Wiscon # 3

I had gone into the group reading intending to read "Hash Browns on a Rainy Night," which is a story about the impending Republican National Convention in St. Paul. But everyone was reading blocks of fiction exactly timed to the 15 minutes they had; so I decided to read something shorter, what would be quite different and not take up 15 minutes. So I read "Patrick and Mr. Bear," which is about a thousand words and kind of a children's story, though it may be mostly for adults. In any case, it's about homelessness. I like it a lot, because it's a true story about my Patrick and the huge teddy bear that a homeless man gave him.

A couple of people who heard the story told me they liked it. One of them had been homeless.

It's hugely important for me to know that my work is reaching people and touching people. I am not a writer who writes for myself -- well, yes, partly. But like Emily Dickenson, writing is my letter to the world.