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November 20, 1997 - Image 15

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The Michigan Daily, 1997-11-20

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I

12B -- T Michigan Daily Weeken#Magaime - Thursday, NAmber 20, 1997

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4

The Michigan Daleekentd Maga

Books Feature
YivIAuster s memoir chronicles writing career

University housing makes appealing home

By Marc Parry
For the Daily
"In my late 20s and early 30s, I went
through a period of several years when
everything I touched turned to failure."
So begins "Hand to Mouth: A Chronicle
of Early Failure" Paul Auster's newly
published memoir.
As a novelist, poet, critic and transla-
tor, Auster is a man of letters par excel-
lence. Moviegoers have also encoun-
tered his work; he wrote the screenplay

for the critically acclaimed film
"Smoke," and co-directed its companion
film, "Blue in the Face"
With "Hand to Mouth," Auster has
written about his career realistically; this
memoir should be required reading for
anyone hoping to follow in his footsteps.
It is an autobiographical essay about the
period before he found success - the 15
years when he was broke, dreaming of
slipping a volume between Jane Austen's
and Julian Barnes' at the local Borders.

Novelist Paul Auster describes his
writing career In "Hand to Mouth."

Auster graduated from Columbia
University in 1969 with one ambition -
to write. But he stubbornly shunned the
"double life" of the average writer,
punching in at a 9-to-5 job and cram-
ming whatever writing he could into the
rest of the day. "I wanted to go out into
the world and test myself, to move from
this to that, to explore as much as I
could."
Explore he did. Auster threw himself
into a myriad ofjobs on both sides of the
Atlantic. First, he signed on as a "utility-
man" ("a combination ofjanitor, garbage
collector, and chambermaid") on an oil
tanker.
The months Auster spent at sea
secured him enough cash to move to
Paris, where he did everything from
translating obscure poetry and art books
to working the nighttime switchboard at
the Paris bureau of The New York Times.
And this is hardly a thorough list.
But for all of its richness, eccentric
characters and strange stories, "Hand to

Mouth" essentially serves as a prologue
to Auster's fiction. The memoir sketch-
es his struggles through doubt, failure
and frustration, but in doing so, essen-
tially sets the stage for his novels.
It is a book for the die-hard fan, who,
after reading Auster's novels, seeks to
learn something about the life that gen-
erated his work- like buying "Coda"
after wearing out all the old Zeppelin
albums.
But, it leaves off when things really
get interesting. Auster whets our appetite
only to stop abruptly in 1980, before the
first of hishnovels was published.
Readers finish the memoir wondering,
"OK, so then what?"
Still, "Hand to Mouth" does excite
readers' curiosity about Auster's novels,
and it's often fascinating to learn about
the private lives of favorite authors.
Those who are new to Auster's work,
and those who have enjoyed it for years,
will find something to interest them in
"Hand to Mouth.'

Fundraising
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Division of
Student Affairs

By Caryn Burtt
Daily Arts Writer
With all the talk this year about over-
crowding, student housing has become
a touchy subject. But, despite the horror
stories of overflow triples and converted
lounges, something can still be said for
residence halls.
Ninety-four percent of University
first-year students live in residence
halls, which is an unusually high per-
centage among colleges, said Alan
Levy, director of Housing Public
Affairs. It is especially rare at a school
that does not require residence in uni-
versity-sponsored housing.
"It's the easiest way to go' said LSA
first-year student Erin Muladore. "If
you don't know anything about Ann
Arbor, it would be hard to figure out a
living situation"
While some first-year students might
look at living in a residence hall as a
stage through which they'll just have to
suffer, others see benefits in University
housing.
"East Quad is really friendly" said
Goodhart. "It has a homey, comfortable
environment:'
Certain residence halls do provide a
less-threatening atmosphere for
University newcomers. According to
the University housing homepage
(http://www.housing.umich.edu/), resi-
dence halls such as Mary Markley,
Alice Lloyd and Couzens house mostly
first-year students, and also offer liv-
ing-learning communities.
Programs such as the Lloyd Hall
Scholars Program (formerly the Pilot
Program) and the Women in Science
and Engineering program, recently relo-
cated from Couzens to Mosher-Jordan,
offer students the opportunity to live and
learn within their residence hall.
The Lloyd Scholars homepage
(http://wwwlsa.umich.edu/lhsp/info/mi
ssion.html/) reads: "The living-learning
community offers opportunities for
self-discovery ... to make their transi-
tion to college both broadly challenging
and personally smooth."
"I've met a ton of friends, and I real-
ly like all of the people I live with," said
Kim Henlotter, an LSA first-year stu-
dent and Lloyd Hall Scholar.
"We have a really good community
here and lots of in-house programs,"
said Susan Reimann, CORE secretary
at Lloyd. "We have 10 more resident
University Living by
the Numbers
94 percent of University first-year
students live in residence halls
* Sophomores constitute 27 per-
cent of residence hall population
l12 percent of juniors and 8 percent
of senhors live In residence halls
: in 1997, the reapplication rate
for residents in West and South
Quad was 35 percent
330percent of those living in
Brstey r eapled
35 percent of Mary Markley resi-
dents reapply to remain in this ill
hail
175 students hIve In Oxford
HousingO
soN'

staff per capita than any other dorm.
Lloyd is educational and social."
Living-learning communities are
usually not magnets for first-year stu-
dents. Convenience seems to be the
largest force in drawing students to the
residence halls.
"Dorm living is a prerequisite to col-
lege life," said Emilie Goodhart, an RC
first-year student and East Quad resi-
dent. "It's too hard to get an apartment
right away."
Location is also a factor in students'
choice of residence halls. In the hearts
of many first-year students, Central
Campus residence halls triumph in the
name of convenience.
Muladore, now a Betsy Barbour resi-
dent, transferred from Markley in order
to be closer to the heart of campus.
"I put my name on three different
waitlists" Muladore said. "You can't get
any closer to everything than Barbour."
Victoria Huang, an LSA first-year stu-
dent and South Quad resident, agrees
that residence-hall living in general is the
best option for first-year students.
"South Quad has a better location,"
Huang said. "And my friends are just
down the hall."
"But I won't be living here next
year," he said.
Up until about three years ago, a sub-
stantial amount of students would have
shared Huang's sentiment. According to

Levy, the rate of residence hall reappli-
cation was as high as 35 percent in
South Quad and West Quad last year,
with Bursley also reclaiming a good
portion (30 percent) of its students.
South Quad and West Quad tend to
get the most returning students because
of the varying ages of residents in those
residence halls, as compared to a most-
ly first-year-student residence hall like
Markley, which has about a 5 percent
reapplication rate. Overall, sopho-
mores make up about 27 percent of the
total residence hall population.
"I lived in South (Quad) last year.
You're not secluded here, and I've met so
many more people," said Natalie Sloan,
an LSA sophomore and South Quad res-
ident. "There are more upperclassmen
here than in a dorm like Markley."
Celia Chen, an Engineering sopho-
more, lived in Markley as a first-year
student, but reapplied to another Hill
area dorm, Mosher-Jordan.
"I like the Hill area a lot," Chen said.
"I like Palmer Field and the CCRB. I
like being around upperclassmen. Even
though there is about 60 percent fresh-
men this year, it's nothing compared to
Markley."
Central Campus and the Hill area are
not the only areas in demand.
"The numbers of students requesting
North Campus are growing," said Levy.
"The return rate to Bursley is significant,

EMILY NA

Engineering sophomore Alice Miller chills In her popason chair In East Quad.

API

even more so than any other bu
Bursley provides a positive comm
Sophomores are not alone in
for the convenience of University
ing. About 12 percent of the junic
and 8 percent of seniors live in res
halls, Levy said.
Kourtney Rice, an LSA junio
her third year living in Stockwell
"You don't have to cook or pay
Rice said. "And Stockwell is one
nicer dorms on campus. It's hom
Greg Martin, an LSA junior, h
opted to live in residence halls th
out his college career, but for s
UNIVERSITY SECI
YOUR GL
Author:

Make the most of your student organization and come see us in room 2209
Michigan Union. Questions? Call 763-5900 or email salead@umich.edu.

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