Poet and Songwriter Paul Allen Retires - Department of English

A Story from Story, IN
Angela (Bryant) Hofstetter (‘91)
Classical dressage,
Victorian literature,
Great Danes, local food and great wine shape my current life in “one
inconvenient location since 1851.” Nearly two decades after graduating from
The College of Charleston, my husband Rick Hofstetter and I live at Story
Inn, our B & B in rural Indiana. “No phones, no clocks, no radios, no TV”
has been more than just a motto; it informs a way of life in this Depressionera
town that now functions as a country inn, restaurant, and our home.
The meandering path that took me from Charleston, South Carolina to
Story, Indiana seems surprisingly inevitable in retrospect. When I completed
the College of Charleston with degrees in English and French, I was uncertain
whether to pursue George Eliot or George Sand in graduate school.
Selecting Comparative Literature made deciding irrelevant, so I loaded
the VW and made the long trek to Bloomington, Indiana. The dedication
of professors such as Dr. Stieglitz, Dr. Uwah, Dr. Johnson, Dr. Goldsberry,
and, of course, the Hunts inspired a love of literature as well as a passion for teaching. I really think that’s what
distinguishes CofC—teachers who have a life-long impact on their students. I particularly recall one long afternoon
where Bishop Hunt patiently helped me scan Romantic poetry. Many years later, I still use notes from his
lessons on Wordsworth and Byron when I prepare courses at Butler University, where I’ve been teaching for the
last 10 years. More importantly, I remember how much that devotion means to a student.
Charleston’s rich heritage as a restaurant town coupled with a junior year in Paris cultivated my passion for good
food. While attending CofC, I worked at Le Midi, a long-time staple of King Street. Upon moving to Indiana, I
sought restaurant work to supplement a teaching assistant’s salary which, unsurprisingly, didn’t quite cover the
cost of my love of large animals. In fact, part of my decision to move to Indiana was a desire to fulfill a life-long
dream of having a horse. So Puck, a young chestnut gelding, and Petey, a harlequin Dane, and I moved into a
1920s Sears model kit home on 5 acres just a short mile from Story, Indiana and the Story Inn.
In 1997, I met my husband, whose love of old buildings led him to check out one of Indiana’s historical gems. A
year later, on Valentine’s Day, he officially acquired the
inn while visiting me on a teaching stint at Marc Bloch
University in Strasbourg. Shortly after, I returned to
the States, and we became innkeepers. In short, my
love of nature, animals, local food, good wine, and literature
fills my days. Dividing my time between owning
the Story Inn, teaching at Butler University, hiking
with Great Danes, and studying Classical Dressage on
Baroque horses is a lifelong dream come true as well as
the culmination of a great liberal arts education from
the College of Charleston. The amazing faculty places
such an emphasis on intellectual agility and following
your passions with moral courage that I credit them
with a substantial part of my current storied life.
17