Valerie Sayers is the author of six novels, including her latest, The Powers, which features appearances by Joe DiMaggio, Dorothy Day, and Walker Evans. Five previous novels have just been reissued, and her stories, essays, and reviews appear widely. She's chair of the English Department at Notre Dame.
Everything I have, aside from what I’m wearing, is in a light brown vinyl purse with two outside pockets. I hold the purse close at all times, and I sleep with it under my head like a rigid, desperate pillow.