Another interesting thing

I forgot to mention: When someone asked which authors Steven Millhauser looks to in formulating his fabulist stories, he replied that he prefers to read realists—that he defines his aesthetic against those of Chekhov and Flaubert, and by reading these authors, he is able to liberate his own writing.

I like the idea of reading against one’s aesthetic—might have to try that after October 15th, which gives me plenty of time to figure out what my aesthetic is!