An intimate conference room in the secluded English department floors of Helen C. White was the site of an unusual course Friday afternoon. The class, composed of 30 creative writing students and a handful of faculty, was led by Sting. The same guy who told Roxanne she didn't have to put on the red light temporarily assumed the role of professor (his tenure status is unknown).
In a moment of humility rare for a man of his celebrity, Sting himself approached the school, asking to teach a class while in town for his Friday night concert. The English department decided that a small creative-writing class would best suit the school and Sting. In preparation for Friday, the students read Sting's memoir \Broken Music"" and thought of potential questions for its author.
The class maintained a surprising air of academic seriousness. When faced with a star of Sting's stature, there is always concern the event will amount to nothing more than self-aggrandizement and shallow star-gazing. However, Sting was often sharp and thoughtful in his comments and the class asked many intriguing questions.
Sting began by reading the opening passage from his memoir, a scene detailing what he termed a ""psychedelic"" experience of taking Ayahuasca in a church in the Brazilian rain forest. The scene illustrated Sting's general task in writing his memoir. He described the experience as ""ego-shattering ... and I need it."" The point of the class was not to revel in the proximity of a rock star, but to better understand the process of a writer trying to come to grips with his own identity.
""It was good for the class to be exposed to his passion-or even to be reminded about the passion people approach writing with,"" said Assistant Professor Judith Claire Mitchell.
In describing the cover photograph-a photo of him as young schoolboy-Sting conveyed the purpose of ""Broken Music"" as a whole. ""Broken Music"" chronicles Sting's life up to eve of The Police's success. It is the story of an artist struggling to succeed, not a tale of the glamour of celebrity. ""This is what the book is about. It's not about some rock star, but this boy,"" Sting said.
Responsding to a particularly shrewd observation-that he referred to himself solely as ""I"" until 130 pages in when he adopted the moniker ""Sting""-Sting explained he never had gone by his given name Gordon. Instead, he preferred a long series of nicknames including, humorously enough, Lurch-""because some of the fellas thought I looked like I was from the Addams Family.""
He also commented that ""your parents give you a name, but they don't know you,"" and that by adopting a name consciously chosen by a friend to fit some aspect of his personality, ""Sting"" was somehow more appropriate than ""Gordon"" ever could be.
Sting concluded with a humorous reading detailing life as an opening act, where performing in front of an audience not solely your own means trading ""denigration of frail egos for a few moments in the spotlight.""
After Sting was whisked away by campus security, many commented on Sting's occasionally surprising eloquence and insight.
