yeah so. once upon a time I co-taught a Creative Writing masterclass with Margaret Atwood. I was ten years out from my own CW Masters and I went *hard* on those manuscripts, just like I'd done when I was being workshopped. MA was surprisingly gentle, mostly saying what she'd liked.

Afterwards I asked her: "Margaret, some of those were terrible, what gives?" And she said: "listen, a single word from me lands like a hammer blow." I understood a lot of things then, about what it means to really recognise the power you have without false modesty, and to use it responsibly.

I relate to this as a painter; recognized by my profession,decades of collectors w/o the flash of Instagram or the shallow narcissism of the Kardashians. Quiet fame before the internet was satiating but incomprehensible to gen z.