Literary Life
My cancelled book tour to Texas was greatly disappointing, but allowed me to get my mind right for the commencement address I gave at the University of Minnesota, Morris. The UMM is in west central Minnesota, out where the wind blows in from the western prairie, but the school has a great reputation as a small, progressive, liberal arts college. It has about 1500 students. Graduation was held outside on a bright, chilly (55 degrees) and windy day, when the banners fluttered and mortarboard hats sometimes sailed away. But everything went well, including my talk (he said, modestly). A short speech--mine was 13 minutes or so--is akin to writing a good short story; you must do a lot in small container. My main metaphor was Dickens' "best of times, worst of times", with an emphasis on 'best.' My quotations ranged from Blaise Pascal to The Big Lebowksi, with Thomas Wolfe, Arthur Miller and a few more sprinkled inbetween. I seemed to hit the right note, and ended with a couple of lines from Bob Dylan's "Forever Young."
Prior to the event, the UMM Disability Office staffers had asked for a written text of my remarks in order to assist their American Sign Language interpreters; however, I had to explain that I don't write out my speeches (I can't imagine standing up and there and reading from written text). But I was able to give a general summary, and a few of the quotations, which they found helpful.
My personal preparation focused on keeping it short, and keeping it about the students. I also rehearsed. As with sports and public speaking, it should be "Practice like you play." I gave my speech outside, on my lawn, in my black robe; my audience was the Mississippi River, a few ducks, and my dog--who seemed a bit weirded out at the sight of me declaiming to the river. But the rehearsal (which I timed) clearly paid off, and I can't recommend it enough--especially if you are speaking only from notes. . . .
Enough about me. On to Chekhov. In an airport bookstore recently, I picked up a "best of" short story collection by Anton Chekhov. He was a great influence upon me early on, when I was learning the short story form, and I enjoy revisiting his work. In the introduction, he lays out his personal list of what writers need, and very high on it is "compassion." If there's anything I've learned about what separates great writers from merely published writers, it's that, and compassion is what I always aspire to when creating fictional characters.
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