WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2007
PAGE 3
Chatting with Whiting Writers' Award winner and UWG professor Paul (iuest
By Danielle Davidson
Stuff Writer
ddavidsl @ west go .edu
Paul Guest, a visiting
professor at the University
of West Georgia, recently
received the Whiting
Writers’ Award for his
work in poetry.
His two books, “The
Resurrection of the Body
and the Ruin of the World”
and “Notes for My Body
Double,” won the 2002
New Issues Poetry Prize
and the 2006 Prairie
Schooner Book Prize,
respectively.
Guest joined the UWG
faculty last semester, and
the West Georgian had
a few questions for this
nationally recognized
professor.
UWG's 'A Taste of Opera' leaves pleasant after?
By Ellis Smith
News Editor
ellisthered@gmail.com
The University of West
Georgia has the most active
and prestigious student opera
program in the University
System of Geoigia, “Much
more than the University of
Georgia,” according to Dr.
Larry Frazier,director of music,
stage, and opera workshop at
UWG.
The Opera Workshop puts
on performances for students
at UWG and the surrounding
community throughout each
semester. A highlight for opera
lovers is called “A Taste of
Opera,” which was held at
the Maple Street Mansion last
Tuesday.
Frazier, who presided as
narrator, master of ceremonies,
and accompanist for his
talented students, summed it
up this way:
“You get a chance to
taste some great food and also
enjoy a taste of opera. The
whole idea is to take opera
away Iran the concert hall -
where sometimes it may seem
intimidating -and bring it into
the kind of atmosphere where
people are eating and drinking
and having a good time. It’s a
tfeieran from page 1
Kentucky, June of ’67.
Our division deployed
to Vietnam in December
of ’67 and I stayed there
up until I was wounded on
May first of ’68.1 went to
the hospital in Okinawa
after being in a Vietnamese
hospital, and then got
transferred to America. I
stayed in the hospital for
about five months and then
they discharged me.
Q: What type of injury did
you sustain?
A: Multiple shrapnel
wounds in both legs from an
Rocket Propelled Grenade.
Q: Can you tell us the
story?
A: There were eight people
in our squad, right around
the time of the Tet Offensive.
On April 28, we were told
we were being sent back
to our base camp for some
R&R for a few days.
As soon as we
choppered in, all the
officers and NCOs went
into a meeting. When they
came out, they said, “Ok
Q: You recently received
the 2007 Whiting Writers’
Award. How does that
affect you and your career
as a poet?
A: It’s a big deal. I was
well aware of it previously.
When I got the call, I knew
someone who had won
once, so it’s a big deal. I
know don’t how to make
of it. but it’s just a really
big deal.
Q: How did you come
down this path of poet and
professor?
A: I started off first as a
poet, and 1 started writing
when I was 17. I knew
that was what 1 was meant
to be, like sometimes you
just fall into something
you’re meant to be. As for
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perfect place for opera.”
Theworkshopperformers
presented pieces by Verdi,
Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss,
and Lehar. Frazier said of the
composers he chose,
“I was trying to chcxrse
pieces that would involve
every one of the singers. And
that’s a challenge since the
singers have varying levels of
ability. Some are beginners,
and others are grad students. So
I try to find works that involve
everybody. After 1 finished,
guys, start drawing all the
grenades, guns, and ammo
you can carry. We’re goanna
go out in about two hours.
We went out, we went
into the village, which was
about a seven-minute flight,
and there was a battalion of
the NVA in the village.
Within the next two
days, Gomez, Lutz, and
Daley were killed, Whites,
Allen and I were wounded.
Only two guys made it out.
We took a lot of casualties.
Those were the NVA, not
the Viet Cong. The battle
lasted about three days.
Q: Where did this take
place?
A: It was right outside
of our base camp, “LZ
Sally”, located northeast
of the ancient city of Hue.
Our Company had just
been given orders to make
a combat air assault into
the village of Phuoc Yen,
located along the Song Bo
River, which was only about
a seven-minute flight.
The village was
occupied by elements of
the Bth Battalion, 90th
Regiment of the North
Vietnamese Army.
teaching, 1 know it’s kind
of cliche, but I love it and
enjoy it,and I can’t imagine
doing anything different.
Q: Asa visiting professor,
what are your thoughts on
UWG?
A: I’m really happy, I love
it here.
Q: What made you decide
to come here?
A: I’d given a reading so
1 knew some people who
taught here, so it seemed
like a natural lit. I was on
the job market. It just tit.
I’m really happy here and I
really like it; I hope to stay
here for a while.
Q: I’m sure we’ll want
to have you as long as
1 discovered that there Is a
Viennese connection between
every composer.”
The meal, provided by
S&R Catering, included fruit,
pork, roast beef, cheeses and
vegetables, spinach dip with
chips, and a full bar. The room
provided by the Maple Street
Mansion was cavernous,
fitting more than 100 people
inside easily, with room for
100 more. The high ceilings
made for stunning acoustics,
which enabled attendees to
Q: What are some specific
memories from that day?
A: I have a photo that shows
me and members of my
squad as we were preparing
to board our helicopter, a
Huey D model, with its
name painted across the
nose, “Lucy In The Sky
With Diamonds.” With me
in the photo are Sgt. Gomez,
SP/4 Lutz, SP/4 Daley, SP/4
Whitesell, SP/4 Cole, SP/4
Allen Tingwald (my best
friend), and SP/4 Purvis.
Within the next two
days Sgt. Gomez, SP/4 Lutz
and SP/4 Daley were killed.
SP/4 Whitesell was hit by
four AK-47 rounds piercing
his left shoulder and left
lung.
When he was hit, we
were all hugging the ground
as automatic weapons fire
was coming about a foot
or two over our heads. Sgt.
Gomez was behind me
a few feet and shouting,
“How many down?!! How
many down?!!” I hollered
back at him, “Two down!
Two down! Two K’s
(dead)!” Lutz was dead and
I thought Whitesell was too.
He hollered, “I’m not dead.
possible. Do you have
any words of advice for
prospective poets?
A: For poets— read a lot,
write a lot, and don’t worry
about being bad because
you’ll never be good
without being bad first.
A lot of my students are
scared of being bad and I
say, “No, everybody’s bad
at first; in fact. I probably
still am.” (laughs) But
if your heart is in it, and
that’s what you want to do,
just don’t give up.
Q: And, finally, what’s the
one thing you want to say
to the university?
A: What a question. Thank
you. They’ve been very
good to me and I’m so
happy to be here.
hear each singer individually,
even during pieces that featured
several performers singing at
once.
Talented voices filled
the room and full bellies
were happily sated by the
combination of beautiful music
and exquisite narration by
Frazier. Between each piece,
he told stories, shared jokes,
and generally put the audience
in the nxxxl to enjoy another
taste of opera.
Because each oix-ra is a
damn it!” 1 then shouted,
“Doc up front!”
Ed Barbour, our medic,
crawled up to Whitesell and
had to do a tracheotomy
while lying flat on the
ground. Two of our Huey
gunships on station came in
low over us and fired rockets
into the North Vietnamese
positions giving us cover
and time to pull back. SP/4
Daley was killed on May 1.
I was also wounded on May
1. After 1 was medevaced
out, Allen was hit by grenade
fragments in the back.
Within two days, out
of our eight-man squad,
three were dead and three
wounded, leaving only two
combat-ready.
This past January,
Allen died from Agent
Orange cancer. Cole is still
around and goes to all of our
reunions. I don’t know what
ever happened to Ronald
Purvis. He was from San
Francisco. Now that I’m
retiring, I plan on devoting
my time in trying to locate
him. I hope he’s still alive.
Q: How do you keep up
with the men that you served
with?
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#
Visiting UWG professor Pan! Gue -t >.v the
Whiting Writers’ Award for his
complete story , it helps when
performing only a snippet
from an entire performance
to fill the audience in on the
story, emotions, and characters
they are about to experience.
Frazier did so with gust* >,
Debbie By nJ. a graduate
student at UWG and the most
senior performer in the opera
ensemble, has been with the
program for a long time. She
appreciates the opportunity to
test her skills in front of a live
audience, and she is cmietul
A: We have an organization.
it’s the 101 st Airborne
Division Vietnam Veterans
Organization, we just
had our last reunion in
Charlestown, S.C., where
we were guests of the
Citadel there. Every other
year, we have reunions at
Ft. Campbell.
Q: What did you do alter
the Army? What made you
want to return to UWG?
A: After I got out of the
hospital, I was discharged.
There were a lot of jobs, this
that and the other. 1 thought
I’d come back to my Alma
Mater. I have a B.A. Degree
from West Georgia. 1 came
back to the campus and
it changed considerably.
I came in as a freshman,
and there were only about
800 students, back in the
mid ‘6os. Nothing existed
behind back campus drive.
A lot of construction had
begun about that time.
Q: What do you remember
from your days as a student
at UWG? When did you
decide you wanted to join
the Airborne?
to I ra/iei f> ■
chance to l>
worksh< ip.
“It’sa>■ 1 M r. •■,.!>, t.,
perform atv l it
. |a , it’-
Byrd said I
at > )rieni; , !t' 1 • = • ■ 1
everyone to i 'in. l on- of
the ones who • tin : tip. id
I’ve been i
ever since
While-then ■i ■ (tying
levels i>t ! ; !i i 1 • | O'-m e
evident itt !l)
ivtiomten i ■■■■<'.
and the audiet
appreciation v- rtfi repotted
sustained apnlnu'
Numotot! I \\ <l l !• ult>.
& stall vet in a" dr
as well as -veta! tudt nt ti>
show theit np| v■ i ill,, t■. st
student op'ia pp'"ntu in the
state
Students intere ted in
opera hoe I t •! >n-K let
Ilic Atlanta f )p < it the
C’obb I nen", * 1 for the
Perfonnin!' Nit '.inch is
cut rent ly perf orm !! ■
& Gretel !h (X'llonnance
features the o.nimota <;ij. tal- oits
ot tlie Jim I len >a < '< -tupanv
and is condu'; I fv. the -.<aid
famous >t>d I i.’vi fonner
music direct' ■< ■' tit vtlanta
Symphotn t >ti I’ tc
A: As lai a my la\ lice,
back then it v.a a inane! of
just studying. ! onmuiied.
I’ve lived in 'levvnan all
my life, and I irpmtled.
several of us v mild carpool
back in th : It \ as
just a matin of minim: over
here and (oming to class,
sometimes ,tay me in the
library to study fot a c< mple
of hours
lhe library bad then
was in Stanford Hall, the
Ingram l.ibrarv didn't
exist at all So where the
President < '"■■■
then was the library We
didn’t have parking p< nnits,
we just found a -pa and
parked. It was gret
a different world
We had a good time,
but in 1965 in S pt ;mber,
the Ist ( ah n > 1)i ision was
deployed to Vietnam that
was the first large division
to be deployed to Vietnam.
Of course, at the time, we
were on the quarter system,
and it was I -'all quaitci. tn.
flies went i battle
in the la Drang Valley,
and they had a heck of a
fight there for about three
days, lost a lot of people.
see Veteran ,
