Bernell DorroughBeing a part of the Cadenza staff this year has been a very special and unique experience for me. The “special” part comes from my cool fellow staffers who I had a ton of fun with (and who listened to me bitch often about my way-too-stressful senior year), and then the “unique” part comes from the fact that I will have been the one and only Books Editor ever in the history of Cadenza. Whoa, do I feel special! No, there will be no Literary section next year, at least not on a regular basis, because of Cadenza being assimilated into the Student Life Establishment. (Damn the man!) However, I really can’t blame Student Life for the demise of my section-I can only blame society at large, which is exactly what I intend to do. Short of ranting, I’ll say this-students seem to like to read for fun, but when you’re in school there simply ain’t no time.
Besides, once I’m done reading for class, I think I’ll join the rest of the student body at Blueberry Hill or the movies or the park or some other place, where I can be free from the terrors of papercuts and stream-of-consciousness thinking and all the other crap that’s in things of a literary persuasion.
So, I could go on and rant about the evils of the education system in the U.S., but it’s what we’re all thinking at this late date in April. Instead, I’ll recap cool stuff that happened this year and then shut the hell up. I don’t think I’m alone in saying that the literary event of the year was Salman Rushdie’s visit this past fall. There isn’t much I can say except, wow. I am in awe of that man, and it was just too fun to see him and another literary giant, William Gass, discuss literature. Every neuron in my nerdy brain sang psalms of praise and thanksgiving. Andrew Motion’s visit to campus (and Christine Whitney’s freakin’ awesome article), along with several other poetry and fiction readings kept Hurst Lounge busy, and most were well-attended. St. Louis has a thriving lit community, with lots of cool poetry cafes, bookstores, and writer’s festivals. Besides all the stuff available at Wash U, get out there in the community and see what people are up to-I guarantee you’ll be pleasantly surprised. And read a book that you want to read for fun this summer, okay?
To make a blissfully short article just a little longer, I hope next year goes great for Student Life and Cadenza, and that they learn to work together in peace and harmony and all that good shit. Persevere, Cadenza people, persevere. Fight the good fight and keep those fires of arts and entertainment burnin’ bright.