Correcting the Record
Editor's Note:
*A column printed last week ("BOOKED SOLID: Artistic License," Oct. 15) included an account of what the writer, Evan Lambert, described as a first-person meeting with Kirk Read, the author of "How I Learned to Snap," (2003).**##
*"I must have done something right because afterward he asked me out for a cup of coffee," Lambert wrote, later adding, "I ordered a triple-shot espresso with a sprinkling of supreme disappointment."**##
*Read contacted The Dartmouth after the column's publication to say he had no recollection of the meeting with Lambert. Asked about the discrepancy, Lambert said that he attended an event held by Read at William and Mary College in February 2007 and asked for Read's autograph, and that Read then invited Lambert to walk with him and a group of others to buy a cup of coffee. Lambert said the group quickly dispersed after finding no sites were open. The essay should not have implied a formal invitation for a coffee date or a longer meeting between the two men.**##
To the Editor:
I'm very troubled by Evan Lambert's recent column ("BOOKED SOLID: Artistic License," Oct. 15) because it's full of blatant fabrication. I never had a conversation over coffee with Lambert. The show he says he saw let out well after midnight. If we met, it was in a group of people loading gear out to our tour van. After two performances in a row and three weeks on the road, I don't know how much charisma he expected. His physical description of me is a lie: He called me overweight, middle-aged, hairy and with facial hair. At the time of the show, I was 34 years old, 155 pounds and didn't have any facial hair. How would he know whether I was "hairy" or not (I'm not) on a dark street? When Lambert was in high school, he read my book and sent me a fan e-mail. We both grew up in Virginia, so I invited him to the show when it came to his town. He repays me by writing slander and taking mean-spirited shots at my character and appearance. I've maintained an open door to gay teenagers who reached out to me through my book. Lambert completely took advantage of that kindness. Beth Lisick, the other writer he maligns, is one of the nicest, funniest people on earth. Neither of us deserved to be characters in Lambert's imaginative fan fiction. He says that when he writes his memoir, he's going to "lie a lot."
It looks like he's gotten a head start.
Kirk ReadSan Francisco, Calif.
All Flavors Welcome
To the Editor:
I want to echo Phil Aubart's comments on Joseph Asch '79 in The Dartmouth on Oct. 14 ("Bleeding Green Alumnus," Oct. 14). Devotion to Dartmouth and the development of its students comes in many flavors. While I have never been fond of coffee or chocolate ice cream, others are and I don't deny each has a welcome spot at Ben & Jerry's. Similarly, while Asch and I pursue our support of Dartmouth's programs in different ways, I would debate anyone that challenges his devotion as inferior to mine. Besides the opinions that Asch espouses (some of which I support, including those regarding former Dean of the College Tom Crady and the alcohol obsession of the Hanover Police), he has independently spent personal funds outside the "normal" paths of contributions that, my guess is, exceed the majority and perhaps vast majority of alumni. While I certainly disagree with Asch on a wide variety of topics, he and I are totally aligned on the need for Dartmouth's principal orientation to be the interactive education of undergraduates at the College. There are many I's in university, but none in college, team or leader.
Asch and I agree that Dartmouth should focus on the development of the latter, not the former, and enthusiasm for this end should always be applauded.
William H. Mitchell '79Hanover, N.H.1979 Class Officer
