But my friend Anne rather challenged me. I mentioned that my current satisfaction with some of the academic activities I'm participating in was the undelivered promise from UCSC 42 years ago.
"There's an arc," she mused.
When I started Theo's class almost two years ago, I wanted to write about UCSC in 1970 because I believed (still do) that it was a unique place in a unique time. But I found that I just couldn't access enough about it. I couldn't build scenes or dialogue. Theo lectured about writing the 'dark story' so I went with the dark story of Priscilla and her death in January 1971.
So so successful. I'm glad I got it down but it was too long to workshop and I tried to cut it down and ending up opening plot holes. I kind of abandoned the whole idea.
So now I'm back at UCSC writing about the promise of creative work and faculty collaboration. For any UCSC people who might be reading, I'm using some of my own evaluations. Gulp. Will it substitute for the lack of dialogue and scene.
I guess I just can't shake off my childhood desire for nonconformity (now that's an old term!) and write things that are a little unusual.
Picture from 1970 . My father took us for a spring visit to the campus. They didn't have all of the marketing and introductory programs they have now. You got in, you showed up in the fall. Priscilla and I....did the library have a spiral staircase? I don't know why I'm carrying my shoes. I went back and looked at my Priscilla story. It does have some good points to it....
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