"I made a great study of theology at one time," said Mr Brooke, as if to explain the insight just manifested. "I know something of all schools. I knewWilberforce in his best days.6Do you know Wilberforce?"
Was Aaron Sorkin inspired by Middlemarch to borrow the name Wilberforce for West Wing Season 4, Episode 9 "Swiss Diplomacy"?
Paulson, Michael. “Aaron Sorkin Revamps ‘Camelot,’ With Challenges Classic and New.” The New York Times, March 22, 2023, sec. Theater. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/22/theater/aaron-sorkin-camelot-broadway.html.
“I wrote 86 episodes of ‘The West Wing,’ and every single time I finished one, I’d be happy for five minutes before it just meant that I haven’t started the next one yet, and I never thought I would be able to write the next one. Ever.”
I'm reminded a bit of Dale Keiger's mention of Mark Strand having this same feeling after writing a poem.
Sorkin had been a heavy smoker since high school — two packs a day of Merits — and the habit had long been inextricable from his writing process. “It was just part of it, the way a pen was part of it,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about it too much, because I’ll start to salivate.”
For Aaron Sorkin smoking was a tool that was part of his writing process.
He earned a B.F.A. in musical theater from Syracuse University,
Aaron Sorkin earned a B.F.A. in musical theater from Syracuse University, but didn't really put it to use until his work on Camelot which opened in 2023.