By Gail Hairston

(April 18, 2016) — In an NPR interview two years ago — a conversation occasioned by the release of her fifth novel, “Boy, Snow, Bird” — Helen Oyeyemi explained why she had lived in half a dozen European cities before the age of 30.

“I feel a need to choose a city or have a feeling that it chooses me," Oyeyemi said.

Whether Lexington chose her or she chose Lexington, is debatable and irrelevant. University of Kentucky students and English professors are simply glad that this Oyeyemi story had a happy ending for UK.

After all, being a believer in magical, malevolent forces, Oyeyemi gleefully writes stories with unhappily-ever-after endings. For which, she is completely unapologetic.

"I would be that kind of psychologist who says 'You're absolutely right — there are monsters under the bed,' " she said.

The wildly talented and acclaimed author is bringing to a close her inaugural Writer-in-Residence spring semester. She has chosen to read from her story collection “What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours,” published just last month. The reading begins at 8 p.m. Monday, April 18, in the UK Athletics Auditorium of the William T. Young Library.