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 English Department
Vincennes University
Vincennes, Indiana 47591
January 26, 2007
Dear Mick,
This letter
serves as an invitation to share both your poetry and teaching
skills in several venues on the campus of Vincennes University
in Vincennes, Indiana, on April 19-20, 2007. On April 20, the
English Department and Humanities Division sponsor POETRY ON
THE GREEN, an annual event that we would like you to participate
in. You did this once before, and it was very successful. Moreover,
we would like you to conduct another reading for our literary
students, faculty, and community members the previous evening,
April 19, either in the student union or here in the Humanities
building. Of course, as a teacher of World Poetry this semester
and one who has used your Hometown, USA for
years and is now using your newly published Halfway Decent
Sinners,
I would want you to address my class as well. To accommodate
all these expectations, then, you would need to be here the night
of April 18 and fly home on the 21st.
Mick, having
known you for 30 years, I appreciate your readings, your ability
to blend wit and poignancy as few others do; in fact, you are
rare in that you can make me laugh and cry nearly simultaneously.
Likewise, audiences for your new book—young and old—will
enjoy the cornucopia of topics and themes such as Catholic
School upbringing, father-son issues, parental woes/blessings,
and other daily significances such as elusive faith, fragile
marriage, and lasting friendships in an unforgiving but lovely
world. I’ve witnessed
how audiences enjoy the seeming ease with which you deliver your
art, and I know they will again in April.
If you accept
this opportunity to share your wealth of knowledge with us, and
we hope you will, we will pay travel expenses up to $1,000, including
airfare, hotel, car rental, and subsistence. Further, we will
blanket you with the well-known Hoosier hospitality. That,
I know, you won’t be able to resist.
Hoping you
choose to accept this assignment, I await your response.
Sincerely,
Jack Mahoney
Professor of English
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