Jennifer Gilmore is the author of the novels Golden Country and Something Red. She has written reviews and essays for numerous anthologies and publications including the Los Angeles Times, the New York Times Book Review, the New York Times Magazine, Salon and Tin House. You can reach her here: www.jennifergilmore.net.
Elissa Schappell and I met too many years ago to say, at the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. We were both waiters, which means that you serve students, scholars, fellows and…