a reunion
I ran into my old English professor out with his family today, and it was so good to see him again. Sometimes you just have those teachers you still think about years later -- in a good way, I mean -- and he's definitely one of them. I had him for Creative Writing in the fall of 2006, which was a decade ago, somehow? That's ridiculous. Anyway, I loved that class, and I loved the stories I produced for it, too. Actually, almost everything about his class was a positive experience for me, from the books we read (Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh is the one I distinctly remember) to the in-class writing activities to, again, the stories I wrote.
Apparently he feels similarly, because today he said that particular class, along with a poetry class he's taught, were the two best ones he's had as a prof here. That's pretty cool! And he was genuinely impressed when I told him I'd written a 50k word story this spring, even when I said it was fanfiction (you'd be surprised, or maybe you wouldn't, by how many people don't consider fanfic "real" writing), which made me feel warm and fuzzy. He was, and still is I think, the sort of teacher I want to do well for. It has something to do with how good he is at affirmations -- I mean, I remember how he'd always find something true and positive to say about every student's pieces, even when they were halting and stumbling-y and maybe could've used some editing before submission. That's the sort of thing that makes me trust someone, you know?
I took another creative writing class a few semesters later, and that professor ripped students' pieces to shreds, and encouraged others to do that, too. (He also praised one student's work so effusively it was absurd, especially considering that the story was, in my not humble opinion, a boring and cliched take on the white male hero with angst trope.) ("This could be published", he'd said in whispering tones. That was the point where I began wondering if I should feel bad about how me and my friend Julia had literally scrawled and slashed all over my copy of this student's story, with lots of angry arrows and WTFs in pencil. Doo-doo-dee-doo.......) (I didn't really feel bad. I definitely don't now.)
Anyway. It was really excellent to see my old professor today, to be remembered and affirmed, and to know he's still around. He told me he's got a chapbook coming out later this month, so I'm going to look for it at the local bookstore.
Hooray, good teachers!
Apparently he feels similarly, because today he said that particular class, along with a poetry class he's taught, were the two best ones he's had as a prof here. That's pretty cool! And he was genuinely impressed when I told him I'd written a 50k word story this spring, even when I said it was fanfiction (you'd be surprised, or maybe you wouldn't, by how many people don't consider fanfic "real" writing), which made me feel warm and fuzzy. He was, and still is I think, the sort of teacher I want to do well for. It has something to do with how good he is at affirmations -- I mean, I remember how he'd always find something true and positive to say about every student's pieces, even when they were halting and stumbling-y and maybe could've used some editing before submission. That's the sort of thing that makes me trust someone, you know?
I took another creative writing class a few semesters later, and that professor ripped students' pieces to shreds, and encouraged others to do that, too. (He also praised one student's work so effusively it was absurd, especially considering that the story was, in my not humble opinion, a boring and cliched take on the white male hero with angst trope.) ("This could be published", he'd said in whispering tones. That was the point where I began wondering if I should feel bad about how me and my friend Julia had literally scrawled and slashed all over my copy of this student's story, with lots of angry arrows and WTFs in pencil. Doo-doo-dee-doo.......) (I didn't really feel bad. I definitely don't now.)
Anyway. It was really excellent to see my old professor today, to be remembered and affirmed, and to know he's still around. He told me he's got a chapbook coming out later this month, so I'm going to look for it at the local bookstore.
Hooray, good teachers!