Roland Merullo ’71 Speaks to Preps about Writing
October 14, 2009
Junior Studies students eagerly await the start of Roland Merullo's question-and-answer session
Exeter’s 200 preps are taking Junior Studies, a program required for all 9th-graders that immerses new Exonians in Harkness and all things Exeter.
Junior Studies Instructor Jamie Hamilton and MerulloA major focus of the Junior Studies program, which has been a mainstay of the prep experience for the last 20 years, is learning to write – descriptive, narrative and analytical pieces.
Recently, Roland Merullo ’71 – author of many novels and memoirs, including American Savior, Golfing with God, A Little Love Story, Revere Beach Boulevard, Breakfast with Buddha and In Revere, in Those Days – came to Exeter to speak to preps.
With an open and informal approach, he met with every Junior Studies class. He talked about his childhood in Revere, MA, on which his Revere Beach Trilogy is based; his years at Exeter; his circuitous route toward becoming a full-time writer; how he balances his writing work, which includes novels, nonfiction books and essays for newspapers and magazines; and how he handles the challenges of the writer’s life.
For many of these new Exonians, Merullo was an eye-opener. Some were curious about the career of a writer, asking detailed questions about the author’s method and process. Others focused on Exeter connections. Prior to his visit, the preps had read Merullo’s memoir, In Revere, in Those Days. Here are some of the questions they asked:
Q: “Now that you’re a writer, are you happier?” Short answer: “Yes.”
Q: “What do you do when you have a deadline to write something and you don’t know where to start?” Merullo answered with several tips, including “automatic writing” – an exercise in which an author writes or types without stop for 5 minutes, letting words flow without intervention.
Q: “How has PEA changed since you were here?” Short answer: “Girls.” Merullo recounted that he was in the first graduating coed class. He told tales of the slightly “unnatural” environment on campus with not quite 40 female day students to hundreds of boys – nothing like today, where girls represent 52 percent of Exeter’s 1,000 students.
Q: “When do you feel like it’s time to put something down and start something new?”
Q: “How have your life experiences affected what you write about?”
Q: “What would you say is the biggest challenge to being a writer?”
“Roland Merullo is so great with the preps,” says Christine Knapp, Junior Studies instructor and international student coordinator. “He is so approachable. He talks to them about writing in ways that make them believe that they could be writers.”
Interested in learning more?
Learn about Roland Merullo, including podcasts and interviews…
See photos of Junior Studies visiting the Academy Archives...
Read more about the Junior Studies program…
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