Last night I finished digesting Pay Conroy's collection of memoirs: My Reading Life. Actually, this collection of Conroy's writings is not about his reading life primarily, but contains personal reflections on influential teachers, friends, and agents who impacted his life.
I must confess I am unfamiliar with Conroy's work, although I have certainly heard of his novels, The Great Santini and The Prince of Tides (seen the movie). I was impressed with Conroy's command of language and his self-deprecating humor . . . self-deprecation being a hallmark I can identify with.
I did ask my wife to read one of these essays that Conroy had entitled, "The Teacher", as it was a compelling narrative about a high school teacher and friend who impacted not only his writing life, but his life on the whole. I wish I had met this man, but then realized I had some great teachers of my own, and not a few who were characters in their own right.
I was glad to read My Reading Life. It was a wonderful peek into the world of a writer's influences and reading habits.
1 comment:
So you had some great teachers in your life. Does that include the K - 12 years. On thinking back, I had some very competent teachers and some bad teachers, but I'm not sure that I had any great teachers. Perhaps I just didn't value their work. I would be interested to know which teachers you thought were great at Shelburn and NCHS.
Ron Boyll
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