Visiting writer Lewis Shiner used hand gestures, facial expressions and accents to become the characters from “White City,” “Kidding Around,” “Steam Engine Time” and “My Girlfriend’s Dog” during his reading at the Tarble Arts Center Thursday.

The crowd of about 60 students, faculty and residents listened and laughed to Shiner’s realistic and sometimes racy prose.

His stories covered everything from historical figures to plastic puke, from early rock ‘n roll to pick up lines.

“(Shiner’s) perspective is very realistic; he’s able to inhibit his characters,” said Dana Ringuette, English Department Chair. “He has a very spare, punchy and complete writing style.”

The fiction reading was sponsored by the English department and hosted by the Tarble Arts Center. Shiner’s reading has been one of many readings that encourage and support the arts on Eastern’s campus.

The poetry and fiction reading “adds another dimension in terms of art offerings,” said Michael Watts, director of the Tarble Arts Center.

“Creative writing is an art form that we like to support,” Watts said.

In addition to his reading, Shiner visited classrooms and interacted with students. He offered advice to students about writing and publishing during workshops and class discussions.

In regards to writing, “the hardest lesson for me to learn was to write for the sake of writing,” said Shiner. “Get rid of all other impulses- fame, fortune and love; just write.”

Before the reading, Shiner said that the selections “White City,” “Kidding Around” and “Steam Engine Time” were representative of the anthology “Love In Vain.”

Although all three of the works have “slightly different origins, the stories represent how I collage things,” said Shiner.

Shiner described his writing process “like a collage, I find little bits and pieces from real life and blend them together.”

Although Shiner only read from his most recent anthology, “Love In Vain,” he is the author of five novels: “Frontera,” “Slam,” “Deserted Cities of the Heart,” “Glimpses” and “Say Goodbye.”