Yesterday afternoon, I went to downtown Spartanburg, to the business office of Hub City publishers, a group which also runs the charming, downtown bookstore. We had the last meeting with a student who is doing a Capstone project. We agreed that it's been a success.
It was neat to be in the office space of a small business, with stacks of books and packages waiting to be mailed. It was good to remember that small businesses are still doing what they do, and even better that it's a business that supports readers and writers--and in Spartanburg.
As I walked in the perfect October afternoon weather, I thought about how Spartanburg reminds me of early 80's Asheville, and I mean that in the best possible way: small businesses, people walking in safety from traffic, easy to navigate, plentiful parking which is free. And did I mention the small businesses are varied and charming?
So far, it's been a good teaching week, both in terms of classes and students. Some of them are students in my classes: yesterday, one of my students was ablaze with happiness at having made progress on the novel-in-progress. Some of the students are ones who came to me because of their own creative writing interests, and I was happy to be part of projects, like the Capstone project, or just a wise elder, reminding a student that one can still do creative writing, even if it's not a job, that we can't be sure of what will make us money and what won't and having a creative interest not influenced by monetizing potential might be a net positive. It's also been past students: a colleague told me of a student in her class who gave me credit for becoming a competent writer (and happily, my colleague says she's continuing to produce stellar writing).
I am usually happy to perk along, confident that what I am doing matters--but it's nice to have confirmation along the way.
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