hen I found a copy of The Unknown on my desk that morning my life changed. I’m no longer an executive officer at Borders, and I no longer spend my days trying to resolve labor disputes or bat away lawsuits from the independents. Now I ride my motorcycle and I follow Dirk Stratton. Wherever he goes. We sing chants about esoteric unknown poets and pick flowers as we find them on the road, but only a few at a time, in an environmentally conscious manner. Dirk says we are a rogue band of balladeers, that we worship Bacchus and the living spirit. Though we are strictly forbidden certain intimate behaviors, Dirk sometimes allows us to drink bourbon from Kentucky and to smoke cigars of the variety found in convenience stores. He is wise and he can read my mind. His writer companions are acceptable, though they are but demigods in comparison. Oh Mighty Walla Walla Sunrise Man! Oh Spirit of the Coming Sunset! We Fondle and Praise You!

Middleman Read 4/15/99 at the AWP Conference 1:13 140K RealAudio Clip