“I Could Feel the Poverty”

I’m the ninth reader in a line-up of 10. Famous Writer will be last, naturally. This is the final evening of an intimate week of instruction, workshopping, and study. During the past six days, I’ve schlepped salads and sandwiches and coffee for the aspiring novelists who’ve come to this rural mountain ranch. Famous Writer has a good following—these folks venture from all over the country.

We read in a dark cabin. Candles shimmer along the rough-hewn