[Previous entry: "Hubie Brown"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Virtual Cities"]

06/22/2005 Archived Entry: "John Lovas"

I was very saddened to hear this morning that John Lovas passed away. For the last month or so, I wondered why his blog was uncharacteristically silent. I only knew John from our blogs and private emails. But what I did know was an open person always willing and eager to engage intellectually with others. He was interested in technology and learning and shared a great deal with us. When I posted a rant or got carried away, he jumped in and offered up his experience and insight. He had a great deal to say about the community college experience, but more broadly, about writing in general. Even more so, he listened to the new voices in the field even if he didn't always agree with us. He was interested in what we had to say and his voice gave us new perspectives about the field.
I enjoyed reading about his experiences as well; his explorations of the Bay area with his iPod, his photos of the Bay area, his thoughts on street signs, random encounters, found objects, overlaps of songs he was listening to and people he was watching, his interactions with students. I also caught a glimpse of his own heartache, the loss of his son several years ago. His resignation from his teaching position. His last dated entry on his blog is entitled "Beginnings." It ends with this observation of a found 5 X 7 note card commenting on a past student's work.

And so the teaching challenge is to get the student to connect the banalities to real experiences, observations, or recollections. When that happens, there's a real chance for a paper worth reading.

Posted by joanna @ 06/26/2005 01:21 PM EST

These are sweet words, J.

A kind memory for someone who was a friend to this space.

Posted by jenny @ 06/22/2005 08:44 PM EST