Newspapers / Salem College Student Newspaper / Feb. 26, 1976, edition 1 / Page 5
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Thursday, February 26, 1976 THi SALBMiTt Page Five Share Their Philosophies HEYWOOD (Photo by Jan Warner) By Marilyn Mycoff : The Rev. Carter Heyward, pre ferring to be called by her Chris tian name, Carter, spoke during the Biennial Symposium on “The Church’s Image of Women.” The short-haired young woman, who describes herself as assertive and aggressive, told her audience Tuesday night about herself and the process that led to her ordina- t tion as an Episcopalian priest in 1974. Born in Charlotte, North Caro lina in 1945, Rev. Heyward said (that her call to the priesthood, jijthe sense of where she belonged, came when she was very young, j Although majoring in religion in j college, at that time she did not pay much attention to the church ' and went to seminary with the j future occupation of teaching reli- I gion in mind. While working in a parish during seminary, Rev. Hey- ward found that doing the ordinary things women do in the church ! such as “arranging flowers and * polishing silver” did not interest * her and she realized that her true vocation was the priesthood. s In Philadelphia in 1974, four Bishops of good standing ordained eleven women as priests, one of them being Carter Heyward. Al though there is no written law against women being priests, it is the interpretation by the Episcopal Church that has not allowed the ordinations of these eleven women to become valid or completely acceptable. At the present only one tenth of the parishes in the United States will ask any of the women priests to participate in the services. has been good, believes Rev. Hey ward. She recognizes that she will not appeal to everyone but she has especially had gratifying re sponses from teenage girls who “are excited about me and then become excited about themselves and their potential.” In the Epis copal Divinity School in Cam bridge, Massachusetts, where Rev. Heyward is currently an As sistant Professor of Theology, she is finding that the men students are slowly seeking her out for counseling also and she is hope ful that the image of a woman priest will change. She added that 40% of her students are women and about 80% of these women hope to continue and become priests. Carter Heyward told her audi ence that she was a feminist, a hard core liberator and “I rejoice in it,” but she also sees Christi anity not as a sexist organization. She believes that women in the church are saying that the church has got to change to something that people can better relate to and these women are trying to open up new channels for this change. Rev. Heyward feels strongly that everyone does mat ter and “the battle I fight for myself is for all of us.” Rev. Heyward is presently ac tive in the National Episcopal Women’s Caucus, the Board for Theological Education for the Episcopal Church, and is a found ing member of Women’s Ordina tion Now. In a dialogue with the audience. Carter Heyward gave several rea sons for the slow process of letting women be ordained as priests in the church. She said in the past it was thought that women were inferior and had no souls. Martin Luther said women were for child bearing only and even Henry VIII, starter of the Episcopal Church, was hard on women. This outlook towards women, according to Rev. Heyward, has been difficult to overcome. In the parishes where the wom en are wanted, Carter Heyward feels they have been readily ac cepted and treated much like the men ministers, but because work- ing in a parish is the best exper ience, the women’s chances are hurt by the refusal of most of the parishes. Generally the response from lay people or members of the Church in regard to her counseling them HARDWICK By Jennifer Caldwell Elizabeth Hardwick walks vaguely into the Greensboro Air port, looking forward in all direc tions. She sees an unofficial wel coming sign bearing the words “Salem College.” Her eyes light up as she walks faster: “Here I am!” This statement echoes what seems to be her statement on life. She is not hesitant to say where she stands. During her brief lec ture, mainly on women’s litera ture, and afterwards in a lively discussion, she had the audience in Hanes Auditorium laughing at her outrageously stated opinions. Her listeners were full of ques tions for this authority on litera ture. Her “wish to experience life through words” has teased her to read literally thousands of books and also to write four of her own; the most recent being Seduction and Betrayal, a collection of essays. Ms. Hardwick’s readers and audience alike are “seduced into careful attention to what she has to say. Through her jocular “Henry James is America’s great est female novelist” the Salem student remembers more than a detailed lecture on his parlor mannerisms. Likewise her more serious state ments can well be adhered to. As a founder and current Advisory Editor of the prestigious New York Review of Books she is able to command respect for her opin ions. Ms. Hardwick does not seem to think highly of the “Best Sel ler” list, saying “One or two you’ve read, the rest you’ve never heard of.” This ties in with her belief that “most people are un imaginative! they all read the same books,” Doubtless these books would in clude only a fraction of those in Ms. Hardwick’s repertoire of read ing. “I’ve always been a passion ate reader,” she says, as if this were necessary to say after lis tening to her discuss characters as friends or live enemies and argue plot and presentation with other authorities in her field. How did she come into this field, notably criticism? With her characteristic ready laughter she explains how she quit work for her PhD in order to write. “Grad ually I did criticism . . . my criticism is really the same as my fiction (more laughter). It’s not academic, it’s more impres sionistic,” she mused. “It came about through my fiction.” Discussing not her own but modern fiction in general, Ms. Hardwick sees no dominant lit erary trend. “Very experimental”, “disconnected parts”, and “frag mented” are descriptions or phrases remembered of her views. She does feel that “women’s things still tend to be more formal and structured” than work done by their male contemporaries and counterparts. Perhaps in thinking of poetry she stresses the current importance of tone. One tone or theme that has had an overwhelming impact in modern society is the so-called “confessionalist” type of work. When quizzed about this sort of writer, Ms. Hardwick logically pointed out “those that are good are good — it’s not a question of subject matter.” She also felt the sexual revolution was more re sponsible than the women’s move ment for many of these publica tions by feminine or feminist writers. To be a woman writer today “you have to say something new”. Ms. Hardwick has recently taught a class in creative writing to women at Smith. Now back at Barnard, Ms. Hardwick empha sizes the difficulty of a writing career, as she did at the Salem symposium. She does not instruct her students on how to get their work published — “Any kind of literary career is chancy.” For the young women who press her for more advice, Ms. Hard wick rather satirically says “You don’t become a writer by sitting at your parent’s home and by going out on Saturday night with your boy friend.” Continuing, she makes it clear that serious writing will hurt. “Artists are not happy people,” she says. “They are rather tormented by themselves. In the ultimate sense, they can’t do their work well. You’re up against yourself. . . you’re limited by your own depth, intelligence, patience.” To be a writer, “requires a special kind of skepticism,” ac cording to Ms. Hardwick. Theo retically, this skepticism may be in all of us. Yet, “there is a great resistance to uncovering what you want to say and then uncovering the language to say it.” This is what separates the artist from “other” men and women. “To present a work of art is an act of aggression,” Ms. Hardwick be lieves. “Society does not care whether a particular person pro duces art.” To hold onto an idea such as this and to keep on writing — and, apparently enjoy ing it — requires a bit of stoicism Ms. Hardwick, with her droll man nerisms and snappy retorts has transcended any worry for what “society” might think. The Old Salem Store A convenient place /a to find that special gift for parents, III ipyp for friends, or— just for yourself . . . CHINA PEWTER CRYSTAL ^lii! FRAMED PRINTS iiii III WOODEN ACCESSORIES iiniii III OLD SALEM REPRODUCTIONS i ^ 614 South Main Street Monday - Saturday 9:30 A.M. - 5 P.M. JEWEL BOX DIAMOND SPECIALISTS FOR OVER 50 YEARS Thruway Shopping Center 722-3211 Five convenient ways to buy; Revolving Charge • Custom Charge • BankAmericard Master Charge • Layaway Elizabeth Hardwick, Dr. Grossett, Lucy Lane, Ms. Edwards. (Photo by Avery Kincaid)
Salem College Student Newspaper
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Feb. 26, 1976, edition 1
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