The Muttering Retreats

Holdorff is a poet and lyric writer whose obsession with getting an advanced degree always seems to get in the way of his achieving success in either field. He gets his Bachelor's degree in four years, but then spends another sixteen years in three different graduate programs, and never gets the elusive degree. Through all of this, he meets mentors in each of the schools he attends; he gets married, has a son and gets divorced; and he meets a couple of women with whom he has close relationships.