Tuten on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Parrish Art Museum in Southampton.

The visual arts have always played a prominent role in Mr. Tuten's life. He studied art before he turned to writing, and he has continued to write about art for such publications as Art in America and Artforum, most recently conducting an interview with the painter David Salle, who has a house in Bridgehampton.

The director of the graduate program in creative writing at the City College of New York for 15 years, Mr. Tuten has published four novels: "The Adventures of Mao on the Long March," which was the subject of a long piece in The New Yorker by John Updike, "Tallien: A Romance," about a figure from the French Revolution, "The Adventures of Tintin in the New World," in which the beloved cartoon character grows up and learns about love, regret, and betrayal, and his latest book, "Van Gogh's Bad Cafe."

Of these, "Mao" and "Tintin" had covers created for them by Roy Lichtenstein, who was a close friend of Mr. Tuten's, and the cover of "Tallien" features part of Mr. Salle's "Blue Paper." "Van Gogh's Bad Cafe," in addition to being a fantasy created around the artist, is fully illustrated by ink wash drawings by Eric Fischl.

The author will read from his latest book on Saturday and discuss how painting has influenced his subject matter and style.