Friday, July 16, 2004

James Hollis Two years ago I reconnected with Jim Hollis, a '58 who was "unlocated" for a while but has been living for many years in Houston, where he directs the Jung Center. Jim grew up in Southern View and at SHS he earned letters in track and football. He wrote for Senator Speaks and took English courses from Virginia Lamson, who tragically died in an auto accident in 1959. In college Jim majored in English and went on to earn a Ph.D. in the field. For a while he was a professor, teaching in New Jersey. Our Reunion "red books" told us that we were near neighbors, but in those years of building careers and raising families, we never got together. In the 1970s Jim decided to re-tool his career. Because of his avid interest in psychology, he went to Switzerland and studied to become a Jungian analyst. He then went into clinical practice, a course that led him to the Jung Center in Houston, where he serves today as Executive Director. Besides his administrative and counseling duties, Jim teaches courses and writes books. To date he has published ten, two in 1970-71 on modern literature, and recently a remarkable series of eight books that probe the inner life: The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife, 1993. Under Saturn's Shadow: The Wounding and Healing of Men, 1994. Swamplands of the Soul: New Life in Dismal Places, 1996. The Eden Project: In Search of the Magical Other, 1998. The Archetypal Imagination, 2000. Creating a Life: Finding Your Individual Path, 2001. On This Journey We Call Our Life: Living the Questions, 2003. Mythologems: Incarnations of the Invisible World, 2004. Each book is brief, about 160 pages, and highly readable. I tend to read them slowly, a chapter every day or so, because each page gives me so much to think about. As an author, Jim has the ability to weave a fascinating tapestry around ideas, quotations, anecdotes, and rare personal revelations. I like those bits the most, and I have urged him to imitate Alfred Hitchock, by placing a reference to Springfield into each book for readers who remember him when. Despite all his achievements, Jim remains modest and unassuming, and he certainly would blush if we dubbed him the class intellectual. I hope he will show up at our 50th reunion, just to tell us about how we may travel the paths that lie ahead. If you would like to read his books, try Amazon.com, the Jung Center book store, or your local book seller. I highly recommend them as good reading! 12:19:39 PM    comment []

© Copyright 2004 William Howarth. Last update: 8/11/04; 10:19:39 PM.