Writer hopes Hickman students get an early sense of the world.
One of the first things a student at Hickman High School demanded to know from best-selling author Peter Hessler was: Did he really eat a rat?
“I actually ate two rats,” he replied to the mortified young woman during a question and answer session Wednesday arranged by Hickman teacher George Frissell. “I didn’t do it for free, so there’s a difference,” Hessler said, explaining that he ate the rats for an article he was writing for The New Yorker magazine.
Hessler, a 1988 Hickman graduate who has written two books and many essays for publications including The New Yorker and National Geographic, returned to Hickman to share with the students his experiences from the 10 years he spent in China as a writer, teacher and member of the Peace Corps.
“As a student, I didn’t have much of a sense of the outside world,” he said. “I hope they (the students) get an earlier start.”
Hessler returned to the United States this year to work on his third book, which will depict Hessler’s driving experiences in China. He has been visiting family in Columbia, including his mother, Anne, an adjunct professor of history at Columbia College, and his father, Richard, who will celebrate his retirement as a professor of sociology at MU with a party this week.
During his speech, Hessler appealed to aspiring writers by explaining how he found himself called to writing through English courses he took at Hickman. “I would hope that students realize that you don’t have to live in a small town in China to become a writer,” he said. “There are many different paths.”
The message resonated for Hickman senior Corey Portell, who studied Hessler’s writings in her Advanced Placement language and composition class. “I had no idea that that’s how you got into writing,” she said. “You can just pitch something and go.”
Frissell said he coordinated Hessler’s visit to show students the potential in their lives in the areas of travel, language and writing. Teachers of sociology, British literature, film studies and Advanced Placement government have been integrating Hessler’s writing into their classes. He has written two books, “River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze” and “Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China’s Past and Present” — which was a 2006 finalist in nonfiction for the National Book Award — and several essays.
“His speech demonstrates how integrated all of the disciplines are,” Frissell said. “If you know something about one discipline, it is relevant to many others.”
Carol Kieninger, whose Advanced Placement language and composition students attended the speech, said they were excited to ask Hessler questions about his writing. “That was actually one of my students that asked about the rat,” Kieninger said. “I was impressed by the variety of questions students asked. It showed a diversity of interest.”
Portell, who is interested in international studies, said she appreciated the opportunity to hear from a Hickman graduate who has traveled the world and become “culturally aware.”
“Hickman is pretty interesting like that,” she said. “We take community events and speeches and connect them to what is going on in the classroom.”