I'm doing a project of 100 monologues by imaginary
students, faculty, administrators, donors, and staff
at the University of Mississippi in 1957. After this
I will do a similar project set at Columbia University
in 1967, and then a final one at a college to be
determined set in 1977.
This is from the Mississippi project >>
Frank Daniel Glass
Student
At the SAE house we watch a lot of
Television but there are also books
That we pass around and laugh about
Except sometimes we also discuss
Them seriously and even angrily.
One of the books is “Peyton Place”
About the goings on in a small town
Some of which are of a sexual nature
But “Peyton Place” is also surprisingly
Philosophical in some long passages.
For example, “Peyton Place” begins
“Indian summer is like a woman.
“Ripe, hotly passionate, but fickle.”
And there is also sex and abortion
With the character of Betty Anderson.
On the other hand, “Peyton Place”
Has passages like, “Why pray at all?
“God will do what he wants anyway.”
We have had discussions about this
Besides about Betty taking off her bra.
The other book we pass around is
Called “Mandingo” by Kyle Onstott.
This is an amazing book about which
People would get really angry because
Of the way it depicts the Old South.
However, I did not get angry about it
And just to get the brothers’ goats
I said “Mandingo” was the opposite of
How “Gone With The Wind” prettified
The South so “Mandingo” uglified it.
In “Mandingo” all the white people are
Racists to which some of the brothers
Objected but I asked how can a person
Own Negro slaves without being racist?
The idea of that is even quite laughable.
There were times when we almost came
To blows about “Mandingo” but I said
Honesty is the best policy in a book.
I even wrote an English paper about
“Mandingo” for which I received an F.