Your excerpt from your syllabus reminds me of a dream I had the other day. I rarely have teaching dreams (except for anxiety dreams about being unprepared), or such vivid dreams. And I’ve certainly never had a dream in which I said anything clear and memorable. https://111-words.ghost.io/put-your-phones-down-a-teaching-dream/
My teaching nightmares all involve it being the second or third week of the semester and I realize I haven’t shown up to teach my freshman comp classes yet. This seems… better? Or worse.
I’ve had that one a few times! My father was a math professor, and when he finally stopped having PhD oral exam nightmares (looking for the room and realizing he wasn’t wearing any pants), he started having retirement nightmares (thinking he’d already retired but realizing he had one more semester of teaching still, and he had nothing prepared and didn’t know where the room was and …).
It’s gross and I want it to end, too. Those emails! New’s project at ASU, to get high school students college credit for video lessons in poetry through the non-profit Epstein donated to, is facetious. But let’s not be distracted from the victims and the perpetrators— the men motivated not only by the money but by access to the bodies of teenagers. Raise clamor for their downfall.
Perhaps “writers should teach writing to writers” has a corollary in “readers should teach reading to readers,” which would dovetail nicely with some earlier threads in this particular edition of the newsletter.
Thank you for this, John. I don't know much about Larry Summers, and don't need to know more, and this was the first I've heard of Professor New. Yes, they're both pretty appalling. 🙄 But OTOH, the sample from your course materials is so uplifting and beautiful. Mere words cannot describe how happy it makes me.
As a huge fan of My Ántonia, I'm horrified at New's misreading, especially given the fact that Ántonia is 3-4 years older than Jim and that much of the novel is about Jim's enlightened witnessing of the challenges that a poor immigrant adolescent faces (at one point, Jim prevents the sexual assault of Ántonia by the husband of a family who has hired her to housesit).
Thanks, again, for your writing and your analysis of this moment in history. As my students say, we are living in the worst timeline.
while i agree that it’s certainly in poor taste to make this comparison in an email to someone you know is a predator, is it really so offensive to compare humbert and jim? humbert (while notoriously unreliable a narrator) claims that annabelle or whatsername from his childhood was the origin of his obsession. while i don’t support the motivations behind this email, I think there could actually be something interesting to explore here setting Jim up as the healthy foil to Humberts unhealthy obsession. Sort of a “here’s how a normal healthy person would react to the memories of a girl from his childhood, vs here’s Humbert going full pedo”. I don’t know, it just seems to me that while this english professor was morally wrong to bring it up to epstein, she wasn’t necessarily analytically wrong for pointing out a parallel. but i read my antonia very long ago and might be wrong here
Is anyone else appalled by the (lack of) spelling and grammar in these emails? Bad enough for Epstein, but Summers? Wow. And yes, please let's actually pay qualified teachers to teach (what a concept).
Very sad to hear about Ken Bain. I walked into a workshop around 2003 or 2004 he was giving at NYU on how to write a teaching statement and I admit I just went because I needed one and needed a job but that one hour workshop and reading his book shortly after changed my life. I'm not surprised to learn he was influential for you as well since I see a lot of your work as carrying on what he did.
I agree with you sir. My take is kind of obnoxious but I try not to be an obnoxious person so please forgive me. I kind of think all great novels are to some extent about writing itself. About stories in themselves I suppose. The content of Lolita is important, but for me the thrill is being swept up in the world of a terrible person and forgetting a little bit what I really think of him -- bc of what Nabokov shows can be done with, fundamentally, the presentation of information. I think thats ultimately ehat interested him about the project too.
When I read that email and her comment about Lolita, I almost fell off my chair. I don't doubt that she knows better than to actually believe that her characterization of the book captures it in any way. Rather, it reeks of engaging the donor...but with a disgusting tease about his predatory proclivities. I was completely stunned -- but had no one at hand to say that to! So it was great to read this piece and remember that there is a tribe out there who would see this as something worth noting, and indeed worth writing an entire post about. 😊
Ugh. I wish I’d known all this when we met Lisa New’s parents on a cruise and had to listen to them bragging about their son in law Larry Summers and just how smart and accomplished and connected he was. 🤢🤢
Talk about transformative reading experiences--Small Rain was a marvel! For me, it was probably the most accomplished work of literature I read in 2025. So glad it see it mentioned here.
Fun fact: Elisa New taught (brace yourself) a pedagogy class for TAs when I was at Penn in the 90s, an experience from which it took me years to recover. Even then, it's hard to fully embrace the schadenfreude here, because this is just, I don't know, so sad and gross given her husband's repeated embarrassment of her by association and public cuckholding.
Of course I think the most obvious response to the subtitle, John, you already know: Elisa New was looking for money from Epstein for her pet project and was willing to overlook the fact that he was a POS to get it. I doubt she would have described Lolita or My Antonia that way to a colleague. She didn't care. He didn't care. It was performance and it is disgusting and sad.
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little AGAIN, so thanks for that.
Your excerpt from your syllabus reminds me of a dream I had the other day. I rarely have teaching dreams (except for anxiety dreams about being unprepared), or such vivid dreams. And I’ve certainly never had a dream in which I said anything clear and memorable. https://111-words.ghost.io/put-your-phones-down-a-teaching-dream/
My teaching nightmares all involve it being the second or third week of the semester and I realize I haven’t shown up to teach my freshman comp classes yet. This seems… better? Or worse.
I’ve had that one a few times! My father was a math professor, and when he finally stopped having PhD oral exam nightmares (looking for the room and realizing he wasn’t wearing any pants), he started having retirement nightmares (thinking he’d already retired but realizing he had one more semester of teaching still, and he had nothing prepared and didn’t know where the room was and …).
It’s gross and I want it to end, too. Those emails! New’s project at ASU, to get high school students college credit for video lessons in poetry through the non-profit Epstein donated to, is facetious. But let’s not be distracted from the victims and the perpetrators— the men motivated not only by the money but by access to the bodies of teenagers. Raise clamor for their downfall.
Perhaps “writers should teach writing to writers” has a corollary in “readers should teach reading to readers,” which would dovetail nicely with some earlier threads in this particular edition of the newsletter.
I just wanted to say that I have really been enjoying - and learning from - your work and thoughts. Thanks so much.
Thank you for this, John. I don't know much about Larry Summers, and don't need to know more, and this was the first I've heard of Professor New. Yes, they're both pretty appalling. 🙄 But OTOH, the sample from your course materials is so uplifting and beautiful. Mere words cannot describe how happy it makes me.
Exactly my sentiments.
As a huge fan of My Ántonia, I'm horrified at New's misreading, especially given the fact that Ántonia is 3-4 years older than Jim and that much of the novel is about Jim's enlightened witnessing of the challenges that a poor immigrant adolescent faces (at one point, Jim prevents the sexual assault of Ántonia by the husband of a family who has hired her to housesit).
Thanks, again, for your writing and your analysis of this moment in history. As my students say, we are living in the worst timeline.
Yes, the idea that the Humbert and Jim are anything alike is just ridiculous. It's truly offensive to even suggest it!
while i agree that it’s certainly in poor taste to make this comparison in an email to someone you know is a predator, is it really so offensive to compare humbert and jim? humbert (while notoriously unreliable a narrator) claims that annabelle or whatsername from his childhood was the origin of his obsession. while i don’t support the motivations behind this email, I think there could actually be something interesting to explore here setting Jim up as the healthy foil to Humberts unhealthy obsession. Sort of a “here’s how a normal healthy person would react to the memories of a girl from his childhood, vs here’s Humbert going full pedo”. I don’t know, it just seems to me that while this english professor was morally wrong to bring it up to epstein, she wasn’t necessarily analytically wrong for pointing out a parallel. but i read my antonia very long ago and might be wrong here
Very glad nobody has leaked my emails recommending skin lotions to Jame Gumb.
" I refuse to give ground on this shit. It matters"
^^^^^ Why your writing stands out from the flood
Is anyone else appalled by the (lack of) spelling and grammar in these emails? Bad enough for Epstein, but Summers? Wow. And yes, please let's actually pay qualified teachers to teach (what a concept).
Very sad to hear about Ken Bain. I walked into a workshop around 2003 or 2004 he was giving at NYU on how to write a teaching statement and I admit I just went because I needed one and needed a job but that one hour workshop and reading his book shortly after changed my life. I'm not surprised to learn he was influential for you as well since I see a lot of your work as carrying on what he did.
I agree with you sir. My take is kind of obnoxious but I try not to be an obnoxious person so please forgive me. I kind of think all great novels are to some extent about writing itself. About stories in themselves I suppose. The content of Lolita is important, but for me the thrill is being swept up in the world of a terrible person and forgetting a little bit what I really think of him -- bc of what Nabokov shows can be done with, fundamentally, the presentation of information. I think thats ultimately ehat interested him about the project too.
When I read that email and her comment about Lolita, I almost fell off my chair. I don't doubt that she knows better than to actually believe that her characterization of the book captures it in any way. Rather, it reeks of engaging the donor...but with a disgusting tease about his predatory proclivities. I was completely stunned -- but had no one at hand to say that to! So it was great to read this piece and remember that there is a tribe out there who would see this as something worth noting, and indeed worth writing an entire post about. 😊
Ugh. I wish I’d known all this when we met Lisa New’s parents on a cruise and had to listen to them bragging about their son in law Larry Summers and just how smart and accomplished and connected he was. 🤢🤢
To be a writer, one must do two things – read read read and write write write.
Talk about transformative reading experiences--Small Rain was a marvel! For me, it was probably the most accomplished work of literature I read in 2025. So glad it see it mentioned here.
Fun fact: Elisa New taught (brace yourself) a pedagogy class for TAs when I was at Penn in the 90s, an experience from which it took me years to recover. Even then, it's hard to fully embrace the schadenfreude here, because this is just, I don't know, so sad and gross given her husband's repeated embarrassment of her by association and public cuckholding.
Of course I think the most obvious response to the subtitle, John, you already know: Elisa New was looking for money from Epstein for her pet project and was willing to overlook the fact that he was a POS to get it. I doubt she would have described Lolita or My Antonia that way to a colleague. She didn't care. He didn't care. It was performance and it is disgusting and sad.
I think I just threw up in my mouth a little AGAIN, so thanks for that.