Purdue University College of Liberal Arts
Information for
Bill Yazbec
B.A. Film Studies, Purdue University, 1993MFA Creative Writing, University of Memphis, 2002
Ph.D (A.B.D.) English, Florida State University, 2007
Professor Lawton,
I don't know if you remember me or not. It's been a few years (15). I've just been thinking a lot about you and my time in your classes since I heard of Antonioni' s passing. I put together an annotated bibliography about everything that had been written about him as a project for you. It was one of the best experiences of my life so far (I'll be 36 this month). I will always think of you and Antonioni as intertwined because I came to it through you although I recall you had a much higher esteem for Pasolini.
I want to wish you well and thank you for your influence upon my life. I turned a corner when I got into your Italian Cinema class and then learned even more in our small seminar with Jim Drummond and Mass Giorgini. I've done well for myself so far. I received an MFA in Creative Writing and am writing my dissertation for my Ph.D. I feel that I owe a lot of that to you as a mentor.
I just wanted to thank you for everything. I've been teaching various subjects at universities for the last nine years and I think of you often when I step into the room. I ' m sure you have heard much of this from former students. I got my stuff together once I got into your class and I've continued to get better as a writer and scholar as I've gone on and I appreciate your guidance more than you know.