From: Elsa Marston <elsa.marston_at_gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 2011 11:55:47 -0600

This is a bit off-topic because it's a personal reflection, but I'm trying to tie these two themes/events together, inspired by the NYT article about Margarete McElderry I just read.

A good many years ago Ms. McElderry gave the May Arbuthnot lecture at Indiana University; it was a conceptually challenging lecture, about how we should NOT "suspend disbelief" in reading literature. After the lecture I spoke to her, expressed my compliments, and had the nerve to mention my own first novel--and at that point, only published fiction--*The Cliffs of

Cairo. *She admitted that she had not read it (no surprise to me), but said it almost with an air of apology. Thanks to that small incident, I have always thought of her as a person of incredible, refinement and graciousness--and almost needless to add, have always wished to have a book published by her. Alas, another dream gone down the river.

Elsa www.elsamarston.com
Received on Thu 17 Feb 2011 11:55:47 AM CST