More Than A Little Bit Disappointed

[dr_phil_physics]

E-mail From The Clarion Foundation Today:

THE CLARION WORKSHOP IS ON THE MOVE

The Clarion Foundation is pleased to announce that the Clarion Workshop has a new home. It's difficult to leave MSU, having been there since 1972. However, the future looks very bright. Starting in the summer of 2007 the workshop will be held at the University of California, San Diego, with very strong administration, faculty, and financial support. Our acclaimed workshop, with its excellent teaching staff, will continue with no change in the structure of its operation. The faculty for 2007 will be Gregory Frost, Mary Ann Mohanraj, Jeff Vandermeer, Cory Doctorow, Ellen Kushner and Delia Sherman. The workshop will run from June 25 through August 3.

So Much For "Clarion East"

Clarion West is already on The Left Coast. We need another Clarion on The Left Coast -- and in California to boot? (SIGH) There's not a single academic institution east of the Mississippi that would be suitable? (DOUBLE-SIGH)

It's not that I have anything against the West Coast or California -- no wait, I do have something against California and the West Coast but that's a separate issue -- it's just that San Diego and the Pacific Ocean are too "nice". Suffering in East Lansing MI is, in itself, an art form. (grin) And quite frankly, more than one commentator has noted that Clarion West in Seattle suffers from "losing" people along the six weeks to the pleasant diversions of Seattle. That one of the differences between Westies and Easties is that in going to Clarion in East Lansing the latter knew they were going to buckle down and work. (double-grin)

And our Clarion class of 2004 broke down to 11 Eastern Time, 5 Central Time, 1 Mountain Time, 1 Pacific Time and 1 Australian, if I remember everyone's original addresses correctly. That's pretty much an East Coast and Midwest bias. And so the East Coast, Midwest and Plains states and provinces get to choose between San Diego and Seattle now? So much for driving to Clarion -- and Lord help you trying to fly with all the stuff you need for six weeks of workshopping.

I mean, San Diego doesn't even have a Meijers store.

And poop on Michigan State's brains for blowing a decent partnership. In particular, it galls that Clarion will not just not be ninety minutes away or that Archives Books in East Lansing, which has supported the workshop for so many years, is left hanging in the wind, but that we're not even talking about "close" or within a "day or two drive" to ever again visit Clarion. Not that my situation counts for anything in all this, but it is highly annoying.

Sighing Isn't Going To Help

No doubt I'll eventually embrace the new regime. I mean, it still will be a Clarion workshop. It still will be six weeks of Hell for the lucky participants. Clarion has moved before, there's nothing sacred about Michigan State. But gosh that stinks. I'd much rather it move to New York or Connecticut or Alabama than California. But after ranting here, I'll swallow my bitter disappointment.

Or else I'll start my own Midwest/Eastern workshop. Hey, I could win the $114 million dollar lottery this week...

Guess someone needs to update the Wikipedia entry. I don't have the heart to do it.

Dr. Phil

Comments

[leslie-what.livejournal.com]

Hey, Phil. As a former student (who drove from the West Cost) and instructor and now a board member, I regret the need for this change (though the change was inevitable because of circumstances). On a personal level, and as a volunteer who's given up many hours (when I should have been writing!) to help keep things running, I can say it's neither fair nor accurate to view this as a snap decision when funding issues were made public at least three years ago, although I personally regret the need to move the program.

The Clarion Foundation board of directors is putting together some FAQs to address some of the concerns we are hearing. These may change, but what we have now is at: http://www.theclarionfoundation.org/faq-move.htm

Leslie

[leslie-what.livejournal.com]

Oops. I got called to do something and cut off a sentence by mistake. It said something like I realize that no matter how many hours I volunteered I know it doesn't compare to the effort Liz has made. Liz, you may not feel appriciated because of the result, but everyone knows and respects the job you've done.

Leslie

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

I may not have made it clear here, because I've been all over the web on this thing, but I DO understand the money issue, the support issue, and the fact that people have been working on this for a long time. And even at that, this particular news came out of the blue and, frankly, out of far left field.

So this particular posting was a first reaction. Blog it and put it out there. Disappointed that my personal little nearby Clarion is gone. (grin) Disappointed that it's moved to California. Disappointed in the wording of the announcement. Oh dear, poor me. (grin) I'll get over it.

I will say -- and I'll probably blog about this more this weekend -- that a lot of my friends and contacts have been somewhat split between Woo-hoo! It's in SAN DIEGO! and Oh crap, it's in Crapifornia now. And so I worry about what that will mean for Clarion's future. If anything in the long term.

Well, the lottery drawing tonight is for $165 million. I promise that if I win, I'll personally cough up the "millions" to build a "sorority house" in the Midwest for a Clarion East. (grin) And then probably try to see if anyone is still interested in a EuroClarion -- and try to put up a Clarion North in Helsinki. (double-grin)

Dr. Phil

[leslie-what.livejournal.com]

Hey, good luck on that. I won $90 on a longshot at Del Mar once so I know these things can happen:) In retrospect, I can see how it would have been better had the board formulated a response in advance of the Blogosphere reports, but the vote was only tallied on Sunday and word went out before we had time to assemble our press release! Isn't there a law of physics that says an individual can move faster than a group?

Leslie

[dr-phil-physics.livejournal.com]

Yes, but rumors are supposed to travel faster than the speed of light -- and the rumor mills let us down this time.

Dr. Phil

BTW- weren't you reading with Walter Jon Williams at Archives Books two years ago? 'Cause that was one of the 2005 Clarion readings I made then. So we've sort-of met. (grin) Big huge guy with beard and a hat -- doesn't look anything like Kate Winslet from Titanic as in my LJ icon. (double-stuff-grin)

[leslie-what.livejournal.com]

I remember you. I mean, how many Dr. Phils do I run across in East Lansing at the Archives?