1503 E. Park Ave., Apt. X8
					Valdosta, GA  31602
					New Year's 1994

Dear beloved family and cherished friends,

	Happy new year, from Valdosta, Georgia, and from a whole 
new life!  A full three years since my graduation from Rollins, I am 
finally a full-time graduate student working toward an MA in English 
at Valdosta State University.  It wasn't easy getting here.
	For me, 1993 started off rather rough.  I was taking a course 
in British Literature at Seminole Community College and my professor 
took ill; it turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the course was 
taken over by the excellent teacher Frank Bonjione.  For him, I wrote 
two papers:  one on the tender relationship between John Keats and his 
mentor Cowden Clarke, the other a comparison of the plays of G. B. Shaw 
and Bertolt Brecht.  But while I was doing this, I was studying for and 
taking my GREs, filling out applications, getting recommendations, and 
driving to interviews--one at Drew University, all the way up in New 
Jersey.
	During my second interview--at VSU--I got word that my 
grandmother had died.  I rushed home and the next day drove up to 
New Jersey again, for the second time in two months.  I was deeply 
upset by her sudden death and wrote several poems about it.  At the 
funeral, I was asked to read a poem that I had dashed off that morning; 
as I drifted off to sleep that night, I realized it was the first time I 
had ever read a poem of mine in public.
	Less than a month later, I was on the road again, this time to 
interview at Clemson University who had accepted me into their 
program but had yet to decide on granting me an assistantship.  When 
I arrived on the campus of over 30,000 students, with several hundred 
English grad students, I was barely noticed.  Leaving Clemson very 
disappointed, I stopped off in Valdosta on my way back and found 
the opposite attitude, attending an English department social where 
I was recognized and welcomed.  That day, I knew where my new 
home would be.
	My summer was spent packing, moving, adjusting to life on 
my own in a new city, making friends, and even finding a girlfriend.  
Unfortunately, we broke up after a month; but I did get some intense 
joy and some interesting poems out of it.  I was also able to make a 
quick trip to Atlanta to see the MLK Center and other museums, and 
help my sister Judith move to Alfred, New York, to study ceramics.
	Classes started up in September and they kept me extremely 
busy.  Every weekend there was at least one (if not two) papers to 
write and over 200 pages to read.  In the graduate seminar, we studied 
the genre of autobiography.  I did papers on the autobiographies of 
Benjamin Franklin and Frederick Douglass.  My final paper was on 
Elie Wiesel's Night, a powerful account of his dehumanization 
during the Holocaust.  I had trouble getting references on Night at 
our VSU library, but during the Thanksgiving break, which I spent 
reunited with my family at my sister's place in Charlottesville, 
Virginia, I was able to make use of the UVA library--the sources I 
got there helped my paper tremendously.
	My other class was much more difficult, as we spent all our 
time studying critical theory.  There I got into quite a fight with my 
professor about a deconstructionist reading of W. B. Yeats.  My major 
project for the term was studying William Carlos Williams' poem "This 
Is Just to Say," and amazed myself that I could get a fifteen page 
paper out of a twelve line poem.  What amazed me even more was 
that I ended the quarter with As in both classes.
	Despite the fact that I moved to Georgia, I'm still writing for 
the Orlando Spectator--my editor refuses to give me up.  
This year, the most controversial articles I wrote were on Thomas 
Jefferson's 250th birthday, gays in the military, and Somalia.  My 
creative writing was not as prolific as in past years--I've authored 
only one short story and two dozen poems.  The good news is that 
next year I might be giving a poetry reading.  Here's hoping for 
the best...
	I wish each and every one of you a most prosperous 1994 
and sincerely hope that I can get to see more of you in the coming 
year.  I treasure your love and friendship.

				Peace on Earth,

				Jonathan Chisdes
				(912) 245-0780