Summary

Michael, caretaker of the residency houses in Marfa, picks up the narrator at the airport in El Paso. The narrator is amazed by the stars in the sky and the wide open area around the small town. The narrator struggles to get to work, writing poetry instead of his novel. He writes about creators immerse themselves in their work, and how realities blur together between what is real and what is created. When a creator puts much of himself into creation, it is difficult to tell where one reality ends and another begins. The narrator receives a visit from Diane, a painter and gallery owner, and a man whose name and identity the narrator cannot place at first. He then meets a German painter named Monika, and an intern at Diane’s gallery, whom he hugs. This makes everyone laugh and puts everyone at...