How beautifully, how completely you've caught hold of that elusive, ineffable entity that we've all been touched by at Winedale and wrestled it into words. Every paragraph, every anecdote, every sentiment, had me whispering "yes, yes, yes." Thank you so much for the care and consideration with which you've crafted. It is a rich and rare record of this extraordinary program, especially in its early, formative years.

Robert

On Sat, Jul 10, 2010 at 2:48 PM, Alice Gordon <alicegordon@earthlink.net> wrote:

Dear Jan!

I didn't know how to reach you until the amazing Mike Godwin tracked you and
so many others down, and Jerald and all the Winedale celebrants of late
brought us togheter in this email chain. And now I have more than just a
reply of gratitude to this lovely message to impart to you, and the rest.

A couple of years ago Doc recommended me to an editor asking who might write
an essay about the early years of Shakespeare at Winedale for the second
volume of an anthology about life a the university over the years. (I'm not
sure when UT Press is publishing it but am guessing next year.) With the
help of a few Winedale friends I'm still in touch with regularly, and
through memories and talking to Doc, I wrote that essay. You appear in it,
Jan, and so does everyone else from that era in letter or spirit.

All this reminiscing has made me bold enough to send it out to all of you as
my own collection of reminiscences and latter-day insights. Feel not an iota
of pressure to read or respond, but if you do read it, I hope it connects
you to the source from which it was written, the profound love of the
literature, hard work, and community that forged the experience we all
shared.

Love,
Alice