Memoir, Memory, Mentors

"All emotions are pure which gather you and lift you up; that emotion is impure which seizes only one side of your being and so distorts you."

--Rainer Maria Rilke

Today, over lunch at Claddagh's Irish Pub, we caught up with a friend from Columbus who is an avid reader. I told him about Joe Mackall's recent book Plain Secrets (Beacon 2007), which I devoured during the grading of research essays as a reward. Joe wrote about a particular group of Amish--Swartzentruber Amish--and his friendship with a family living near him. The fact that he built the friendship is as amazing to me as the actual book, which is a finely polished gem.

Joe was a fellow student in a few classes when I was an undergraduate at CSU many moons ago; it was good to read his work recently and learn of his success.

His wife Dandi is a prolific children's book author; according to her website, she has published over 400 books; she must have great energy and stamina.

Another book by Joe, The Last Street Before Cleveland: An Accidental Pilgrimage (U of Nebraska P, 2006), is his spiritual autobiography I would say...and I read that in one curious gulp before moving on to Plain Secrets. At least a few folks would agree with me that it's a book revealing great vulnerability, regrets, gratitude, and an unexpected awakening:

I do not tire of memoirs, especially those by people I have known even a bit. I have several drawers and folders full of my own spiritual memoirs and thoughts. Whether I will ever put that particular jigsaw puzzle of words together, I don't know. But at least I have tried to probe and explore and have had some fine, sensitive spiritual advisors along the way...from Jewish, Unitarian, Buddhist, Catholic, Unity Church, and other traditions...

One of the most satisfying pieces of my professional life has been fostering, observing, admiring the growth of memoir writers...first through OASIS which folded due to Cleveland Clinic cutbacks (they were one of our valued sponsors), and then our spin-off group, Writers' Circle, which has flourished and blossomed but is currently hibernating.

The picture of me on this blog was taken when we met at Mayfield library...one of our varied meeting places. (Look closely: You can see my son's sneaker-covered foot peeking out near the elbow of my left arm...the right one on the picture.) We met at Kaufmann's, an occasional coffee house when others at Kaufmann's were conducting healthy adventures, such as frying fish, Bethlehem Lutheran Church, Beachwood Family Health Center, South Euclid-Lyndhurst Library, University Heights library, Barnes and Noble Bookstore, Joseph-Beth Bookstore, Workmen's Circle, my back porch...a now-defunct coffee house...too bad I was so busy teaching and motivating, I did not take copious notes of the incredible creative processes I observed. No matter.

With writers of varied personalities and genres, it never got dull.

I miss Fran and Miriam and Paula (read some recollections at http://wordsanctuary.blogspot.com/2005_06_01_archive.html) and Florence and Sanford and Olive and Betty and Bill and Harriet and Shirley, and others who have died...They were vibrant, inspiring, and courageous writers. Although I was technically their teacher, the reality is: We were a community of writers, learning from and supporting one another. Family health issues in Fall 2007 led to my putting Writers' Circle on hold for a while. Perhaps we will rekindle the ongoing experiment some time.

The work of some members of the group is in Cleveland's Bicentennial-Tricentennial Time Capsule to be opened, Universe willing, in 2096. It was compiled into a chapbook called Beauty in Youth and Age, featuring senior writers and high school students. Only one or two "collectors' items" are left. It was an honor to facilitate that group and arrange the manuscript...I credit Lauren Feiglin for her faith in the project and her confidence in me as a teacher. She was the type of mentor who stood in the wings and said: "good job"..."what do you need"...and had remarkable creative gifts herself.