Poetic Justice Read Free Page B

mayor to intervene in the University’s problems). And even had it been possible to get all seven in one place, it was not possible to find the place. The head of the Graduate English Department, a man for whom, Kate had decided over the summer, the term “long-suffering” was meiosis, hadheld several examinations in his living room (to the evident distress of his children, who had planned to watch television at the same time), but after a while all such efforts were given up. When it reached the point where one examination committee (which fortunately included no lady members) met in the men’s room of the Faculty Club, and two of those who had been asked at the last minute to serve had never, it soon became evident, heard of the subject under discussion, the office of the Dean of Graduate Faculties declared itself officially closed. For one thing, with all the student raids on the administration buildings, the secretarial staff became so unnerved at the necessity of shoving all records and dissertations into the safe at the threat of occupation that they flatly refused even to come to the office until things had “quieted down.”
    Today four members of the examining committee had shown up, which was a quorum, and an enormous relief to Kate and the candidate, who had flown in from his teaching post in California especially for the examination. All is, thank God, minimally official, Kate thought, taking her place as chairman at the head of the table. To Kate’s right sat the other member of her department, Peter Packer Pollinger, the official sponsor of the dissertation. To her left sat the two necessary representatives of other departments, Professor Kruger from the German Department, and, next to him, Professor Chang from the Department of Asian Civilization. Professor Chang was present as the result of total desperation, but someone else outside the English Department was required, and, after all, Auden, together with Christopher Isherwood, had gone to China in 1938and written a book about it. The Department of Asian Civilization had told Kate that Professor Chang had never been to China, but one couldn’t ask for everything in outside examiners.
    All began properly enough. Kate asked Mr. Cornford to leave the room and told the committee what facts about Mr. Cornford, provided in a special folder by the office of the Dean of Graduate Faculties, seemed relevant: his education, present position, date and subject of his master’s essay. “Perhaps, then, we can ask the candidate in for the examination,” Kate hopefully said.
    “Clarification, please,” said Professor Chang.
    “I beg your pardon,” Kate said. “I didn’t mean to seem to be rushing. Is there a question about Mr. Cornford? About Auden?”
    “Please. I have read dissertation with great interest and attention. But I would like to point out I am not from Department of Asian Civilization. I am from School of Engineering.”
    “Engineering?” Kate said faintly. “I’m afraid there must be some confusion.”
    “Mr. Auden is most interesting writer,” Professor Chang said, “but are there many limestone landscapes in China?”
    “Limestone landscapes!” Professor Kruger said. “It is more a question of the Weimar Republic. Auden does not realize that the love of death and the rejection of authority …”
    At this point Professor Peter Packer Pollinger began blowing through his mustache, always a sign, as Kate well knew, that he was about to burst into speech. ProfessorPollinger had only three kinds of speeches. The first was about punctuation, particularly about the necessity of keeping all punctuation marks
inside
quotation marks. He had been known to go on about the unbelievable dangers involved in placing punctuation marks
outside
quotation marks for close on to two hours. His second speech had to do with Fiona Macleod, the alter ego and pseudonym of a turn-of-the-century Irish author named William Sharp. He had managed (William Sharp,