The Last Day

So it was the last class today. A short one, and at the end of it, I made a silly sentimental speech, to which my students applauded. I'll miss them.

I was early for the Hopwood ceremony and lecture, which seemed pointless since I was the last to be called, and the announcer took it upon himself to stress the word "Singapore." The girl from Singapore. Yup, that'll be me.

Susan Orlean was this year's Hopwood lectuerer; the last I'll get to hear, and what a memorable lecture it was. She wrote The Orchid Thief which was made into the the film, Adaptation. She too, attended Michigan, and after graduation, she drove herself to Oregon. She was glad she didn't fly, didn't catapult herself to her destination, because driving prolonged the journey, let her see places, meet people, collect stories. The stuff of writing. Stories are often about journeys, which can be geographical, emotional, intellectual. The act of writing is a journey itself.

She quoted Burt Reynolds, perhaps the only Hopwood lecturer to do so in the history of Hopwood ceremonies. I can't remember it verbatim, so I'll have to purchase this summer's Michigan Quarterly Review, which will publish her lecture, before I can share the quote here.

After the lecture, we all trudged upstairs for the reception. The fourth floor of Rackham Auditorium has lovely views, and I broke away from the crowd to stand by myself at one hidden corner of the balcony. A piercing blue sky, students walking below, trees in the distance. I was glad to be alone.

Posted by Monoceros at April 19, 2005 6:04 PM