the archives of f/k/a . . .

Either my permidementia is really getting out of hand, or the

Summer 2005 edition of the Harvard Law Bulletin arrived really

late — because, I swear, it was stuffed in my mailbox today, along

with the December 2005 edition of Washington [DC] Lawyer. [update:

8 PM: sorting through the rest of my mail, I found an invitation to

a museum opening scheduled for Sept. 18, 2005, and an AARP

life insurance offer that needed a response by Oct. 4.  It seems

I'm not going crazy -- the Summer edition of HLB really did arrive

today.]

 

I first looked through Washington Lawyer, and was pleased to see

an extensive cover article on “Government Attorneys and Pro Bono”

and also a column by DC Bar President John C. Cruden on the topic. 

I hope this coverage will encourage government managers and individual

staffers at all levels of government to expand and encourage participation

in pro bono programs.  (My pro bono work almost three decades ago was

so satisfying that it got me to leave government and antitrust and focus

on mediation and children’s advocacy.)

 

Inspired by the Washington Lawyer pieces, I was discouraged by what  

I saw in the Alumni Letters section of the Harvard Law Bulletin.  In response

to articles in the Spring 2005 HLB, and particularly its backcover, there was

this Letter from HLS student Aaron S. Kaufman (Class of 2006):

The Other Side Uncovered

I am somewhat upset about the back cover of the Spring 2005

issue of the Harvard Law Bulletin, with the full-page photo of Suma

Nair and the quote, “I’m glad there is a pro bono requirement. It brought

me back to why I came here in the first place.” 

 

It misrepresents the views of most law students who very much resent

the law school telling us that we must work a certain number of hours

pro bono. Pro bono is supposed to be something that a lawyer wants to

do, not something that is imposed on us as a prerequisite to graduation.

While I doubt, for political reasons, that you’re going to put a full-page

picture of me on the back of the Bulletin saying, “I truly resent the pro

bono requirement,” I would appreciate if you make some sort of apology

or emphasize that Ms. Nair’s views are atypical. Or at the very least,

please present views on the other side of the issue.

Aaron S. Kaufman ‘06
Cambridge, Mass.

  f/k/a covered the Giving Back edition of HLB here, where we noted:

The latest edition of the Harvard Law Bulletin (Spring 2005) features a

cover that reads “Giving Back: Harvard Law School wants all lawyers

to get involved in public service.”   I recommend “Sowing the seeds of

public service at HLS”, as well as “Requirement connects law students

to the practice of public service, which  describe the HLS pro bono require-

ment, its purpose, and the flexible ways it can be fulfilled.  The program,

which apparently helps attract some of the very best students, hopes to

make even the most skeptical student see how fulfilling it can be to make

public service a part of your life (by following your bliss).  There are some

good anecdotes.

I hope the skeptical and “somewhat upset” Mr.Kaufman has mellowed on this

topic. 

 

 

 

small town news

just enough paper

to cover the wino

 

 

 

 

 

city sunset

two men prowl the ruins

of a burned out house

 

 

thunder

the migrant workers

never look up

 

 

laid off

she asks the mall santa to

bring dad a job

 

 

ed markowski 

 

 

p.s.  Do you think it is deceptive for a solo practitioner to call

his or her law practice a “firm”?  How about calling it “The Law

Offices of . ..”?  See this article in Washington Lawyer, and

this post at MyShingle, with comments.

 

 

 

the rookie cop rousts

an old hobo —

feeding plump pigeons

 

    dagosan

                                                                                                 

 

If you saw our sneak preview of the haiku of Hilary Tann,
on December 3rd, you can perhaps understand why we’re
so pleased to welcome Hilary as f/k/a’s newest Honored
Guest Poet.

Hilary is a founding member of the Rt. 9 Haiku Group, which
has produced the semiannual Upstate [NY] Dim Sum Journal
since 2001. In addiiton to Hilary, the exclusive four-member
group includes john stevenson, tom clausen, yu chang (who
all joined the f/k/a family during 2005). Each of the Rt.-9ers is
known for creating excellent haiku/senryu, of depth and breadth,
while maintaining a unique poetic voice. By meeting each month
for a leisurely, multi-course dim sum meal, at which haiku are pre-
sented, discussed, and sometimes revivsd, the four Rt. 9 members
have established a special artistic environment and helped nurture
the body of work presented in the Dim Sum journal. Hilary brings
– as each of her male co-members will attest — a special vitality
to their sessions and to their journal.

Underlying Hilary Tann’s very recognizable voice is her experience
growing up in the coal-mining valleys of South Wales, which has
inspired both her poetry and her “main” artistic endeavor as a
music composer.

Professor and Former Chair of the Department of Per-
forming Arts at Union College, in Schenectady, New York,
Hilary she lives southeast of the Adirondack Mountains, on
the banks of the Hudson River, with her husband, and beloved
collie dog.

Hilary’s website bio explains:

As a composer (for Oxford University Press since 1989) her work
is of necessity forward-looking, shaping different futures. Her
enjoyment in reading and writing haiku stems in no small part from
the fact that haiku train her once more to be “of the moment.”

Despite her travels to Wales and around the nation and world, when her compo-
sitions are being performed, Hilary finds time to create one-breath poetry that graces
UDS, along with various anthologies, and leading journals, such as Frogpond
and The Heron’s Nest.

Here are excellent examples that I hope will make you seek out more
of Hilary’s work:

from the very first edition

of Upstate Dim Sum (2001/I):

calling

from balcony to balcony

caged birds

family visit

my parents compete

to end my sentences

first day of school

another crayon

for the sunrise

from the most recent

Upstate Dim Sum (2005/II)

in certain lights

my hands are those of

an older woman

intersection

a chance to view

distant mountains

hometown —

cricket field

above the coal mine

Hilary Tann