dear alice,
we held the “what alice munro means to me as a writer” panel at the library and it was terrific. i’m sorry you weren’t there. approx. 30 people showed up and we talked about you, your stories, your example of how to live and write.
stylistic differences/likes and dislikes aside, the consensus was that we admired how hard you’ve worked, your commitment to the short story, and your modesty. lee kvern asked and we were split on whether your stories would be published in the present market place. you know writers. they cannot help but bring up the publishing market.
it was interesting to note, as moderator, that almost every person brought up the word “mother” in their reminiscences/speculations/conversations. i don’t know what this means. that you are the mother of canadian short stories? that we miss our mothers?
i don’t know, alice. it’s complicated. like life. dear life.
do you miss your mother?