Meeting Prose in Toronto

I remember when Ian Brown interviewed Prose when she was in Toronto and I heard that someone else who was there say that Brown was terrible and Prose is a genius. When I went to ask some question, in the line of people who were waiting to have books signed, she was gracious. I wonder if she has any other fans and why I didn't tell her that I was reading her list of books to be read immediately and that it was an unbelievable challenge. One of the great things about the list of books is that there are so many modern writers. The novel, she declares, is an art form that's going to carry on because it's the only one that you can take on the bus. But also because, she neglects to say, because her list includes not just dead authors. ZZ Packer, Junot Diaz, Stuart Dybek, David Gates, Denis Johnson, and others are all still in their prime. Putting them on a list was brilliant. But reading them is even better. Because Reading like a writer prepares the reader for how to read slowly, the books jump to the top of mind when asked to name some of the greatest books you've read.