See The Exhibit At Sterling Featuring ’69 Authors

As the organizer of the Reunion Book Exhibit in Sterling, I had an epiphany: Yale trained us to write. Some of us write as a career. Some write only for the love of it. These days, we’re at a point in life where we SHOULD be using our writing skills to advance our life’s loves.  Below are some examples that will inspire you.

At the reunion, you can go to Sterling and see the exhibit.  In this article, I’ll sprinkle some samples of what you’ll see there.  But that’s not my point.

According to our “Books By Classmates” list, Classmates have published a number of books – I counted about 160.  Alas, only 48 books were submitted for the display at Sterling Library.  George Effinger wrote 24 books, but has none in the Sterling exhibit.  How could I have missed him?  The other pros — McNamee, Sleeper, Medved, Hundt, Tedlow, Hine, Wheelwright, Breitman, et. al. — are all well-represented.

But my focus was not on the pros.  My main interest is the amateur writer, in the French sense of the word.  The one who writes on the side, because there is an itch he’s got to scratch.

Take Vinnie Pitts, for example.  During his career as a banker, Vinnie continued to research and write on his favorite subjects, France, the French monarchy, St. Simon, Fouquet, and more.  Now that’s an independent scholar!

Or David Darst, an investment banker at Morgan Stanley, writing countless books on investments, asset allocation, a children’s book and prose poems inspired by space exploration.  Amazing breadth!

Marty Cohen spent a lifetime career in management, yet wrote poetry and essays on poetry all his life.

Jeff Graham wrote short stories and poems while he was busy doing other things.

Bob Wittebort practiced law, but decided to write a book about his Chicago business club.

Dennis Drogseth had a career as a tech analyst, yet he was really a writer of fiction, memoir, poetry and theater.

Eric Muirhead built a boat, sailed the seas and worked in offshore oil, all the while writing novels and poems.  Now that’s my kind of guy.

Doug Barzelay practiced law, but loved Burgundy and its wines enough to write about them.

Bruce Bolnick taught economics, and then he wrote about his passion, a hiking guide to the waterfalls of the White Mountains in New Hampshire.

I think we have the picture now.  We’ve been trained by Yale to write.  And there is much that we have still to write about, especially now that we have acquired some perspective and have some time.  So, I am urging you to write, if only for your friends and family, about anything and everything that pleases you.  A book, a poem, a play, a memoir, … even an article for Yale1969.org!

But first, go see the book exhibit at Sterling during the reunion for inspiration.