I am back! And if you saw the class calendar, you will say I am back late. You are right, and I am sorry. The thing is, I didn’t get around to doing anything I planned for the summer, and until the last minute, I made, unmade, and remade my teaching schedule for the upcoming months. So, I won’t be able to start teaching on August 22. I apologize for the slight delay in classes. But here I am, and I have a few things to offer. I will assume that all of you know that at the beginning of July, Alice Munro’s daughter Andrea Skinner revealed that Munro’s second husband had sexually abused her when she was a child and that the family had kept it a secret. When I read Skinner’s essay, like everybody else I was horrified, but in my mind, I immediately congratulated her for revealing the abuse and those complicit in it, including Alice Munro, for whose sake the whole affair was kept a secret. I was impressed (although one doesn’t wish to be impressed in this way) by the power it took Skinner to keep it a secret all those years. I chose to interpret her silence as a manifestation of her consideration and duty to Alice Munro’s career as a writer, even when the opposite would have helped Skinner. I was deeply moved to learn Skinner’s siblings took courses in dealing with abuse so that they could better help their sister. We tend to believe we know how to help a friend or family member who’s suffering. Still, we start out rather blindly, partly due to our assumptions, and partly because we don’t even have the vocabulary, let alone the method to deal with such abuse and trauma that accompanies it. In fact, we know that Alice Munro could not deal with the abuse. When she was finally told about it many years later, she wasn’t able to provide the safety and support that any child expects from any parent. I asked myself why Munro would have responded in that way, separating from her second husband for a while, but not divorcing him, choosing to hide the abuse instead of pooling her resources to help her youngest daughter. In light of the new knowledge, I couldn’t help but think her dementia was something of a symbolic illness, the type of punishment a short story writer would dispense for a character who has a memory that’s too burdensome to remember and too heavy to forget.What I want to offer, then, is a virtual place to talk about it all. I want to hear your thoughts. What happens when an artist we admire does something we cannot condone? Why does it matter that Alice Munro made a bad decision as a mother, or does it matter? Should it matter? What does our response say about the artist, and what does it say about us?I’d like to invite you all to a special Writing Talks meeting, on Thursday, which will give us a chance to share our opinions, and also a chance to dwell on the meaning of our reactions, whatever they may be—disgusted, disappointed, dismissive…Even when facing people or situations we disapprove of, we can strive to understand the human condition, be considerate and compassionate, and most importantly be aware of our own prejudices, unintentional moments of unfairness, or indifference. We have to keep asking the big questions, and we have to keep searching for ways of making the world a better and safer place. I also want to know what you’ve been doing over the summer. Did you read anything interesting? Did you write a new story? Did you get to travel, physically or mentally? Let’s catch up. Join me on Thursday evening. Bring your books, opinions, and friends! Writing Talks are free and open to all!Writing Talks on Thursday, August 22, 2024 at 8 PMJoin Zoom Meeting (No VPN needed!)
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84987243842
Meeting ID: 849 8724 3842
Passcode: 123456
Classes will start on Thursday, September 5, 2024, after an Open Class next week, on Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 8 PM.And here I will once again request your input. It is important for me that we decide together what to study and when. I devoted 2024 to reading Alice Munro, but should you feel too shattered by what you learned, I respect your decision and needs. I can read her on my own, while we study another brilliant author that I cannot wait to share with you.So, please make sure to take part in the poll by scanning the QR code below and let me know as soon as you can whether you’d like me to go ahead with the Alice Munro class as planned, or whether you’d prefer it canceled or postponed. (It’ll take less than 30 seconds of your time! Do it now!)
Thank you and I am SO looking forward to seeing you in a few days! 🤩🤩🤩Follow The Ways of Black InkFor free writing resources, information and announcements about reading and writing classes, and that random poem.For questions and comments:https://waysofblackink.wordpress.com/