THE BUCCANEER | CAMPUS FEATURES
TITLES OF NOTE Perry Feyk, Upper School English Teacher
the right order. It’s good, you know, when you got a woman who is a friend of your mind.” The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin “One of the best science fiction novels ever, about a planet where the inhabitants are male and female: It is about what it is to be human, and how we confuse gender with humanity. It will change the way you see the world.” To say retiring English teacher Perry Feyk is a bibliophile is to fail to fully articulate his love for the written word. His wall of beloved quotes, plucked from a variety of tomes in the literary canon, has been as much of a classroom staple over the years as Feyk himself. “I realize that if you want to know someone, look at their bookshelf, and ask them what they love most about what they read. That, will reveal the person,” Feyk says. Here is a small glimpse into Mr. Feyk’s bookshelf — the self-selected, top five books he has taught as part of Benjamin’s English curriculum over the years. And, of course, his thoughts on them, and the quote(s) from each book that has resonated most with him. Beloved by Toni Morrison “Gritty, powerful, painful at times, but so deep and soul changing. Morrison goes deeper than any writer I know into the human heart.” Sixo on true love: “She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all 24
Estraven, the main character, explains not patriotism, but true love of country: “Hate Orgoryn (his rival kingdom, with whom they are on the verge of war)? No, how should I? How does one hate a country, or love one? Tibe (his secretary of state) talks about it; I lack the trick of it. I know people, I know towns, farms, hills and rivers and rocks. I know how the sun at sunset in autumn falls on the side of a certain plowland in the hills; but what is the sense of giving a boundary to all that, of giving it a name and ceasing to love where the name ceases to apply? What is love of one’s country? Is it hate of one’s uncountry? Then it’s not a good thing. Is it simply self love? That’s a good thing, but one mustn’t make a virtue of it, or a profession...Insofar as I love life, I love the hills of the Domain of Estre (his country), but that sort of love does not have a boundary line of hate. And beyond that, I am ignorant, I hope.” The Lords of Discipline by Pat Conroy “I think Conroy’s best. Based on his experience at The Citadel, the off-themainstream narrator Will McLean and his three roommates confront joy and
