The Williston English Department is known for a fall series of lectures given by famous writers. Each of four hour-long, illustrated lectures a year is followed by an in depth class for the students taking Writers Workshop. The class, available to upperclassmen, is taught by published author Lisa Levchuk. Over its 12 years of existence this series has featured 56 prominent writers and has allowed student writers to learn from skilled professionals.
To round up this year’s four author series, we invited Thomas French to speak about his Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism. He addressed a group of about 50 juniors and seniors along with several teachers, parents and members of the larger Williston community. His subject was his newest book, Zoo Story. His work, gathered during a six-and-a-half years of research on life in the zoo, neither praised nor condemned the zoos. Instead Mr. French looked to the lives of the people and animals that lived and worked there, finding their stories, conflicts, and needs.
Thomas French began his speech by reading from the first chapter of his book that described a man trying to transport wild African elephants by plane to zoos in the United States. In Africa, poachers were killing them off, and the threat of local extinction was rising. The man decided that the only way to save the elephants was to move them. He recognized the way he was unnaturally moving the animals, but also knew that it was the only way to save them. This idea of transporting elephants set Mr. French’s tone for much of the book. Knowing that the wild animals are moved unnaturally and, arguably, unethically to zoos, Mr. French explored the idea that it was the only way those species could survive in future generations.
Mr. French was an eloquent speaker, keeping his words concise but elegant, and we couldn’t help but listen. He also showed slides of some of the zoo animals, from baby elephants to full grown chimps. After about half an hour of speaking and explanation, he opened up for questions from the audience. Afterwards we left the room satisfied, but wanting more. I personally have the book on my Christmas list.
But the end of Mr. French’s talk was where the fun started for me. Burns Maxey, the Williston Communications Associate, asked me to interview Mr. French. I met him, shook his hand and we sat down. I had prepared a couple questions to ask him about his book and what he would advise other writers to do. His answers were succinct and interesting but also informative. He told me his writing roots, his style, and his overall process. From this experience, I realized just how prepared he was. He spoke for a while and I could really see his experience and talent. The interview should be available on iTunes soon as a free podcast. The interview, along with several other interviews made by the writer’s workshop series, can be found on the Williston Student Interview Podcast Channel. I would strongly encourage anyone who is interested in journalism or literature in general to listen to the podcast and read the book.
