SLF Album

Linda Decicco

Description

The SLF Album is the first comprehensive story of the University of Notre Dame's Sophomore Literary Festival. This portrait focuses primarily on the literary giants whose presence has made this festival one of the nation's most esteemed. It also gives us a fascinating, behind-the-scenes look at this thirty year-old phenomenon which has always been organized, coordinated, and managed by students.

Established in 1967 as a week-long Faulknerian festival, in 1968 the Sophomore Literary Festival came into its own with a series of readings and workshops by some of the country's most prestigious writers, including Norman Mailer, Joseph Heller, Kurt Vonnegut, and Ralph Ellison. The precedent set in 1968 became a legacy which has carried through to 1996, and DeCicco's portrait presents each year as its own chapter. equal on importance and prestige to all previous years. In addition to providing excerpts from the writers' readings and lectures, DeCicco describes the sophomore committee's author selection process and events which shed light ion the fame and foibles of many literary greats.

DeCicco's success in portraying the participating internationally acclaimed authors, who include Margaret Atwood, Allen Ginsberg, Arthur Miller, Robert Bly, Tennessee Williams, Joyce Carol Oates, Edward Albee, Susan Sontag, Gloria Naylor, is uniquely tied to the intimacy of the Notre Dame setting. Her record encompasses the mythical images of these world-renowned authors in the context of a modest student-run festival at a midwestern private university. This comprehensive history is important and fascinating reading for all who have experienced the magic of Notre Dame's Sophomore Literary Festival, as well as for anyone interested in the arts.

Sujets

• Midwest
• HISTORY
• EDUCATION
• Histoire
• Mensajería instantánea
• Literature
• Higher
• Gloria Naylor
• Level
• State
• Notre Dame
• School
• United States
• KS
• Ralph Ellison
• Local
• Edward Albee
• Joseph Heller
• Robert Bly
• Joyce Carol Oates
• IL
• ND
• IN
• NE
• Norman Mailer
• OH
• MN
• SD
• MO
• Margaret Atwood
• Susan Sontag
• MI
• Allen Ginsberg
• Arthur Miller
• Kurt Vonnegut
• Tennessee Williams

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 16 février 1997
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780268077990
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 13 Mo

Extrait

SLf
ALBUM
An Infrmal History of
Notre Dame's
Sophomore Literary Festival,
1967-1996 Slf
ALBUM
An Infrmal History of
Notre Dame's
Sophomore Literary Festival,
1967-1996
LINDA DECICCO
TE UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME PRESS
Notre Dame, Indiana © 1997 by the University of Notre Dam e
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
All Rights Reserved
Book design by Wendy McMillen
Set in 1 1 / 14 Perpetua by Books International
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
DeCicco, Linda.
SLF album : an infrmal history of Notre Dame's Sophomore Literary Festival,
1967-1996 I Linda DeCicco.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical refrences and index.
ISBN 0-268-01481-7 (alk. paper)
1. University of Notre Dame. Sophomore Literary Festival. 2. Literature­
Anecdotes. 3. Authors-Anecdotes. I. Title.
PN33.D43 1996
8w.9'005-dc20 96 27137
CIP
The author and publisher are gratefl to the fllowing fr permission
to reproduce copyright material:
Diane Wakoski, from the poem "I Have Learned to Live With My Face."
John Hollander, fr excerpts from Reections in Espionage, © 1976 by John
Hollander. Reprinted by permission.
Samuel Hazo, fom the poem "Breakfsting with Sophomores," The Hol
Surprise eRight Now (University of Arkansas Press, 1996).
Ernest Sandeen, fom the poem "The Game and the Word," Collected Poems,
1953-1977 (University of Notre Dame Press, 1977).
Jon Silkin, fom the poem "Adam."
University of Pittsburgh Press, fr Haiku "Eastern guard tower" and
Haiku "Morning sun slants cell," fom Te Essential Etheridge Knight by
Etheridge Knight,© 1986. Reprinted by permission of the University of
Pittsburgh Press.
The South Bend Tibune, fr permission to reproduce photographs.
The Archives of the University of Notre Dame, fr permission to repro­
duce photographs and other documentary material.
o The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
American National Standard fr Infrmation Sciences Permanence of Paper for
Printed Library Materials, ANSI z39.48-1984 Contents
Prefce vii
Awards Won by Sophomore
Literary Festival Writers IX
Foreword: Forward to the Past,
by William O'Rourke XIII
I . 1967 Planting the Seed
2. 1968 That Ws the Week That Was 4
1969 A Tough Act to Follow IO
4. 1970 A Woman at the Podium 15
5 Run by Sophomores: The Babysitters 19 .
6. 1971 The Play's the Thing 22
7. 1972 Right On 25
8. 1973 An Excuse fr Discourse 28
9. 1974 Back to the Garden 31
IO. 1975 High Drama and Swimming Pools 36
I I 1976 Giant among Giants
12. On the Menu 42
13. 1977 A Toast to Our Lady 45
14. 1978 Amazing Grace
15. 1979 Homer et al.
16. 1980 A Mystery Masquerading as a Banality 55
17. 1981 A Whetstone fr the Mind 58
18. 1982 Nice Guys Finish Last 61
19. Benevolent Calamities 64
20. 1983 These Harsh Badlands 67
21. 1984 Homeward Bound 70
3.
39
49
52 vi Contents
22. 1985 In the Flesh 73
23. 1986 Sailing the Sea of Literature 77
24. 1987 A Fine Resource So
25. 1988 From a Prison Cell 82
26. Pen Pals 85
27. 1989 Going through Hoops 89
28. 1990 What a Long, Strange Tip It's Been 91
Southern Hospitality 94
Haunted by the Holy Ghost 97
31. Straight fom the Horse's Mouth 100
32. 1993 A Patchwork Quilt 104
33. 1994 Lifblood of Literature ro7
34. 1995 With a Lot of Luck 109
35. 1996 A Family Afair 113
SLF Chairmen 11 9
SLF Writers 121
Illustrations fllowing page s 4
29. 1991
30. 1992Preface
In 1969, as a high school student in South Bend, I met my frst author. My En­
glish teacher at Marian High School, Ed Kelly, rounded up his class of juniors
and took us to hear John Knowles at Notre Dame's Sophomore Literary Fes­
tival. W had just read A Se arate Peace and we were about to look its author p
straight in the eye. The experience changed my lif.
Like others quoted here, I too was amazed to discover that real people write
books. Extraordinary books are written by people who may appear to be quite
ordinary. Every student, and even some profssors, recalled that same awe at
being in the presence of such talent.
Through the years, I came back again and again. Long befre I covered the
fstival fr the South Bend Tibune, I regularly attended. Each SLF schedule was
duly tacked onto my refigerator door. I went to see writers I had read-Ken
Kesey, Susan Sontag, John Barth-and writers I hadn't-Lucille Clifon, Larry
Brown, Harold Brodkey, C. K. Williams, Diane Wakoski.
In researching this book, I was amazed at how open and gracious the writ­
ers were-and how detailed their memories of their visits here. Most of them
regularly make the rounds fom campus to campus, yet many talked about how
their readings at the University of Notre Dame were special.
The reason doesn't lie simply in visiting this charming Catholic university
smack dab in the heartland. What sets the Sophomore Literary Festival apart
fom the others is the sophomores themselves. Again and again, authors at­
tributed the success of their visits to the young students who ran the festival­
the students who made out their wish lists of writers, sent the invitations,
scraped together the cash, picked them up at the airport, fd them, fted them.
The enthusiasm of these sophomores did not end when they graduated fom
Notre Dame. These students have taken their can-do attitude into the uni­
versities where they teach, the corporations they run, the communities where
they live. viii Preace
This book could not have been written without the contributions of these
frmer chairmen. They regaled me with anecdotes culled fom their notebooks
and their memories. Some sent lengthy letters; others corresponded in long
conversations on the telephone. One (James Metzger of 1969) taped his recol­
lections and sent me the cassette recording.
Notre Dame and Saint Mary's College professors and students were a reser­
voir of resources. I would like to thank, in particular, Ernest and Eileen Sandeen,
John and Diana Matthias, William O'Rourke, Albert LeMay, Paul Rathburn,
Max Westler, Sonia Gemes, and Donald and Christine Costello.
I know frst-hand the beauty and energy of those college sophomores because
my two older daughters, Jessica Leigh McManus and Angela Nicole McManus,
are that age. My youngest daughter, Erin DeCicco McManus, went with me to
her frst SLF in 1992. Then ten years old, she fllowed my lead, taking "notes" as
I did. I still have the lovely sketch she drew of the poet Lucille Clifon on stage
that night.
In closing, I want to thank my beloved, Roger A. Chrastil, who sat with me
on a train going west and helped me chart the course of this project, and read
every word along the way.
LINDA DECICCO
February i, 1996 Awards Won b�
�ophomore Literr� festival Writers
NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS FOR FICTION
Ralph Ellison (1953)
Wright Morris (1957 and 1981)
Jerzy Kosinski ( 1969)
Joyce Carol Oates (1970)
Isaac Bashevis Singer ( 1974)
William Gaddis (1976)
Tim O'Brien (1979)
Larry Heinemann ( 1987)
Charles Johnson ( 1990)
NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS FOR NONFICTION
Barry Lopez (1986)
NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS FOR POETRY
Alan Dugan (1962)
William Staffrd ( 19 6 3)
Robert Bly (1968)
Allen Ginsberg (1974)
John Ashbery (1976)
Howard Nemerov (1978)
Lisel Mueller ( 1981)
Galway Kinnell (1983)
Mary Oliver (1992)
POETS LAUREATE OF THE UNITED STATES
Howard Nemerov (1988-90)
Joseph Brodsky (1991-92)
Robert Hass (1994- ) X Awards
BOL LINGEN PRIZE IN POET RY
Karl Shapiro (1969)
David Ignatow ( 1977)
Howard Nemerov ( 1981)
Anthony Hecht (1983)
John Hollander (1983)
John Ashbery (1985)
Stanley Kunitz (1987)
NEW YOR K DR AMA CRITICS' CIRCLE AWARDS
Tnnessee Williams (1944-45, 1954-55, 1961-62)
Edward Albee (1962-63)
Tom Stoppard (1967-68, 1975-76, 1983-84)
Jason Miller (1971-72)
David Hare ( 1982-83)
NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS' CIRCLE AWARD
John Ashbery (1975)
Stanley Elkin ( 19 8 2)
Sharon Olds (1984)
Robert Hass (1984)
Louise Gluck (1985)
Joseph Brodsky ( 19 8 6)
C. K.Williams (1987)
Donald Hall (1988)
PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION
N.Scott Momaday (1969)
Alison Lurie (1985)
Larry McMurtry (1986)
PULITZER PRIZE FOR DR AMA
Tennessee Williams ( 1 948, 19 55)
Arthur Miller (1949)
Edward Albee (1967, 1975, 1994)
Charles Gord one ( 1970)
Jason Miller (1973) Awrds xi
PULITZER PRIZE FOR POETRY
Karl Shapiro ( 1945)
Gwendolyn Brooks ( 1950)
Stanley Kunitz ( 19 5 9)
Alan Dugan ( 196 2)
Gary Snyder (1975)
John Ashbery (1976)
Howard Nemerov (1978)
Galway Kinnell (1983)
Mary Oliver (1984)
Charles Simic (1990)
Louise Gliick (1993)
PULITZER PRIZE FOR NONFICTION
Norman Mailer (1969)
NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE
Isaac Bashevis Singer ( 197 8)
Czeslaw Milosz (1980)
Joseph Br