I
n the early 1970s while
canvassing politically on
Labor in Vain Road in Ipswich,
Massachusetts, during my
brief foray into electoral politics
(itself a labor in vain) I came
upon John Updike clearing
some of his property. We talked
about my primary campaign for
what folks in Massachusetts
call the Great and General
Court, Ipswich and his books. I
suggested that he should take
a long sabbatical in Europe,
a sort of pilgrimage, which I
explained had done wonders for
myself in terms of developing
a perspective. Although at the
time I didn���t quite tell him, I felt
his work lacked a dimension, or
he seemed a large personality
too much contained. Or,
perhaps, being in my early
twenties, I lacked the dimension
to discern and/or empathize
with his work.
HYLAND
