2008 Woodie Awards
SAEeastward Ho! and other W&L novellas
Dave Monroe
Issue date: 2/14/07 Section: Distractions
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Like the third floor of a sorority house, Washington and Lee is ripe with delicious secrets that only an esteemed few come to fully understand. Having long pondered these mysteries, I have come up with a means to let the rest of us vicariously experience aspects of W&L life that would otherwise be out of our reach: the novella. Longer than the short story, but shorter than the novel, the novella is the perfect tool to help others experience a "slice of life."
SAEastward Ho! : A classic rise-and-fall tragedy, "SAEastward Ho!" details the event-filled freshman year of an aspiring E-dog. The protagonist, a Southern hotshot with all the right moves, decides that SAE is the place for him soon after arriving at W&L. He spends his fall term enjoying a host of forbidden delights on the fraternity's tab. As soon as Tear Night is over, however, his Edenic bubble is shattered. He realizes that college is not all about beer, boobs and babes.
After compromising most of his values, the protagonist finally undergoes a centuries-old initiation ceremony. Bitter and broken, he dedicates his idle moments to fantasizing about the role he will play in next year's pledgeship. The novella ends with an ambiguous ending that may or may not leave the plot open for a sequel.
Ideally, "SAEastward Ho!" would be the first of a long-running series. Future installments would provide insights into other rungs of the Greek ladder. Possibilities include "Fraternity Light: A Kappa Sig Story" and "Fiji: I've Gotta Pledge Somewhere, Right?"
Heavy is the Crown: It's tough to be on top. It's not all peaches and cream for the big men on campus. Like the Nietzschean übermensch or the Star-Child from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, these individuals have reached a transcendent state of sweetness, and are unsure of what to do next. Going to parties, imbibing substances, and porking babes no longer interests them. They have tasted all the nectars that W&L's social life can offer. In short, without challenges their life has become a bore. "Heavy is the Crown" would essentially be about one man's existensialist search for meaning during the twilight of his W&L career.
SAEastward Ho! : A classic rise-and-fall tragedy, "SAEastward Ho!" details the event-filled freshman year of an aspiring E-dog. The protagonist, a Southern hotshot with all the right moves, decides that SAE is the place for him soon after arriving at W&L. He spends his fall term enjoying a host of forbidden delights on the fraternity's tab. As soon as Tear Night is over, however, his Edenic bubble is shattered. He realizes that college is not all about beer, boobs and babes.
After compromising most of his values, the protagonist finally undergoes a centuries-old initiation ceremony. Bitter and broken, he dedicates his idle moments to fantasizing about the role he will play in next year's pledgeship. The novella ends with an ambiguous ending that may or may not leave the plot open for a sequel.
Ideally, "SAEastward Ho!" would be the first of a long-running series. Future installments would provide insights into other rungs of the Greek ladder. Possibilities include "Fraternity Light: A Kappa Sig Story" and "Fiji: I've Gotta Pledge Somewhere, Right?"
Heavy is the Crown: It's tough to be on top. It's not all peaches and cream for the big men on campus. Like the Nietzschean übermensch or the Star-Child from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, these individuals have reached a transcendent state of sweetness, and are unsure of what to do next. Going to parties, imbibing substances, and porking babes no longer interests them. They have tasted all the nectars that W&L's social life can offer. In short, without challenges their life has become a bore. "Heavy is the Crown" would essentially be about one man's existensialist search for meaning during the twilight of his W&L career.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Hank
posted 2/16/07 @ 3:14 PM EST
tell Dave Monroe that the correct spelling is:
"existentialist"......
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