The Men in My Country

Acknowledgments

For support that made the writing of this book possible, I want to thank the editors of literary magazines who published my work as well as the Rona Jaffe Foundation; the Corporation of Yaddo; the Ragdale Foundation; the Utah Arts Council; Writers@Work; the University of Iowa; Saint Mary’s College of California (the best place on the planet to work); and Neeti Madan at Sterling Lord Literistic, Inc. (the most gracious of agents). During the writing of this book, I carried around with me a slip of paper with something that Amiri Baraki wrote in a review of Billie Holiday: “Nothing was more perfect than she was. Nor more willing to fail.” Those words comforted me. But it is the people who provide enduring solace. I want to thank my teachers: Ted Conover, Carol de St. Victor, Paul Diehl, Linda Hogan, Patricia Foster, Pam Houston, William Kittredge, Susan Lohafer, James Alan McPherson, Honor Moore, Marilynne Robinson, Bob Schacochis, and Terry Tempest Williams. Providing sustenance in many forms over many years were friends and colleagues, including: Shūko Abe, Richard Adams, Dan Albu, Annette Aldous, Mary Allen, Doug Balli, Jackie Berger, Kate Birch, Joe Blair, Barbara Bryan, Jody Panto Chong, Steve and Frances D’Andrea, Mary Dickson, Elizabeth Dietz, Meredith Field, Michael Gardner, David Hamilton, Greg Heffron, Ai Ito, Elaine Jarvik, Eric Jones, Mildred Keller, Laura Kelley, Elmar Leuth, Maggie Lyman, Amy Margolis, Keiko Matsuda, Martha McFarland, Christi Merrill, Michele Morano, Holly Mullen, Takako Nagahara, Laurel Nakadate, Dee NaQuin, Suellen Novotny, Sue O’Hara, Rene Paez, Mackenzie Pitcarin, Don Porter, John Price, Dana Pridham, Marcelyn Ritchie, Leslie Roberts, Margaret Rostkowski, Mark Saal, Carol Severino, Ravi Shankar, Noriko Shirahata, Jess Shoemaker, Kathy Stall, Amy ................................................................................ Acknowledgments 158 Stewart, Lynne Tempest, Mary Trachsel, Kris Vervaecke, Rachel Walker, Bridget and Hiroaki Watanabe, Susan Whitney, and Vanessa Zimmer. Ann Bauer, Judy Copeland, Yiyun Li, and Chieko Mimura read drafts of this book in manuscript form and provided insights for which I am grateful. Carol Houck Smith and her vision came along at a crucial time. Jo Ann Beard was constant, Ellen Fagg saintly (and sardonic and everything else anyone could want in a best friend). To Carl Klaus, teacher, editor, and friend —what do people do without a Carl Klaus in their lives? Holly Carver, Andy Douglas, Sara T. Sauers, and Charlotte Wright were wonderful; I remain in awe of the University of Iowa Press, which cares about one thing: publishing beautiful and intelligent books. And to my family—my parents, in particular —thank you for the reminder that the deepest pleasure of travel, indeed its very ache, has been and will always be returning home. The Men in My Country marilyn abildskov Shadow Girl: A Memoir of Attachment deb abramson Embalming Mom: Essays in Life janet burroway Fauna and Flora, Earth and Sky: Brushes with Nature’s Wisdom trudy dittmar Essays of Elia charles lamb The Body of Brooklyn david lazar No Such Country: Essays toward Home elmar lueth Currency of the Heart: A Year of Investing, Death, Work, and Coins donald r. nichols Memoirs of a Revolutionary victor serge The Harvard Black Rock Forest george w. s. trow ................................................................................ sightlinebooks TheIowaSeriesinLiteraryNonfiction ...