Jodie Liedke was not one of the students
in the class on "Writing Creative Nonfiction" that I taught last fall at Lakeland College; she couldn't work it into her schedule. She was, however, one of the assistants at Lakeland's "Great Lakes Writers' Festival" last November where I was one of the featured writers; that's when I met her. This past semester, an assignment for one of her writing classes was to review a book or magazine or blog, and she chose to review The Middlewesterner. She calls the piece "Going Beyond a Handshake with Montag" and has posted it to her blog on the Lakeland College web site. I've always said "Flattery will get you nowhere," but now I'm not so sure. She sure makes me feel good. Although, admittedly, Jodie does complain about my sense of organization. I have to tell you, my wife also complains about it (or the lack thereof), and on occasion I myself get a little frustrated with my inability to make things fit a scheme that others can appreciate. Yet I suppose it goes with the territory. If you want to be a poet, you've got to take the mess along with it.
Certainly I appreciate Jodie's careful attention. Go take a look.
Thanks, Jodie!
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