Summary

Pages 62 – 70: Eileen briefly mentions that she and Rita went to meet the Italian handbag salesmen for their double date. They met at a restaurant, and the man with whom Eileen was paired was named Attilio Viola. Eileen then discusses several men she had dated before coming out as gay. She reflects upon these days of being a young struggling poet as “just so much crenellated waste, nights and days whipping swiftly or laboriously past the cinematic window” (65). One poet friend she had was named Bill Knott, whom she met when she was still living in the Boston area. Eileen implies that she may have had a romantic relationship with him, and she comments to the reader that she was very impressed by his naturalism when performing poetry.

Pages 70 – 84: Eileen’s father died a few years before she moved to New York. Eileen discusses how...