U-M junior and 2012 NDP alum Al Smith, left, is a writer and boxer. So was Jim Tully, shown at right.
Jim Tully was an American writer, the son of Irish immigrants, who grew up in Ohio in the late 1800s. He also was a professional boxer and he wrote often about it in a career that garnered much acclaim in the 1920s and 30s from the literati of that time. So it’s not a stretch to say Tully was in fact a real “writing, fighting Irishman.” And with a big heart, say those who knew him.
Enter Al Smith, a 2012 graduate of Notre Dame Prep. Currently a junior at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Smith, who also is “very Irish,” according to his mom, recently was given one of the most renowned writing awards conferred by U-M, the Avery Hopwood and Jule Hopwood Creative Writing Award. It was the second year in a row he had won it. It’s a big deal. Past Hopwood winners include Frank O’Hara, Lawrence Kasdan and Arthur Miller.
What’s also a pretty big deal and just a tad ironic is that, yes, just like Tully, Smith is a boxer, a member of Michigan’s boxing team.
“While it’s a great thrill being on the boxing team, I had no experience when I tried out during my freshman year,” he said. “But I needed to learn all I could as quickly as I could for the sake of my own skull.”
He said the coaches are boxers themselves who really know their stuff, helping newcomers like himself become seasoned boxers. “The team is a great bunch of guys with a family-like mentality, helping one another learn and grow,” he said. “And I think that played a big part in us winning the national championship team title this year as well as five individual championships.”
But getting back to Smith’s writing prowess—perhaps a bit safer pursuit—and the Hopwood. He said it all started when an English professor at Michigan read one of the personal narratives he wrote for a freshman class and suggested that he enter the prestigious writing contest. “I was skeptical that I could win,” Smith recalls, “but it would be an interesting experience. So I wrote a short story, ‘The Tragedy of Dan Flince,’ which ended up winning the 2012 underclassmen short-fiction Hopwood award.”
Then he found out there was another Hopwood contest coming up in 2013 and he wanted to try something different for that one.
“Instead of a short story, I wrote a one-act play, ‘A Weekend in the Cabinet,’ and that, also to my surprise, ended up winning the undergraduate/graduate Hopwood in drama. [Editor’s note: Jim Tully also wrote for the stage.] It was a very bizarre experience. I was a music student among actual writers. But I’m glad I did it because being outside of my own comfort zone helped me realize that my niche might not be as small as I once thought.”
Future career inspiration began at NDP
Smith originally believed his career niche definitely was going to revolve around music. He came to U-M to study performing-arts technology, which basically means sound engineering and music production. He credits NDP and especially choir director Dave Fazzini for developing those skills and his love for music.
But what he’s also discovered since arriving at Michigan was that NDP was a big factor in his early success with writing, too. “I think having a series of great English teachers at NDP—[Anthony] Butorac, [Ed] Davis, [Sharon] Dericho, [Ellen] Tessada, [Kathy] Bembas—gave me the tools to really excel in writing and composition.”
In a general sense, Smith considers himself very lucky to have been able to attend Notre Dame and get the kind of quality of education he received there. “I also believe that it was the support of other families and alumni that made my excellent high-school education possible,” he said. “So it’s only fair that for me and for everyone else who profited from their kindness, we should try to give back to the ND community so that the next generation of Notre Dame students can enjoy the same caliber of education we had.”
About a possible professional career, Smith said he’s still not sure. “I can’t fully answer at the moment what I’ll be doing after college, but what I can say is that I hope to have a job in the film and music industry doing something creative. Ideally, I’d like to be a screenwriter or a producer/songwriter, depending on how the next few years go. I realize these are lofty goals, but I’d rather aim high and fall short than aim low and second-guess myself for the rest of my life.”
Dog day
Smith is shown with the two dogs he rescued in Arkansas.
They dropped the dogs off at a local animal shelter in Arkansas hoping their owner or owners would claim them before the shelter had to put them down. Meanwhile, back in Michigan and about ten days after he left the dogs down south, Smith decided to call the shelter to check on them. Unfortunately, no one claimed the dogs, and they were slated to be euthanized in two days. So Smith, this time with his father in tow, drove straight through from Michigan back to Arkansas.
“We picked the dogs up from the shelter and immediately drove back home,” he said. “We drove about 1,900 miles in 31 hours.”
But now came an even harder task—finding one home for both dogs, which were pretty much inseparable and cried whenever apart.
“Luckily, we were able to locate a guy willing to take both dogs and since then, according to the new owner, they are doing very well and adjusting to their cozy new life in Michigan,” Smith said. “I feel really good about that!”
Sounds about right, coming from a writing, fighting Irishman from Notre Dame, who, like Jim Tully, also, obviously, possesses a big heart.
Follow Notre Dame at @NDPMA.
About Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy
Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy is a private, Catholic, independent, coeducational day school located in Oakland County. The school's upper division enrolls students in grades nine through twelve and has been named one of the nation's best 50 Catholic high schools (Acton Institute) four times since 2005. Notre Dame's middle and lower divisions enroll students in jr. kindergarten through grade eight. All three divisions are International Baccalaureate "World Schools." NDPMA is conducted by the Marist Fathers and Brothers and is accredited by the Independent Schools Association of the Central States and the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. For more on Notre Dame Preparatory School and Marist Academy, visit the school's home page at www.ndpma.org.