'Dear Stanford': Letter 34
A Collection of Letters in Support of Stanford's 23 Jones Lecturers
On August 21st, 23 Creative Writing lecturers were ‘future fired’ in a meeting with Deans, Directors, and Professors that oversee the program. Writing against the firing and in support of their teachers, students’ and alums’ letters to the administration alike have received auto-replies and brief responses to their concerns. This Substack is a space for these letters. This letter is by alum Karen Lewis, ‘77. We’re honored to feature the voices of alums on this Substack!
Dear Stanford,
Passing culture forward using language is the most human--and potentially healing--endeavor. From the earliest oral forms to contemporary writing that bridges borders, language is a powerful tool. Today when technology is often weaponized and destructive, creative writing offers a venue to imagine, to excavate hidden layers of history, and to draft nuanced notions of truth and possibility.
I was on the verge of dropping out of Stanford in 1976 after a particularly difficult summer internship that upended my career aspirations toward law and politics. I was desperate to to find new direction. I took several electives outside my comfort zone, among them “English 90-Narration" taught by an enthusiastic Stegner Fellow named Tobias Wolff. Sitting around that seminar table, I explored basics about scene, character, dialogue, and theme. We were prompted to “make things up” which was a liberating process after years of multiple-choice problem-solving and structured blue book exams. I had very little “raw material” to write about, because my life-experience at age 20 was limited. Mr. Wolff (did I call him that, or did he invite us to call him Toby?) was very kind in his notes on the fragmented short story exercises I turned in. All the comments were simply that, comments, encouragements, nods to keep going, to write it all down.
As many others have written for the Dear Stanford project, I felt seen and at the same time accepted for the messy, shy, insecure work-in-progress that I very much was.
One day, Mr. Wolff arrived to class with an issue of THE ATLANTIC. I believe his attitude was modest, but radiated pride. His short story “Smokers" had just been published. In that moment, barriers between professor and student blurred. I believed that his achievement was no less than that of other Stanford notables who might have earned a Nobel or NSF honor. Mr. Wolff was not yet famous. He was a human being struggling to carve a career as a creative being. He modeled his own vulnerability and energy to keep writing it all down. His story “Smokers" revealed much about human character and world power via its setting in a posh boys’ boarding school.
That seminar made all the difference for me. I kept writing, despite my limited life experience, and an untrained imagination (the d.School did not yet exist). Personal journals, poems, and story fragments have guided me forward through life’s twists and turns. I eventually formed a modest career as a writer, editor, and workshop leader, and developed curriculum with California Poets in the Schools. The encouragement from Toby Wolff when he was a Stegner lecturer has multiplied like a field of poppy seeds cast widely and wildly. Nowadays, I witness my own former students as they move confidently into the world as writers (no matter what their chosen profession might be). We are each determined to imagine and to create a better world for all. As a former director of the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference, I was thrilled to invite Jones Lecturers (John Evans, Scott Hutchins) to teach here. It’s all about passing culture forward and encouraging new voices to grapple with humanity’s most pressing ideas and situations.
The arts matter at a huge university like Stanford. Jones Lectureships are essential bridges between established academic Ivory Towers and thousands of nascent creative minds incubating on campus.
I encourage Stanford to fortify the Jones Lectureships, not diminish them.
Karen (Klussman ’77) Lewis