FALL 2009 / WINTER 2010 PUBLISHEDBYUSCCOLLEGEOFLETTERS,ARTS&SCIENCES T.C. Boyle shares his obsession with the written word. PLUS: USC College professors and best-selling alumni authors invite us into their worlds. Golden State: Yes, No or Maybe? • Nothing Routine about 2013 • A World All Their Own • No Myths, Just Monk college.usc.edu/videos Explore USC College’s Video Gallery. Departments 16 | In the Archives 20 | In the Community In the Beginning Reveling in the Ring Take a stroll down memory lane on Jim Kincaid and the Master of Liberal 2 | From the Editors 14 | In the Spotlight the 125th anniversary of The College Studies program join Ring Festival Historian and Author Review. LA in sharing Richard Wagner’s four- opera cycle with listeners of all ages. 3 | From the Dean Extraordinaire 18 | In the Field BY EMILY CAVALCANTI In a series of eight books about the 4 | Campus News & No Myths, Just Monk state of California, Kevin Starr takes 54 | Faculty Bookplate Events readers on an unforgettable journey Robin D. G. Kelley’s biography of jazz that reconstructs the past and sheds pianist Thelonious Monk tells the true 55 | Faculty Notes 9 | In the News light on the present. BY SUSAN ANDREWS story of the man behind the music. BY LAURIE HARTZELL 58 | Class Notes 10 | Trojanalities 15 | In the Movies 19 | In the Classroom Nothing Routine A World of Their Own 62 | In Memoriam about 2013 In the film Avatar, director James Zap! Pow! Kablam! Meet just a few of the extraordinary Cameron creates a futuristic tribal A course offered by the Freshman 64 | In My Own Words culture complete with its own Seminar Program, housed in USC freshmen in the Class of 2013. An I of My Own BY PAMELA J. JOHNSON language, rituals and religion. College, teaches a different kind of BY DEVON O’BRIEN ’06 BY NANCY LUTKEHAUS writing. BY STEPHANIE JONES MA ’10 45 | A Quantum Leap into the Blogosphere Clifford Johnson gives readers a look into the daily life of a physicist with his blog, Asymptotia. BY PAMELA J. JOHNSON 24 | The Thrill of Writing 37 | Power Writing 46 | Versed in Matters in the Trenches One USC College alumna of the Heart and science writer shows Brad Thor ’92 goes the David St. John gives a us the beauty in embracing extra 7,000 miles research- frank assessment of the the red ink. ing his multi-leveled, poetic tragedy of L’amore BY JULI BERWALD ’98 action-packed novels. — without missing a beat. BY PAMELA J. JOHNSON BY PAMELA J. JOHNSON 38 | In & Out of Fiction 29 | Once Upon a Blog Percival Everett’s 50 | A Conversation with In the age of Twitter, presence is felt but Aimee Bender nothing replaces in-depth elusive. Ah, the point: The celebrated author reporting found in real He’ll have you thinking. and professor shares her journalistic writing. BY SUSAN SALTER REYNOLDS thoughts about fairy tales, BY CATALINA CAMIA ‘86 40 | Writing to Forgive artichoke hearts and putting artists on American bills. 30 | The Magic Poetry Bus In her new book Kingdom BY MICHAEL CAMPOS ’10 Poet Laureate Carol of Simplicity, MPW alumna Muske-Dukes’ statewide Holly Payne reveals the 52 | Reading the Mind poetry project and the Get meaning behind the Alumnus Jonathan Lit Players bring Great simple yet complex act of Kellerman’s back- Poetry to California’s forgiveness. BY DAVID DORION ’94 ground in psychology schools. BY CAROL MUSKE-DUKES supplies the inspiration 44 | More than Just and dedication to write 32 | Auteur Rock Star annual best-selling crime novels. Strikes a Chord the Score BY LAURIE HARTZELL Passing the torch — Ace sportswriter and T.C. Boyle wants to be history alumnus Jorge 53 | From Barbies to Rockets Aranguré throws sports for his students what his Having written books on writing a curveball. mentors were to him. a wide range of subjects, BY DAVID DORION ’94 BY SUSAN ANDREWS this versatile author and MPW faculty member now tackles opera. BY M.G. LORD { It’s all about words, words EDITOR and more words. Susan Andrews EDITORS MANAGING EDITOR & DESIGNER Emily Cavalcanti ilent screen star Norma SENIORWRITER & ASSISTANT EDITOR Pamela J. Johnson Desmond, played by legendary WEB EDITOR & WRITER actress Gloria Swanson in the Laurie Hartzell FROM THE S classic movie Sunset Boulevard, did not NEWMEDIAPRODUCER { Mira Zimet much care for them. She bashed the COORDINATOR new “talkies,” claiming words would Letitia Franklin “strangle the business.” Her predic- USC COLLEGE ADMINISTRATION tion completely missed its mark. Howard Gillman, Dean Michael Quick, Executive Vice Dean Words are powerful: They can be daggers, Academic Affairs they can take hearts away, they can start and end wars, and they can be arranged in Susan Andrews, Senior Associate Dean an endless combination of nuanced ways. for Communication Dani Byrd, Vice Dean for Faculty & Research In this issue we feature stories about and by several of the most masterful Steven Lamy, Vice Dean for writers and poets in contemporary times, including both distinguished professors Academic Programs and superbly talented alumni. Whether writing fiction, nonfiction, poetry, news George Sanchez, Vice Dean for College Diversity stories, blogs or translating the written word to stage, words are fundamental to Roger D. Stewart, Executive Associate Dean for Administration & Finance human communication and connection. Richard Vargas, Senior Associate Dean Great writers make their craft look easy, but it is an art of continuous revision in for Advancement striving for perfection. Even the masters can anguish over language. Ernest Hem- ingway wrote multiple endings to The Old Man and the Sea, the novella for which he USC COLLEGE BOARD OF COUNCILORS won the Nobel Prize in Literature, before settling on the final one. Jana Waring Greer, Chair • Joan Abrahamson • Jay V. Berger • As you will read inside this issue, writers approach their own work, both practice Robert D. Beyer • MaryLou Boone • and process, based on their temperaments. Some write early in the morning, some Gregory Brakovich • Robin Broidy • Susan write at night, some outline their plots in meticulous detail, and some may be sur- Casden • Richard Cook • James Corfman • Robert R. Dockson • Allen Gilbert • Patrick prised at the twists, turns and endings of their stories. C. Haden • Gary Hooper • Janice Bryant Expertise in writing across disciplines has grown in importance in the past few Howroyd • George “Chip” Hughes • decades, especially in science and technology. With the ongoing transformation of Suzanne Nora Johnson • Stephen G. Johnson news media today, we see an explosion of blogs and new social networking chan- • David Y. Lee • Liam McGee • Philip Morais • Robert Osher • Gerald Papazian • nels emerging, which calls for a need to establish writing standards and best prac- Lawrence Piro • Alicia Smotherman • tices for the Web. Whatever the medium, great writing is great reading. Glenn A. Sonnenberg • Rosemary Tomich This issue’s theme is most fitting as 2009 celebrates the 125th anniversary of USC College Magazine is published twice a year USC College’s first magazine, The College Review. We hope you enjoy the latest by USC College of Letters, Arts & Sciences issue of this longstanding tradition. Office of Communication at the University of Southern California. © 2010 USC College. The Are you ready for your close-up? diverse opinions expressed in USC College Mag- azine do not necessarily represent the views of —Susan Andrews and Emily Cavalcanti, Office of College Communication the editors, the College administration or USC. USC College Magazine welcomes comments from its readers. Send letters to [email protected] or USC College Magazine, c/o Letitia Franklin, 1050 Childs Way, RRI 116, Los Angeles, On the Cover California 90089-2910. T.C. Boyle, USC Distinguished Professor of English, looks out the window of his Frank Lloyd Wright home toward a serene wooded landscape that presents as a rugged and stunning garden. The effect of humankind’s interaction with nature and the environment is prominent in many of the prolific writer’s works. Read more on page 32. PHOTO BY PHIL CHANNING 2 | USC College Magazine { FROM THE Read a great DEAN book lately? { new year brings a new edition of our in the Department of Political Science, award-winning USC College Magazine. I entered into an agreement with the I must confess to a special satisfaction in Los Angeles Times to conduct a series of polls between now and the Novem- turning the spotlight on this extraordinary ber state election. The University of A Southern California College of Letters, collection of writers, many of whom are on our faculty and others who were taught by our faculty. Arts & Sciences/Los Angeles Times Poll will be big news throughout 2010. It is a great opportunity for Col- Great writing can transform the Roth, Milosz, Stevens, Ford, Austen — lege faculty and students to address im- world, construct civilizations, educate too many to mention. portant questions facing the state, and populations and entertain the masses. Nothing makes me happier than dis- to conduct innovative research on politi- Great writing is still the best measure covering a new writer whose work I cal participation and elections. But I of clear thinking and the most effec- love. (Last summer it was Aleksandar also support this project because I hope tive instrument of rational persuasion. Hemon.) If you haven’t done it in a that we might be able to contribute to In my own personal experience, great while then I highly recommend it, and I resolving some of the serious challenges writing allows us to reflect on the most am happy to say that some of the best facing California. So keep an eye out for fundamental questions of human exis- candidates for writers that you will love the poll, and when new results are an- tence, and maybe more importantly, (if you don’t already) are featured in nounced and discussed, please take come into intimate association with the these pages.