Thanks for sharing the letter to Alice.  I had the pleasure of being audience to her talk about the chapter at last year's Austin Book Fair.  She captures so many wonderful things about the experience.  Even the mumbling Doc.  Just ahead is another reunion year: 2015.  A good time to celebrate (with required margaritas) and give Alice stuff for Chapter 2.

It was wonderful seeing you again!  Let's keep in touch.

Cheers,

Doc


On Mar 26, 2013, at 12:07 PM, Jan Notzon wrote:

> ---------------------------- Original Message ----------------------------
> Subject: Fwd: Alice's treatise
> From:    "Jan Notzon" <janotzon@aol.com>
> Date:    Tue, March 26, 2013 2:39 pm
> To:      jan@jannotzon.com
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> For some reason, I had to write this on my aol account, send to this site,
> so that I could send it out to you. I hope to God it works!
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jan Notzon <janotzon@aol.com>
> To: winedale-l <winedale-l@lists.wikimedia.or>
> Sent: Tue, Mar 26, 2013 10:54 am
> Subject: Alice's treatise
>
>
> Dear Alice,
>    After the celebrations, the reunions, the tearful nostalgia, the
> festivities and joyous fun, Lynn showed me with her copy of your
> treatise on Shakespeare at Winedale. I wish to bestow on you perhaps
> the greatest accolade I can imagine giving to a writer: Damn you!
>    Your extraordinary grasp and ability to convey in such powerful and
> moving prose such an ineffable phenomenon sent me back to a place I
> had long forgotten: that excruciating moment when, at the end of such
> a transformative experience, one I shared with you, with Michael,
> Nick, Robert, Donald, my adored Terry and so many others, it had come
> to a heart-rending end. It was a time of inexpressible loss, when the
> euphoria of creative ensemble and boundless love had arrived at its
> inevitable hiatus. It was a time when (forgive the overused term) the
> magic of the creative impulse and passion for the communal exploration
> of the greatest literature in the history of man, that had given us
> such meaning and purpose and connection and sheer joy, gave its
> reluctant, oh so reluctant, way and sent us on our solitary journeys,
> aching for that ecstasy once again.
>    So I was left, at your hand, yearning once again for that boundless
> joy, full of tears and painful self-discovery, but all the more joyous
> for it; left, once again, feeling parts of my soul torn from their
> moorings and searching, searching for that unique sense of communion
> and grace.
>    But please, please, know that I will be eternally grateful to you for
> allowing me to know that intolerable ache once again. There is no more
> potent reminder of life, of love, of the piercing joy of existence.
> Life is nothing without loss, for without that profound sense of loss,
> it is certain that our life had never known such wondrous gain.
>    So, thank you for reminding me of all that I have gained and for
> realizing that it was never really lost. For as long as we can say, "I
> miss it so much," it is never really gone. No, Shakespeare at Winedale
> is indelibly engraved on our souls, and a river of tears could never
> wash it away.
>    God bless you and Doc and all who have contributed their unique
> passion in making Shakespeare at Winedale what it is.
>
> Love,
>
> Jan
>
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