I learn more from my students than I can ever hope to teach them. In our workshop at Soufflés last week, we were talking about writers whose work we admired and hoped to emulate. Susan, a writer of short fiction, said that she liked Alice Munro’s earlier work better. She mentioned a story by Frederick Busch called “Ralph the Duck.” Then she said something that struck me: “The authors whose work I connect with are the ones who are trying to answer the same questions I am.” Well, of course. There’s a remarkable clarity in what she said. The point she made is so plainly evident that no one would have noticed, if she hadn’t called our attention to it!
Now I have to ask myself what are the questions I am trying to answer…
