University of Alaska Fairbanks - Denali Yearbook (Fairbanks, AK)

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• DR. KAUFMANN I MISS YOU Margaret Lucille Adams Laurel Hall San Marcos, Texas 78666 June 29, 1967 Dear Dr. Kaufmann, I am the Negro girl that was sitting by the window in the first group you talked to. I just wanted to thank graciously spent here with us. I can truth -fully say I love you all. You are the kind of people I wish I could meet or be around always. Please excuse my manuscript form but I am in a hurry. I have two tests to study for. I must say that I miss you all, although you were here one day and we are almost total strangers. I hold you 5 men very high in my hea rt because you all gave back to me what was fading away. My respect for myself, my ideas, and just plain me. I thank you very much. May God Bless and keep you all. Please write when you have time. Love Margaret My friends call me Sister. Will you, too? Love Sister 22

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Experience Each student was invited to send his best work during the next year to the Alaska Workshop for criticism by the student writers here. Dr. Skellings said that the theme of the talks was the relationship between the facts of an indiv- idual ' s life and the process of artistic creation. He went on to say that they tried to show the stu- dents that literature is a living process and not the Museum of the printed page. Their trip took them from Chadron State College in Nebraska to Indiana State College at Terre Haute. In all they visited 11 colleges, including the Univ- ersity of North Dakota in Fargo where they spoke to a group of Indian students. Dr. Skellings considers the personal contact be- tween the poets and the students as the most im- portant facet of the tour. In many cases the stu- dents invited the poets to dances and to readings of their own poetry after the program and helped both the poets and the students to communicate on a very personal level. Ken Warfel feels that there was a good and very satisfying response from the kids. He added that they chopped down the image of teachers by showing students that teachers were also human and capable of mistakes. He said that they accomplished this by becom- ing a part of the students they talked with by re- cognizing their values and by showing them that poetry involved them. Dr. Kaufman feels that there is a general gap between parents and youths. He says that today ' s generation is brighter and more hip than their par- ents were and that today ' s youth will take honesty and nothing else. If you turn phony you turn them off. He said that during their trip they tried to be as honest as possible with the students they met and that the trip fulfilled one of their own ideals, Honesty for the sake of Honesty. He added that it worked that they got turned on and the students got turned on and the Upward Bound finally found its name. The flying poets hope to make their lecture series a continuing program. They plan to visit high schools in Alaska during the coming year and tour Scandinavian countries next summer. Skellings said that if the Vietnam war does not curtail the present cultural thaw between the United States and Russia, next summer ' s tour will 21

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• Let me explain that fourth word in the third line of the first verse. 9 Oh really, you ' ve read my poem July 7, 1967 Indiana State University Terre Haute Dear Mr. Skellings, I ' ve been thinking about your visit today, and I don ' t believe you realize what you started. Mind you, it ' s all to the good, but you ' ve started a landslide, and I think it ' s great! All the students that are interested are thinking about seeing if it would be at all possible for us to enroll in college English courses for the second summer term. And had it not been for you, we wouldn ' t have even thought such things, let alone ask for them. But thanks alot! You started the ball rolling and we only hope we can carry it on through. Also a thing you said about short stories and poems got to a boy named Steve Skor jane and myself. So we ' re gonna go together and write a book of short stories, for you to read, if not for publishing, for fun. A lot of things you said about Univei jity of Alaska got to me and I ' d like to see if maybe you could send me some literature on it. That is, if it wouldn ' t be too much trouble. I hope you are able to visit us once again this summer. All the students thought you were really great, and you were WITH US. And to teens that means alot And your poetry made me sit up and realize it isn ' t all fuddy-dud some can be quite neat. At first, I must admit, we weren ' t too overly enthused, but once we met you, we didn ' t want you to leave. (As a matter of fact, I was gonna skip it, but one of the counselors caught me before I could get away. I ' m glad they did, though.) Well, once again, I want to thank you, for starting the college ball roUing and for opening lots of eyes on Poetry. If anything is said by anyone, all of students are gonna write you. Thanks for being so interesting. Yours truly, Linda Myers P.S. The girl with the emotional face. You didn ' t really like my poem, did you?