Yet another mini-memoir of crime writer William Worley has wandered into the traffic on These Mean Streets, this one from Linda Shaw — a student from one of his classes in Lowell High:
I had not thought about Mr. William Worley for years but for some reason he popped into my head tonight.
He was my English teacher at Lowell in the the early 1970s. I was probably a sophomore.
We read a wide range of books from The Iliad to Ray Bradbury to Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
I remember him in his tweed jacket standing in front of the class trying to elicit opinions about the book we were reading. Occasionally he mentioned in passing the books he had written, but I must admit to not paying attention.
I do remember writing a lot of essays.
When he would hand me back my essay he would grab my right hand and look for calluses on my fingers and say, “You do write a lot.” I tended to meander in my essays.
Mr. Worley taught me how to get to the point in my writing, which has helped me in my professional life.
