It's Hard to Die When You're Looking at Manets

and stories of other literary men

art: Jane Buyer

NOTE: I know that Monday posts are ordinarily public, and that Thursday posts are ordinarily paywalled. Due to the nature of this post, this week will be the other way around.

I had an encounter with a well-known poet at a writers’ conference. I had an unhealthy crush on the man that I was following around at the time and when we both crept into the hotel room where a literary magazine party was taking place, the renowned, award-winning poet developed a crush on him, too.

“How do you know him?” the poet asked me, and I made up something improbable.