From Mimi Herman

Memories of Max Steele

Mimi Herman

I spent a great deal of my free time in my junior and senior years at UNC curled up in Max’s office chair, sometimes talking with him, sometimes just sitting as he read student stories.  There was something about Max that always put me at ease at the same time that it put me on edge.  As this is also my definition for flirting, I would say that Max was a consummate flirt—not for any romantic gain, but simply for the pleasure of engaging with people.  We flirted for years after I returned to Chapel Hill, nothing untoward, but a great pleasure to me, and I think to him as well.  I was still trying to flirt with him when I went to see him in the hospital after his fall, hoping to bring him back to those of us who needed and loved him.

Max was also a great authority, having achieved that perfect vocal resonance which creates the ring of truth, regardless of whether there was any actual truth in the matter.  As I grew older, I discovered that he was right more often than he was wrong.  In fact, I can’t think of a single time he was wrong.

Here are some of Max’s truths:

1. Halves multiply on a page.  Whenever a writer describes a half of something, another half is sure to come along to join it in short order.  I’ve been looking for this again lately as I read, and I can hereby state that it’s true.
2. Students never tell where the money comes from in a story.  Their characters live in fabulous apartments, drive expensive cars, and seem to have no discernible source of income.  We need to know the source of the money to understand the characters.
3. The word “Fuck” is one of the most versatile words in the English language, as it can be used as exclamation, adjective, noun and verb, as in the following sentence: “Fuck, the fucking fuckers fucked it!”

Once, in class, when I was leaning back in my chair, Max gave us all a lesson in word choice.  “Is Mimi apt or liable to fall?” he asked.  Today, I’d say I was both apt and liable to fall for Max, as one of the people who has meant most in my life.  I’d say I always will be.