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...tent mental instability may have had something Is there anything that Jay Parini can't write? Parini, who teaches English at Middlebury College, is the author of critical studies, novels, collections of poetry and three literary biographies, including a recent book on William Faulkner that has been garnering respectful attention. Now Parini has extended his reach by bringing out a collection of his thoughts on teaching. The Art of Teaching isn't a formal treatise but a collection of reflective essays on the work that Parini has done, first at Dartmouth, then at Middlebury, over the last 30 years. In a brief book, he covers a lot of ground. He starts with an autobiographical essay that ranges from his days in junior high through his graduate education at St. Andrews, in Scotland, and on to his university teaching career proper. Then there are chapters on such varied matters as how one acquires one's voice as a teacher, what teachers wear (strange things, of course), office hours and how to use them, emeritus professors, lecturing, giving a seminar and the pedagogical example of Robert Frost. To read one of these short essays is like taking a walk with a genial, generous and intelligent teacher who speaks fluently and kindly. The book probably ought to be considered ...