M.Krishnamoorthy
A media coach, adjunct professor and author
It is indeed an AWAKENING for me because of the enriching and enlightening events I attended at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK). As I reminisce, my 3.5 years in the United States are all blissful memories. As a former student leader and a part-time teacher now, I can only reimagine and reset to motivate and transform students' minds who face any challenges and not give up if their motive is to help students, the university and the community.
One unforgettable event was when I attended an evening talk in April 1981 by the legendary poet and novelist Tennessee Williams.It was the meeting of a legend, Tennessee Williams, an enigma.
Tennessee Williams paced on stage toward the UTK’s Alumni Hall lectern. Trailing him was a ten-foot tail of smooth black paper stuck to his belt from the back. He wore a blue suit and kept his white yachting cap on. Walking steadily, he reached the podium and shuffled his papers for a keynote speech to mark the opening of the University’s "Celebration Spring," a tribute to the nation's writers and artists.
The audience of 1500 couldn’t resist their giggles. Williams, paying no attention to the tail in the mood of this early Springtime in 1981, raised a pertinent icebreaker question: "Why are we all gathered here?" The audience burst into laughter. The 67-year-old dramatist smiled and turned his face full circle, revolving like a beacon in a lighthouse. "I guess it's the Joseph Wood Krutch lecture," he said. "Oh! yes, I'm supposed to deliver a speech." He chuckled as he gazed through his tinted glasses at the audience and added, "I wrote my speech on a scrappy paper and left it in Key West, Florida."
Williams's energy and ability, even at 70, enabled him to connect to the higher consciousness, which inspired him to write daily and clearly. It may look like we are separate from the world, but in reality, we are connected with it, according to Williams. The trees produce oxygen, which we breathe. The whole universe supports our existence. Writing his philosophical and spiritual thoughts is something he never gave up on himself. He valued his blessings. Williams lived, learned and will leave a legacy as a creative-thinking writer.
As a Malaysian student, I experienced culture shock from the appearance of the artificial tail of the renowned writer I adored. But eventually, I got to know him better as I listened to his talk. The organising committee also invited me to join Williams's special dinner. I was privileged to sit beside him and sip some red wine as he fondly cracked jokes.
We got tickled and laughed at his crazy and mind-boggling jokes. Born in Columbus, Mississippi, and brought up in the South, he looked cheerful and in good spirits as the students and faculty responded to his jokes and the tail, he had put on to evoke laughter. In this manner, one of America's famous playwrights, the most excellent writer of romantic tragedies and comedies and a two-time winner of Pulitzer Prizes for drama, began his three-day visit to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He was a leading playwright and novelist.
Enthused by the desire to entertain his audience, Williams sprinkled his talk with humour as he did through his plays for the past forty years. While interacting with students during question time, the playwright and poet came across to the audience as a humble and simple man.
"I rather enjoy creating characters on stage," he said. "There is no use in doing anything that isn't fine. I guess you should do anything that pleases you. I am sorry I'm not young anymore," Williams reflected and paused. He did not look back but ahead, up the road that we must make a better place. The pin-drop momentary silence was interrupted by a loud voice from the floor.
From the crowd, a crying voice yelled: "Why are you still writing, and why do you like to live longer?"
Williams laughingly replied, "Throw that young man over the balcony." Then, a young girl in the crowd asked, "What would your epitaph be?" The playwright, who has a sharp eye and ear for the nuances of speech and gesture, responded: "I've no plans to be buried on land. However, I plan to make a will that I should be buried in the sea."
The playwright had the courage and resilience to face adversity, which paved the path for his illustrious and ambitious career. He looked at life as a trial every time he faced adversity. He grew up in a very conservative country setting and family. “I reflected on my life. Sometimes, I am too busy thinking about the things I don't have. I forget to cherish my blessings and take them for granted,” he laughed. He lived a lifestyle that matched his vision.
A young woman raised her hand several times and got her chance as Williams pointed toward her. "Do you believe in inspiration? And could you tell us how you started your writing career?" The bearded playwright, who has about 50 plays to his credit, replied: "Honey, there is no inspiration. It's more imagination and perspiration that makes me write. Now, for your second question, I'll make my answer brief. Since childhood, I have been writing and working in a shoe company that employed me. When I returned from work, I would tank up on black coffee to remain awake most of the night, writing short stories I could not sell. Gradually, my health broke down. One day, coming home from work, I collapsed and was admitted to the hospital. The doctor said I couldn't return to the shoe company," said the confident playwright.
Standing restlessly with his tail still on, he continued: "After recovering, I returned to the South to live with my grandparents in Memphis, Tennessee. Then, I began to have a little success with my writing. I became self-sufficient. I completed two more college years and got a B.A. at the University of Iowa in 1938. Later, I travelled extensively and held many part-time jobs of great diversity. It is hard to put the story in correct chronology, for the past few years of my life have been a dizzy kaleidoscope."
The dramatist’s first great success was the Glass Menagerie in 1944. He followed it with Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and other hits but has done little recently. Over the last decade, three of Williams' new full-length plays have appeared on Broadway. None lasted more than a few performances: Out Cry, a reworking of his earlier, The Two-Character Plays, opened in 1973. Eccentricities of a Nightingale, an elaborate rewrite of Summer and Smoke, 1976, and in 1977 Vieux Carre, seemed to be a rehash of several of his earlier, far superior plays. The last mainly was a disjointed, reckless, lazy piece of theatre, yet it contained the same of the most poetic phrases ever heard in commercial theatre for many a year.
Williams abruptly stopped his lecture and turned to the chairman, "Can I have my drink, please?" Within seconds, the chairman rushed a glass of water to Williams. "Not this. I prefer my wine. It's in the bag I brought -- backstage," he protested. The chairman's reply was a firm NO. Liquor was prohibited on campus, and the University of Tennessee is strict and rigid about students drinking alcohol.
Then Williams appealed to the audience, "Can I sip wine?" A thunderous clapping from the students signalled “Yes”. But the reply from the Chairman was still a firm NO. Worn out and tired, Williams sat down to continue his discussion. A question from the far end of the floor was heard: "Why do your plays reflect frustration?" The unmarried playwright rejoined, "Aren't we all frustrated at one time or another?"
“Every artist," he went on, "has a basic premise pervading his whole life, which can provide the impulse in everything he creates. The dominating premise has been the need for understanding, tenderness, and fortitude." Subsequently, Williams spoke about Hollywood and the screenplays he was writing. He focused on the gains, not what he lost, opportunities missed; and plans to succeed.
At this point, the amiable and good-humoured creative writer cautioned the students: "Be careful of Hollywood producers. There are insane fly-by-night operators from whom you'll get a bouncing check if your work is accepted." In retrospect, Williams is a plot writer. While he can tell a story with the best of them, the storyline in most of his well-known plays is more often a rambling, a tangential one -- a filigree curtain blowing in a drafty window rather than a set of shutters being slowly drawn to a close.
His works are gripped through characterisation and poetic imagery, not through the structure. Williams concluded after being the centre of attention for more than an hour, "My life is writing, and I write because I love people." Amid a standing ovation, Tennessee Williams, still with his tail on, walked backstage as if he owned the place. And in the opinion of the students, he did.
My takeaway from his talk was his humility. As a journalist, I must genuinely do something good for others and, more significantly, for humanity. I believe in humility in power, humility in relating with others, modesty in acquiring wealth, and humility in all our endeavours.
Life is indeed transient, and that teaches us humility. At the end of the day, while we live on Mother Earth, let’s serve, help, and derive happiness by seeing the smiles of others. My heart can still feel Williams's endless love, joy and peace. His talk filled my mind with oxytocin, the love hormone. I learned to laugh at my mistakes, love myself, and not bother with what the world thinks of me.
Freelance Writer M. Krishnamoorthy (www.imkrishna.net) is a media coach, adjunct professor and undercover journalist. He has freelanced with Bernama, NST, The Star, and Malaysiakini. He also freelances as a fixer/coordinator for CNN, BBC, German and Australian television networks and the New York Times. As an undercover journalist, he has highlighted society's concerns.
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