The snow is falling, the drink is free, but why is the Dean suddenly so interested in the English Department? Michael McGrath conjures up an awkward university retreat in the latest from our flash fiction series with Tin House magazine
By Michael McGrath for Flash Fridays by Tin House, part of the Guardian Books Network
It was the final night of the Eagleburger retreat, held at a cluster of chalets owned by an alum’s shell corporation. The mountains were too close to see. Snow hissed into the jacuzzi. The Dean, the Department Head and the Adjunct stewed in the frothing glow. The Adjunct wore boxers. He had forgotten to pack swim trunks.
The Eagleburger Society, an influential and secretive body within the Board of Regents, required each academic department to nominate one student per year. Nominees received a travel voucher to the retreat, where they were invited to present their most intriguing ideas, predictions and theories. While the English Department invariably, even enthusiastically, attended, they were historically ignored by Eagleburger heavies, who sought synergy, seamless product placement, disruptive models, early access to advances.
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