{"id":2052,"date":"2012-04-20T15:23:34","date_gmt":"2012-04-20T19:23:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/?p=2052"},"modified":"2013-10-28T12:49:53","modified_gmt":"2013-10-28T16:49:53","slug":"mcnair-to-hall-may-12-1981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/mcnair-to-hall-may-12-1981\/","title":{"rendered":"McNair to Hall: May 12, 1981"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n
\"McNair-to-Hall-05-12-1981\"<\/a>\"McNair-to-Hall-05-12-1981\"<\/a>\"McNair-to-Hall-05-12-1981\"<\/a><\/p>\n

[Click image to view]<\/span><\/p>\n<\/td>\n

May 12, 1981<\/p>\n

Dear Don,<\/p>\n

Finally, I manage to write!<\/p>\n

I thought time would be easier to find after my course at NHC
\nconcluded at the end of April, but then<\/span> Diane went into the
\nhospital for a hernia operation. Now, she is at home, recuperating,
\nand I am trying to keep the house in order. I write this just
\nafter getting the kids on the bus, and just before starting housework.
\nSoon, I will be taking this to the mail and going to the college to
\npick up final exams. So you see, time isn\u2019t<\/span> easier to find.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, Diane\u2019s recuperation is going well. Yesterday,
\nshe was able to do some work in her studio, and she is able
\nto spend more time on her feet every day. She hopes to be
\nwell enough by June to go to Haystack–a ceramics
\nschool in Maine, whose month-long session I paid for
\nwith NHC money\u2026the only<\/span> good thing which came out
\nof that experience. Obviously, she will be staying away from
\nthe liquor store for several days.<\/p>\n

The news on my book is all bad. I will soon be one of
\nthe most famous also-rans in American publishing. I was
\na finalist in this year\u2019s Walt Whitman contest, and I was
\na finalist in the Princeton poetry series. AWP just wrote to
\nsay my book received \u201cserious consideration\u201d (the note was
\nattached to their copy of my manuscript). The book is now
\nat Pittsburgh and Alabama. You will remember that
\nit got to the final reading in Pitt last year and the<\/p>\n

2\/<\/p>\n

year before. I doubt the pattern will be broken this year–unless,
\nperhaps, the manuscript doesn\u2019t quite make it that far.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m trying to decide whether I should change the format
\nof the book. Perhaps the title The Faces of Americans in 1853<\/span>
\nand a new arrangement of the poems would make the thing
\nmore \u201cmarketable.\u201d What do you think? Unhappy as I
\nam about seeing the book through another cycle of readings
\nnext year, I fear I will soon be facing that prospect,
\nand I have the feeling a new approach is needed.<\/p>\n

As I\u2019ve implied, the Colby-Sawyer term is almost
\nover now. I will be able to write soon, and I am looking
\nforward to that mightily. A month ago, I wouldn\u2019t have
\nbeen able to say that. I was still going through my
\n\u201cbad patch,\u201d which turned out to be far more extensive
\nthan I thought it might be. The nutso activity
\nof the semester was finally a good thing for me
\nsince it keeps me away<\/span> from my inner world, which was
\nin a terrible flux. Now, I feel freer to deal with
\nthat world. And I miss writing awfully.<\/p>\n

The latest news from Colby-Sawyer includes two
\nacquaintances of yours. One, Wally Ewing, who left
\nthe college in January to manage–and invest in–a
\nbusiness which failed, is now managing the Kearsarge
\ngolf course, which the college recently purchased. The
\nother<\/span>, Carl Cochran, will soon be ending his association<\/p>\n

3\/<\/p>\n

with the college. Tomorrow, he will be feted by the English
\ndepartment at Pat Anderson\u2019s house. We are giving him a
\npewter plate inscribed with Henry Adams\u2019 words about
\nthe teacher–\u201cThe teacher affects eternity; one can never
\ntell where his influence stops\u201d–Also, we are notifying
\nhim that the American studies program award will now
\nbear his name.<\/p>\n

My day\u2019s schedule calls! Blessings to you and Jane,
\nand happy spring!<\/p>\n

Love,<\/p>\n

Wes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

\n\n
\n <\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[Click image to view] May 12, 1981 Dear Don, Finally, I manage to write! I thought time would be easier to find after my course at NHC concluded at the end of April, but then Diane went into the hospital for a hernia operation. Now, she is at home, recuperating, and I am trying to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2206,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[35323,35504,42976,42963,293],"tags":[],"builder_content":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2206"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2052"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9765,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2052\/revisions\/9765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/csc-mcnair\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}