My tentative schedule for Fall Quarter 2003:
English 172A American Literature 1912-1945
English 173B American Fiction 1900-1945
English 173C American Fiction since 1945

Basically, I'm enrolled in three variations of the same class. The English department at my school doesn't exactly have a very deep pool of elective classes to choose from.

I desperately want to replace one of my classes with English 180X.2 The Art of the Interview.

How to prepare to talk with people; learning to listen; knowing when to encourage, to probe, to change subjects. Analyzing what celebrities and writers have to say. Structuring a conversation for publication. Understanding the nature of freelancing. Studying magazines for content, poetry for inspiration, books for resource. Straight talk from publishers and editors. Class will include interviewing celebrity guests.

Last year's guests included: actors Al Pacino, Djimon Hounsou, Diane Keaton, and Elliott Gould; journalist/producer Lawrence Schiller; Red Hot Chili Pepper Anthony Kiedis; Woman Boxing Champion Lucia Rijker; novelist Jonathan Safran Foer.

How cool is this?

The class is limited to 15 students and admission is by instructor permission only based on an essay application. I submitted my essay in June and recently received this e-mail from the professor:

"As of now you are on the Waiting List for the Fall Art of Interview class. I have to go to New York for a few weeks, so I won't be back until the first week in August. There are some people I accepted last year, who were on the waiting list and I promised them they could join the class in the fall. I haven't heard back from one or two of them, so there may be openings….but they also may be on vacation and aren't responding to their e-mails. To be fair to them, I feel I must wait a while."

*crosses fingers*