The third was Clarissa Bud, who made my heart ache as soon as she raised her eyes toward mine. She was small and fragile, with skin as pale and smooth as moonlight on the Bolotomy. She moved as if she were moving through water instead of air: she rose to her feet as if she were allowing herself to float upward. Her eyes were enormous, wide and surprised. Though the weather was mild, she had on her desk a white fur muff, on which she rested her left hand, rubbing the fur between her thumb and forefinger, drawing from the muff the kind of comfort that I got from clutching my camera. Clarissa seemed so frightened and retiring that she made me feel strong and bold. She was, Mrs. Graham pointed out, also new to the classroom, and in fact new to Babbington, the latest stop in Mr. Bud's progress from one important position in the food-processing industry to another. Clarissa's desk was beside mine.
"Hello, Peter," Clarissa said, so softly that when I responded I spoke in a whisper.
"Hello, Clarissa," I said. I held my hand out. To be honest, I didn't just hold my hand out, I reached for her hand. I didn't intend to shake it;
I wanted to hold it. She hesitated for the briefest instant, and then she gave her right hand to me. I held it between both of mine. She kept her left hand on the muff.
"You can call me Clare if you want to," she said.Tiny droplets of sweat formed on my upper lip. I stammered when I spoke. "Oh, th — that's okay," I said. "I th — think Clarissa is beautiful."
I've blathered away a gazillion times about my favorite book of all time, Little Follies: The Personal History, Adventures, Experiences & Observations of Peter Leroy, including HERE, HERE and HERE. I was lucky enough to meet Kraft in 1995 thanks to Prof. Michael Lund, and he would go on to not only generously consult me on my first book, but it was his idea to have Williamsburg in the title.
Meanwhile, the first story from Peter Leroy we ever read in Lund's class was The Girl with the White Fur Muff, which would kick off a lifetime of influence on my own writing that reveled in its Proustian memories & digressions while always prepared to (hopefully) snap off a funny line at any moment.
Anyway, I thought of all that when this popped up. NOW GO & BUY ERIC KRAFT'S BOOKS!!!
Meanwhile, the first story from Peter Leroy we ever read in Lund's class was The Girl with the White Fur Muff, which would kick off a lifetime of influence on my own writing that reveled in its Proustian memories & digressions while always prepared to (hopefully) snap off a funny line at any moment.
Anyway, I thought of all that when this popped up. NOW GO & BUY ERIC KRAFT'S BOOKS!!!
https://t.co/UW3prpjzWG pic.twitter.com/7HiQ6w26bG
— Owain (@orhunt) May 28, 2024
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