The Luncheon

Graphic by Ava Paulsen / North by Northwestern

Every week, the students of the creative writing MFA program at Vanderbilt University attend Professor Theodore Pratler’s monthly Luncheons, which always include arrays of hot teas and finger sandwiches and scones. The ordeal always felt more like an afternoon tea than a luncheon, but Professor Pratler is a very emphatic man in his 70s with quite a lot to say about the world and ‘The Luncheon’ is what he called it. He felt that their classes were...