I forgot to mention that I would be off for a few days at the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference in Minneapolis. Over 10,000 writers and teachers of writing descended on the city, where they attended panels, gave readings, and hung out in bars (the last two sometimes simultaneously). They also browsed the large exhibition hall, which was set up with tables and booths representing writing programs, university presses, and what seemed like every literary magazine in America. Walking around the convention center you got the unusual impression that the world was in love with writers.
So it was good that a woman came by and dumped a pile of fortune cookies on the table where I was talking with a friend one day. After opening his up, Jim handed me the fortune: "Your writing will go underappreciated in your lifetime."
