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This
I Believe
One of my idols in this world is a professor of
literature at Yale University, a man by the name of Harold Bloom. Before I understood anything about metaphor,
pathos, or verisimilitude, I was reading books by Dr. Bloom on things like Alice
in Wonderland and Rudyard Kipling.
What I was coming to terms with was a very simple question related to
the act of reading and learning (which might be two words describing the same
action): If I claim to have no time to
read this now, then when? And If I don't attempt it, who will? My answers to these questions form the basis
of the kind of teacher I am today.
Sometimes I look upon my profession and status as a
kind of last line of defense (though I am not given to war metaphors). Hence my answer: I have to attempt this
thing, this teaching and helping students become better and deeper writers in
their own vein, because I have no certainty that anyone will ever perform this
service again in their lives. Also: How
can I claim I have no time to do now what I have to do (grade papers, plan my
lesson, talk to students about their writing) when tomorrow brings me a new set
of demands on my time? These questions
and answers invariably bring to me some of the most famous words by the late
Dr. King when he spoke of “the fierce urgency of now”. Today is the day you will get feedback on
your writing and style and today is the day you will realize that thing or
trick that makes you a better writer.
Today is the day that a minor, humdrum sentence becomes through the
skill of your pen and the wit of your mind something amazing to dazzle others
in a blinding rhetorical light of articulate prowess.
One of my favorite movies is Pixar’s
“Ratatouille”. In that story, we are
reminded on several occasions that the most mysterious thing about cooking (or
any creative artistic endeavor) is that anyone
can do it. “Anyone can cook!” Chef
Gusteau exclaims. And that anyone which
is everyone also refers to you.
I believe that you want to be a better writer and I
believe in it so whole-heartedly because I want you to be a better writer. In short, I believe in you.
