Hail to Thee, Okoboji U! : A Humor Anthology on Higher Education

Hail To Thee, Okoboji U! Is A Collection Of Articles, Stories, Poems, And Drawings That Pokes Fun At The Revered Institution Of Higher Education. Nothing Is Sacrosanct; Everything Is Fair Game: Admissions Procedures, Intercollegiate Sports, Student Affairs, Professors, The Curriculum - English, Music, Art, History, Philosophy, Science - College And University Presidents, Commencements, Alumni Affairs, And Fund Raising. The Anthology Includes Some Of America's Most Distinguished Writers And Artists: Woody Allen, Russell Baker, Roy Blount, Jr., Robert Benchley, Jules Feiffer, Fran Lebowitz, Henry Martin, Don Marquis, Mary Mccarthy, Ogden Nash, Frank Sullivan, James Thurber, Garry Trudeau, Mark Twain, Peter Devries, And E. B. White. Contributors Also Include Richard Armour, Jeremy Bernstein, Max Eastman, John Kenneth Galbraith, Randall Jarrell, Vladimir Nabokov, Samuel F. Pickering, Jr., John Crowe Ransom, Leo Rosten, Delmore Schwartz, Calvin Trillin, And Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Though Higher Education Is Universally Renowned For Fostering Prodigious Learning And Wondrous Knowledge, Hail To Thee, Okoboji U! Reminds Us That This Eminent Intellectual Institution Is Caught In The Meshes Of The Nonsensical And The Ludicrous - The Querulousness Of Faculty Meetings, The Posturing Of College Presidents, The Banality Of Commencement Speeches, The Inanity Of Arcane Scholarship, Etc., Etc., - And That, Therefore, The Institution's Important Personages Best Not Take Themselves Too Seriously. Hail To Thee, Okoboji U! Takes A Light-hearted Look At The Groves Of Academe And Will Appeal To Administrators And Faculty Members, Graduates And Students, And All Of Us Who Wonder What Really Goes On In The Ivory Towers.--book Jacket. Introduction -- A Short History Of Higher Education / Richard Armour -- Solemnity, Gloom And The Academic Style: A Reflection / John Kenneth Galbraith -- How To Get In / Richard Armour -- The Rich Scholar ; Off To College / Teresa Bloomingdale -- Gather Round, Collegians / Roy Blount, Jr. -- I'm Intelligent And Get Nowhere / Jules Feiffer -- Hail To Thee, Okoboji! / Newsweek -- Wherefore Art Thou Nittany? / Calvin Trillin -- University Days / James Thurber -- Letters / Teresa Bloomingdale -- Graffiti On A Washroom / Mrs. Gene Arthur -- She's All I Know About Bryn Mawr / James Thruber -- A Taste Of Princeton / Max Eastman -- Hell Only Breaks Loose Once / James Thruber -- Sexual Harassment At Harvard: Three Letters / John Kenneth Galbraith -- The Sage's Progress / Samuel Pickering, Jr. -- The Mind Of Professor Primrose / Ogden Nash -- The Posthumous Reputation Of Professor Crump / David M. Rein -- It's Publish Or Perish / Mischa Richter -- I Know, But All Promises Are Off / William Hamilton -- The Faculty Meeting / Jeremy Bernstein -- Faculties At Large / John R. Clark -- Professor Pnin / Vladimir Nabokov -- The Rivercliff Golf Killings / Don Marquis -- Two Limericks / Bennett Cerf -- Interview Of Professor Cavendish / Garry Trudeau -- Professor Tattersall / Peter De Vries -- Report On The Barnhouse Effect / Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Soby / Wright Morris. The Curriculum / Richard Armour -- Memo From Osiris / Gary Jay Williams -- Catalog Of Courses: Aquarius U. Non Campus Mentis / John D. Kirwan -- Easy Road To Culture, Sort Of / Eric Larrabee -- Handy-dandy Plan To Save Our Colleges / Leo Rosten -- Jocelyn College / Mary Mccarthy -- Reforming Yale / Mark Twain -- The Groves Of Academe: Deep, Deep Words / Willard P. Espy -- Students Of The Class Of '58 / Jules Feiffer -- Survey Of Literature / John Crowe Ransom -- Shakespeare Explained / Robert Benchley -- Good, But Not Immortal / Al Ross -- The Shakespeare Interview / Brock Brower -- Professor Gratt / Donald Hall -- The Cliche Expert Testifies On Literary Criticism / Frank Sullivan -- Today's Book Is A Rather Bulky But Promising / Jules Feiffer -- Great Poets / Richard Armour -- Lines Long After Pope, By A Reader Of Freshman Themes / Richard Armour -- Webley I. Webster: Wisdom Of The Ages / Bob Elliot And Ray Goulding -- He Knows All About Art / James Thruber -- The Immortal Hair Trunk / Mark Twain -- Harpist Shooting Arrow / Al Ross -- How To Understand Music / Robert Benchley -- 1776 And All That. The First Memorable History Of America / Caryl Brahms And Ned Sherrin -- If He Scholars, Let Him Go / Ogden Nash -- Well, Today I Begin My Wonderfully Perceptive And Cogent Book -- So This Is The Hundred-thousand-dollar Wilson P. Donovan Chair Of History / Henry Martin -- He Doesn't Know Anything But Facts / James Thurber. The Truth About History / Roy Blount, Jr. -- If Grant Had Been Drinking At Appomattox / James Thurber -- The Universe And The Philosopher / Don Marquis -- My Philosophy / Woody Allen -- The Higher Pantheism In A Nutshell / A.c. Swinburne -- The Philosopher And The Oyster / James Thurber -- The Boring Leading The Bored / Steve Martin -- Existentialism: The Inside Story / Delmore Schwartz -- Science / Fran Lebowitz -- A Philosopher / Sam Walter Foss -- Whatever It Is, It's Very, Very Little / Stevenson -- Mr. Science / Bob Elliott And Ray Goulding -- One Very Smart Tomato / Russell Baker -- Botanist, Aroint Thee! Or, Henbane By Any Other Name / Ogden Nash -- Nonsense Botany / Edward Lear -- Book Learning / E.b. White -- Prehistoric Animals Of The Middle West / James Thurber -- Professor Gulliver Grebe's Adventures Among The Snarfs / Pierre Berton -- Capture Of Three Physics Professors / James Thurber -- A Pure Mathematician / Arthur Guiterman -- From The Cyclotron Of Berkeley To The Labs Of M.i.t. / Modell -- The Professors Discuss Nuclear War / Jules Feiffer -- Thinking Black Holes Through / Roy Blount, Jr. -- The Purist / Ogden Nash -- Theoretical Theories / John Bailey -- Professor Piccard / E.b. White -- How Newton Discovered The Law Of Gravitation / James E. Miller -- President King / Garry Trudeau -- Parlez-vous Presidentialese? / Richard Chait And Madelaine Green -- The Secret Life Of Henry Harting / Mark C. Ebersole -- More Of President King / Garry Trudeau. Marshyhope State University / John Barth -- The Degree / Richard Armour -- President King At Commencement / Garry Trudeau -- President Robbins Of Benton / Randall Jarrell -- My Speech To The Graduates / Woody Allen -- Graduationese / Andrew A. Rooney -- President Gorman, Distinguished Faculty / Henry Martin -- Congratulations, And Please Have All Bills Paid / Henry Martin -- Grooving With Academe / Russell Baker -- An Old Grad Remembers / Frank Sullivan -- The Cultured Girl Again / Ben King -- The Sun Goes Up, The Sun Goes Down / Richard Cline -- Alumni News / Andrew Ward -- Twenty-fifth Reunion / Richard Armour -- Dear Classmate: Old Annual Giving Time Is Here Again / Henry Martin -- The Final Final Exam / David Newman And Robert Benton -- Holy Moses, Will You Look At These Insipid Faces / Garry Trudeau -- Turning Back To The Campus / Russell Baker -- Improbable Epitaph / Don Marquis. Selected And Edited By Mark C. Ebersole. Hail to Thee, Okoboji U! is a collection of articles, stories, poems, and cartoons that pokes irreverent fun at higher education. Nothing is sacrosanct; everything is fair game: admissions procedures, intercollegiate sports, student affairs, professors, college presidents, commencements, alumni affairs, fund-raising and the cirriculum-English, music, art, history, philosophy, science. The anthology includes some of America's most distinguished writers and artists, including: Woody Allen, Richard Armour, Russel Baker, Jeremy Bernstein, Roy Blount, Jr., Robert Benchley, Peter DeVries, Max Eastman, Jules Feiffer, John Kenneth Galbraith, Randall Jarrell, Fran Lebowitz, Henry Martin, Don Marquis, Mary McCarthy, Ogden Nash, Vladimir Nobokov, Samuel F. Pickering, Jr. John Crowe Ransom, Leo Rosten, Frank Sullivan, Delmore Schwartz, James Thurber, Calvin Trillin, Garry Trudeau, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and E.B. White. Though higher education is universally renowned for fostering prodigous learning and wondrous knowledge, Hail to Thee, Okoboji U! is a reminder that eminent intellectual institutions are often caught in the meshes of the nonsensical and the ludicrous- the querolousness of faculty meetings, the posturing of college presidents, the banality of commencement speeches, the inanity of arcane scholarship- and therefore, an institution's important personages had best not take themselves too seriously. Hail to Thee, Okoboji U! offers a light-hearted look at the groves of academe and appeals to administrators and faculty members, graduates and students, and all who would like to have an insiders look at what goes on in the ivory towers.