Author brings ‘Paradise’ to print

Kirk Baird

Friday, Oct. 19, 2001 | 9 a.m.

"Off Paradise," a recently released collection of short stories, is labeled as fiction.

But the book's author, Hart Wegner, says that's not entirely accurate.

Focusing on an East German family as it attempts to adapt to the confounding social mores of Las Vegas, "Off Paradise" (University of Nevada Press, $17) is, in many ways, the tale of Wegner's family as well.

"I don't think any writer can work without models. There is, of course, a great deal of myself, relatives and family in the book," said Wegner, who will appear at a reading and book signing today at Barnes & Noble Booksellers on North Stephanie Street.

Getting personal for the book, however, didn't make the writing process any easier.

"Some things were very hard for me to deal with, like my father's death," Wegner, 70, said.

As well as the loss of his homeland, Silesia, now Polish Silesia, to changing cultures and languages.

"If I ever become disillusioned with America, I don't have a place to go back to," said the 33-year Las Vegas resident and UNLV professor.

Wegner teaches German, comparative literature and film studies, and chairs the UNLV film department, which he founded.

Wegner's family came to the United States when he was in his late teens as immigrants fleeing Germany during War World II.

After serving in the U.S. military during the Korean War, he began to focus on his post-high school education, receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and his Ph.D. from Harvard.

No matter how assimilated to U.S. culture he's become, Wegner said the adjustment still can be difficult at times. This struggle to blend in and be comfortable in your surroundings is ultimately the main theme in "Off Paradise" -- how some transplants are able to survive the transition, while others are not.

Ultimately, Wegner predicts, American culture and ideals will envelope the other nations, whether they're ready for it or not. In fact, it's a common occurrence already.

The Western way of life "is the envy of of most anyone who has any sense in the world," Wegner said. "I think Las Vegas is at the forefront of what will happen everywhere."

Which will mean a loss of tangible history, such as when those from other countries bring individual stories and memories with them, but fail to pass them along, so that they die out.

"With living history you feel a part of the community," he said. "History is the community of the living and the dead."