On Metalepsis

Abstract

Even before I heard about this celebration of Elaine Freedgood's work and mentorship, I was already thinking about how I'd come to know her and about the numerous ways she has shaped my writing and my writing life. This reflection was prompted, inadvertently, by Elaine herself. A little while back, Elaine wrote me an email with the always-thoughtful subject line, “How are you, my friend?” Except, Elaine had forgotten the comma after “you,” so it read instead, “How are you my friend?” This message made me laugh, as did her subsequent response about leaving out that crucial comma. Elaine came to be an unusually generous mentor through the most usual of circumstances. I was first put in touch with her when she came to Berkeley to give a talk called “The Secret Life of Diegesis,” five years ago. I have a vivid memory of the emails we'd exchanged about booking flights and reserving hotel rooms and all that—usually these would be somewhat tedious issues to sort through, but Elaine's typically dry humor enlivened even the driest of topics. When asked if she wanted to “be a trooper” and take a red-eye over to the West Coast, she responded, “Thanks so much. I would be a trooper if necessary but of course would rather be a pathetic middle-aged person (i.e., myself).”