Still working through McCullough's John Adams, the entirety of the Divine Comedy (eek!), and nearly finished with Lives on the Boundary. In addition, am currently reading Marvin Bell and Kim Addonizio's new latest on writing technique, which just came on order from the library. I'll also be reading more Bob Hicok when it comes in. I wish Hicok resided at a college nearby; I would take a useless course just to sit in his presence and learn whatever I could from his ramblings and writing exercises.
The students at Virginia Tech rave about him, even those who simply have him for Freshman Lit. One kid was in a local newspaper (when Hicok was awarded another Pushcart [which I am nominated for!]) saying Hicok, "gave us a writing assignment about 'convincing someone else to want something that we ourselves do not want but should want.' I picked community service." What an amazing concept! And though I'm sure he intended the meaning to go deeper than that, I'm sure he was nonetheless proud and ample with his comments/critiques/enthusiasm. I should use this as a journal prompt in the future, and probably write a poem about it.
Did I mention I got the job for this summer as an outdoor skills specialist at a daycamp? That's right. I can finally put my fondness for the outdoors to use and teach middle schoolers how to set up lean-tos, make fire, and have more self-reliance. Wouldn't it be amazing if I were able to teach my students these skills simultaneously as we read through Thoreau? Yes, self-reliance transcends the page as it transcends even the New England woods.
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