Easter, 2013

I read Anita Harris’ manuscript with a potent sense of reliving that era again. Harris brings alive the era while also engaging the reader in her personal story, which she handles very well.

The first two years are especially compelling. When she learns to use the word ‘fuck’ the mss. Becomes looser and she depends more on her diaries than retelling her story…

I think she and a publisher might worry that this is too much Cornell’s story but it is not. Harris has managed to set Cornell into the anguish of colleges and universities over the country.  She manages her story on three levels: the personal) will she/won’t she), the growing tension on campus, and the national context. Her voice is earnest and she is honest and funny.

I hope Anita Harris will take this further…I see the ms as historically important in addition to being an engaging coming of age story.

… I hope we can see it go forward. I really appreciate having the chance to read it—I learned a lot.