The first couple pages of Dart’s 14-pager are a rather amusing depiction of his initiation into the Sigma Tau Delta honor fraternity for English students and teachers. It was a solemn ceremony with a line of chairs containing 20 inductees facing a long line of chairs of older (very much older) members. Three ladies in “smocky-looking” robes stepped forward and said “I am Truth,” of “I am Sincerity,” or “I am Design.”

“They then set off reading a long spiel about the aesthetics of writing ‘not for fame or notoriety, not for money, or for messages of duty, but for the sheer joy of creating.'”

The 20 inductees blew out candles and recited a little piece in unison, reading from copies which were collected from them at the end of the ceremony. Just like that, he’s a proud new member of a proud old profession. “Sound the trumpets! Ring the gongs! Roll the drums!”

Work was slow enough tonight that he was able to type a draft of his next prose workshop assignment.

And that’s where the letter made an abrupt turn. He suddenly launches into a long dissertation about strikes and unions and corporations and government and the moral decay of America. (Didn’t we just see this movie a few days ago?) I don’t plan to recap his tirade here, except to say he is a young man of strong opinions.

Skipping to the end of the rant, he redeems himself a bit. “I’ve made plenty of sweeping generalizations here, and I’ve treated things in the good old logical ‘black or white, no gray’ attitude. I don’t know what good this has done. As you know, I think with my pen. I had no idea it would be this long or this boring. … Gee, I didn’t even get to open one of my letters from you.  ‘Some guy’ started making wise about unions and rights and stuff, and he wouldn’t let me make wise with the love stuff. Goodnight my darling. I don’t know how I’ll ‘think’ when I don’t have you to write to. But I’d rather not think than to give you up. I hope you’re getting used to this kind of stuff by now.”

After sending his love, he added a PS:  By your protests to the other girls about the strike, you were doing your duty as a member of society which calls itself democratic. Their threats, fines, and social ostracism were surely not democratic.