Goodbye to a Friend
[img_assist|nid=52|title=|desc=|link=popup|align=left|width=184|height=250]John Merwin and I began working for Stratton Magazine at about the same time — which goes back further than either of us would like to think about. The magazine had another editor then. He became ill and, eventually, died at a tragically young age. I was named editor and was understandably apprehensive. I wanted the job, of course. Who wouldn’t? But I wasn’t sure I was up to it and in need of reassurance. I found a lot of that in John.