"She writes like a man,” a fellow poet said of me in the early 1970s, intending a compliment. "You forgot the punctuation,” I told him. "What you meant was, 'She writes. Like a man.'” Ripostes of this kind came in handy at the time.

You were such a sensitive child! -MY MOTHER But I'm quite flinty now. -ME Yes. You are. -MY DAUGHTER One of these days that smart mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble. -MY FATHER, WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER She would have made such a fine Victorianist. -JERRY BUCKLEY, MY THESIS ADVISER If she'd never met me, your mother would still have been a successful writer, but she wouldn't have had as much fun. -GRAEME GIBSON, MY PARTNER, TO OUR DAUGHTER Don't piss her off, or you will live forever. -JULIAN PORTER, MY FRIEND

You were such a sensitive child! -MY MOTHER But I'm quite flinty now. -ME Yes. You are. -MY DAUGHTER One of these days that smart mouth of yours is going to get you in trouble. -MY FATHER, WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER She would have made such a fine Victorianist. -JERRY BUCKLEY, MY THESIS ADVISER If she'd never met me, your mother would still have been a successful writer, but she wouldn't have had as much fun. -GRAEME GIBSON, MY PARTNER, TO OUR DAUGHTER Don't piss her off, or you will live forever. -JULIAN PORTER, MY FRIEND