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An Apple for my Teacher
Louis D. Rubin, Jr (edit.) - An Apple for my Teacher
First, I have to admit I don't know a single one of these authors who write about their mentors. It may be that their books are more "literary" variety that rarely crosses the Atlantic - or even their own world of academia to the outside world. Some of them admit as much: "Radical writer in America is stuck with the anomaly that his own only audience is the literate establishment"
(It seems to be a common joke in some circles that many English teachers try to teach their students to write Great American Novels the literary circles would cherish but that are rarely widely read.)
In this book twelve US writers describe teachers or mentors that they think have influenced them or encouraged them to become writers. For many, those were teachers of English or literature. But it might have been an upperclassman, librarian, military instructor, football or boxing coach, science teacher and, in one case, a student who became wife of a teacher writer.
It is still interesting that even this world seems to be segregated. The only African-American writer (Houston A. Baker Jr) is only to mention a black teacher. Everybody else is white.
Almost as an aside we can also read about the local cultural and political situation, unimpressive and dull teachers, how change of teachers have symbolized a change from old fashioned, to more modern, if not secular, world.
One interesting point of view comes from George Garrett who have claimed to learn his "sportsmanlike" attitude from his boxing teacher ("you won this time, no hard feelings"), regarding it as professionalism. He compares it to the "good camaraderi of good athletics" to "ruthless competitiveness of most of the writers and literary types".
"He can solve practical problems for you, problems of craft; but he cannot and should not meddle with the mystery of it."
First, I have to admit I don't know a single one of these authors who write about their mentors. It may be that their books are more "literary" variety that rarely crosses the Atlantic - or even their own world of academia to the outside world. Some of them admit as much: "Radical writer in America is stuck with the anomaly that his own only audience is the literate establishment"
(It seems to be a common joke in some circles that many English teachers try to teach their students to write Great American Novels the literary circles would cherish but that are rarely widely read.)
In this book twelve US writers describe teachers or mentors that they think have influenced them or encouraged them to become writers. For many, those were teachers of English or literature. But it might have been an upperclassman, librarian, military instructor, football or boxing coach, science teacher and, in one case, a student who became wife of a teacher writer.
It is still interesting that even this world seems to be segregated. The only African-American writer (Houston A. Baker Jr) is only to mention a black teacher. Everybody else is white.
Almost as an aside we can also read about the local cultural and political situation, unimpressive and dull teachers, how change of teachers have symbolized a change from old fashioned, to more modern, if not secular, world.
One interesting point of view comes from George Garrett who have claimed to learn his "sportsmanlike" attitude from his boxing teacher ("you won this time, no hard feelings"), regarding it as professionalism. He compares it to the "good camaraderi of good athletics" to "ruthless competitiveness of most of the writers and literary types".
"He can solve practical problems for you, problems of craft; but he cannot and should not meddle with the mystery of it."