 |
|
Alumnae Quarterly, Spring 1980
Miss Marks and Miss Woolley
Almost two years after its publication I would like to express my appreciation to Anna Mary Wells for her book Miss Marks and Miss Woolley.
As a student in Miss Marks's playshop classes from 1936 to 1938 I knew nothing of the background Miss Wells so judiciously presents. I doubt that any of us knew that Miss Marks had been a serious writer.
In those years, the ill disposition and arrogance described in the book were not apparent in the conduct of her classes. While she was not on democratic terms with any of us, we felt deeply that she was aware of and considerate of our individual vulnerabilities.
I am glad I did not know her history at that time. I'm indebted to Miss Wells that I have some idea of it now. It humbles the imagination to know at what cost some of us endure our lives.
The brief descriptions of Miss Marks's and Miss Woolley's deaths are beautifully written. Here is the third act that none of us, Miss Marks's students, were capable of writing.
Thisbe Grieco Comins '38
Andover, Massachusetts