Summary

The narrator discovers that reading books out loud is soothing to Apollo, and she begins to read Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet to him. The narrator then thinks about how most of her writing students would not take Rilke’s advice, thinking such advice is “ridiculous” (134). The narrator confesses that she admires Rilke, remembering that Rilke “loved dogs… and shared a boundless communion with them” (137). The next day, Apollo “gently places [Rilke’s] book by [the narrator’s] side” (138).

The narrator continues thinking about what authors have said about writing, remembering that Simone Weil advised people should “do what is difficult because it is difficult” (141). The narrator then recounts a joke being told amongst her colleagues, in which one professor asks “Have you read that book?” and the other professor responds, “Read it? I haven’t even taught it yet” (143). The...