I AM TEACHING GOOD STORIES THIS WEEKEND AT THE HOBART FESTIVAL FOR OMEN WRITERS
FOUNDED BY BREENA AND CHERYL CLARKE. HERE'S HOW IT HAPPENED:
A while ago Hobartten years maybe more
my friend Amy was invited to be guest agent in New Mexico.
She offered to bring me with her. You can teach
she said and I said yes. We got to Ghost Ranch one of the most
beautiful places in the universe (don't miss Ghost Ranch) but Amy
didn't like it much. She left to go to Martha's Vineyard and I
stayed in our cabin woke up early every day to see the New Mexico
sky not the same as anywhere else. One day I was sitting
in the field waiting for sun and Bhanu magic writer
said How Do You Like It Here? Paradise I said except for the coffee.
The coffee was Presbyterian: right color, that was all. I don't
drink coffee Bhanu said but there's a woman in cabin 3F who
brings her own from Jersey City. Ask her for a cup.
I waited a few hours then walked up the hill
knocked and a stranger named Breena
came to the door. Hi I said. Can I have a cup of coffee?
No said Breena. But she smiled at me.