Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Clouds, light, memory


DSCN0582
Originally uploaded by jhhymas
The college class I took from him was called Oral Interpretation of Literature. I don't know if they would even offer such a class any more. It was a very interesting class and the preparation was not that difficult. I did well in it, since I enjoy speaking and love language. Once he complimented me on my "sincerity" which made me feel silly, because I had felt a little fakey. He used to sit in the rear, listening to our presentations with complete attention. It was impossible not to see that he was really quite beautiful. His hair was very dark, as were his eyes, his shoulders were very broad and his hips slender; his teeth were white and had sharp corners. When he lectured, tiny drops of spittle--propelled by his definitive plosives--sometimes struck a student in the front row.
I married that summer and didn't continue with school right away. Busy with two children, I changed my major to English, which did not require rehearsal time, as Drama had.
I thought of him last night and wished I had told him how much I enjoyed that class. By now, I thought he might be dead--1955 was a long time ago. But Lael J. Woodbury became a Dean and is still lecturing, recording spoken word records and so forth in Utah. Without Google, I never would have found out. Good night!

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