Jun 4, 2022·edited Jun 4, 2022Liked by Claire Potter
I love, love, love this essay, which I hope gets picked up by some other outlet because more people need to read it. Of course, you know I gave up on institutions and became a freelance worker way back in 1989, which is why I am poorer than I should be at my age, but also why I am able to do creative work that never would have happened otherwise given the sort of person I am. I love that you're going to learn an instrument! How about guitar? Because then, when you see more of family, which will mean seeing more of me (yes, I do want to see you more), we can play together, something we used to do when we were kids and, as I remember, was a helluva lot of fun. Congratulations!
Dear Claire, Thanks for this view from above. Here is a sketch of a different alternative -- from my academic career at an older age. Realizing in my second decade of college teaching that I would probably never land tenure track -- the impossible dream -- I did find a very interesting departmental niche at a very famous university that placed me in a very different kind of classification. One of my male mentors, a previous department chair, explained that my job would not likely be as well paid or safe as the tenured thing, BUT I would likely be secure if I did the work and kept on publishing at a rate that kept my publications and contributions in view. He called my status "moral tenure" and that is how I continued.....in time there were occasional paid semester leaves, modest raises and respect from old time colleagues and newcomers who were interested in how I was handling the challenges. My ambition sharpened and my focus got strong. My spouse and I became mothers and eventually I got the leave that took me, after 20 years of research/writing/editing -- to a respectable university press that warmly took the work and supported the distribution. The book came out in 2015 and was well reviewed and cited by scholars I respect. It's still in print and I expect it will have a good run for some time.
Hi, Claire, Congratulations on retiring ahead of your plan. I have been talking about retirement since I started working, but now that the time is actually approaching, I'm not sure I will retire at my full social security age. But being at an age when health might be an issue, I've stopped trying to look too far ahead. I look forward to reading the books you will write, and hope that we will be able to visit in person some time. Peter
I love, love, love this essay, which I hope gets picked up by some other outlet because more people need to read it. Of course, you know I gave up on institutions and became a freelance worker way back in 1989, which is why I am poorer than I should be at my age, but also why I am able to do creative work that never would have happened otherwise given the sort of person I am. I love that you're going to learn an instrument! How about guitar? Because then, when you see more of family, which will mean seeing more of me (yes, I do want to see you more), we can play together, something we used to do when we were kids and, as I remember, was a helluva lot of fun. Congratulations!
Dear Claire, Thanks for this view from above. Here is a sketch of a different alternative -- from my academic career at an older age. Realizing in my second decade of college teaching that I would probably never land tenure track -- the impossible dream -- I did find a very interesting departmental niche at a very famous university that placed me in a very different kind of classification. One of my male mentors, a previous department chair, explained that my job would not likely be as well paid or safe as the tenured thing, BUT I would likely be secure if I did the work and kept on publishing at a rate that kept my publications and contributions in view. He called my status "moral tenure" and that is how I continued.....in time there were occasional paid semester leaves, modest raises and respect from old time colleagues and newcomers who were interested in how I was handling the challenges. My ambition sharpened and my focus got strong. My spouse and I became mothers and eventually I got the leave that took me, after 20 years of research/writing/editing -- to a respectable university press that warmly took the work and supported the distribution. The book came out in 2015 and was well reviewed and cited by scholars I respect. It's still in print and I expect it will have a good run for some time.
Dear Claire, Retirement is the best! I retired early, at 62, and have never regretted it. Enjoy!
Hi, Claire, Congratulations on retiring ahead of your plan. I have been talking about retirement since I started working, but now that the time is actually approaching, I'm not sure I will retire at my full social security age. But being at an age when health might be an issue, I've stopped trying to look too far ahead. I look forward to reading the books you will write, and hope that we will be able to visit in person some time. Peter