On Wed, 2 Jul 1997, Kate Williams wrote:
> The U of Toledo is considering Parable as the book every freshman this fall
> reads and gets to discuss with one or another faculty -- its a new program
> they are considering. Part of it would be to invite Butler to visit too.
> Ideas welcome.
>
Wow......I admit to being insanely jealous.
As far as I remember, Butler's a bit of a hermit. The only reason
we got her to visit our high school was because we were in Carson, CA, and
one of the teachers could pick her up from Pasadena, CA, and she could get
a ride with him.
Here at Tulane University, we're hoping to get Butler for the Zale
Writer-in-Residence program. It would be a big shift from what we've had
the past few years...
As far as students discussing the novel, I tend to think that
students from Los Angeles will understand it much better than students
from another area. It is definitely a Los Angeles novel. When I read it,
I was stunned by the sheer "Los Angeles-ness" of it. I tend to think that
the idea of suburban life is really a Los Angeles concept. The sprawling
one-story bungalows covering the entire county........
As a result, students from the area will probably have a different
understanding of the novel than other students. "Parable of the Sower"
strikes a chord with everyone from Los Angeles who reads it. They realize
that this is their hometown, and this could happen.
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