My short story class kicked off Saturday morning, it is a wonderful group of people with some amazing ideas for stories. We are doing non-fiction and fiction this year and the stories range from life in Berlin to the meaning of the Salem Witch Trials. Lots of great ideas in between. I told the class that the only iron rule I have is that we do not speak poorly of our work, it might be listening. Red provided support to brighten the mood, his work in cardiac rehab has impressed me.
On a personal note, I was thrilled to teach this class almost entirely standing up, which is how I love to do it. Last Spring, teaching the same class, I could not stand up for 10 minutes and the idea began to penetrate my Titanium skull that something might be wrong with me. Three months later, I decided to figure it out. A couple of weeks more and I would be singing a very different song, maybe with a harp. I gave out buttons and will come with cookies next time.
I assigned one book, “The Best American Short Stories of 2014, by Jennifer Egan” and recommended three or four. Next week, the class will come with focused ideas and/or pages. We will share them and I will edit them. I’m thinking we may do a reading at Hubbard Hall from our week once the class is over. It is slated for four sessions, but I know better now. One class of mine went two years, last year went seven or eight sessions. We’ll go as long as is needed for everyone to complete their stories and feel good about them.
It is important to me that the class be safe and fun, and that we support one another and that everyone leaves the class feeling good, not bad, about their writing. I loves we were wrestling with right out of the gate. There is a great mix of people, some coming from as far as Massachusetts and New Jersey, I love doing this kind of teaching. Coffee and cookies from the Round House and I’m badgering my friend Scott Carrino to sit in.
We have Delaney Meyer-Hill, a high school student, she wrote a great story last year partly in text and some students 60 years older than she is- many in the middle, a great mix of age and perspective. We even have a Mayflower family descendant. The class is going to be low-tech, I don’t think we need to be on Facebook together for this, or lean on computers much. I want some intimacy, I want the class to get used to talking directly to one another, and to me.