Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.
Actor Leopold Lowe dove right into character while reading an excerpt from Jody Lester’s most recent novel during the lecture “Memory and Identity: Fiction.”
In the excerpt, middle-aged Julian reflects on his first true love, whom he met in 1919. Julian has been happily married for 17 years, but has never forgotten Margaret Woods (informally known as Cricket), the girl who broke “the crystal box of dreams” he calls his heart. The scar she tore in him never healed, and Julian tells us the story of going to back to meet her and to ask her why she did this to him. By the end of the story, Julian begins to understand that he was just one more character in Cricket’s life, one more chapter in a story that started long before he got there.
Originally preparing for a career in academia, author Jody Lester received her M.A. and PhD in American Studies from Yale University. Eventually, however, she realized that wanted to pursue fiction writing. She has written a three-novel series called The Squibnoket Series (Squibnoket being a fictional island off the Massachusetts Coast) that is in the process of being edited, and “Cricket” is a short excerpt that the main character of her book reads while contemplating having an affair.
At the end of the reading, Sue Beddoe explained Lester’s ideas behind the work and her wish to capture some of the sentiment of the Harlem Renaissance. Leopold Lowe’s resonant voice and embodiment of Julian helped to transport the audience back to this era.
