I have a confession to make. I’m an “intellectual stalker.” Let me explain. In her recent book “White Heat,” author Brenda Wineapple quotes Emily Dickinson in a letter addressed to Thomas Wentworth Higginson. “Are you too occupied to tell me if my verse is alive?” Dickinson asked. The poet was coyly asking Higginson for his literary advice. She wanted him to acknowledge whether or not she had anything to offer. At the time, Higginson was the more famous writer.
I engage in something similar. I call it intellectual stalking. When I read someone’s work and it stirs my soul I dig for more. This hobby of mine began 16 years ago during my first year of teaching. I was moved by one of Ted Sizer [2]'s books on education. His words spoke to me in a very profound way. Before I finished the book I knew I had to meet him—and I did.
After Sizer, there were others – Lisa Delpit, bell hooks, Herbert Kohl, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, and Deborah Meier, just to name a few. Their words spoke to me. And when I met them something inside me quickened. They inspired me and propelled me forward.
I’ve begun to realize recently that I’m not alone in this practice of intellectual stalking. Marian Wright Edelman explains in “Lanterns: A Memoir of Mentors” how humans have a preternatural desire to seek out the truth in others by using their words, experiences and lives as a guide.
In the introduction of “The Herb Kohl Reader: Awakening the Heart of Teaching,” William Ayers confesses that once as a young teacher set out to meet all the educators he had read about and admired. Ayers jumped on a bus and headed to New York City. He called Herb Kohl’s apartment from the bus station and was invited over for tea and passionate conversation.
This got me thinking: Who do you follow? Whose verse do you think is alive?
Links:
[1] http://www.tolerance.org/author/brian-gibbs
[2] http://www.tolerance.org/blog/ted-and-me-memoriam