Dorothy Allison

Dear Nancy, How wonderful to hear from you--and you are right of course, I am always busy. And books are completely unpredictable--though marvelous adventures in themselves. have heard from a number of friends who have seen mention of the workshop. Michael Anderson--wonderful man who is writing the biography of Lorraine Hansberry--told me he saw it (in the ny review of books, i think he said). Told me he was tempted to sign up. Called to ask if I was really going to go off to Dordogne -- and I assured him I was. Hope you are well. Best, Dorothy

Andrei Codrescu
	Hello, Nancy: Congratulations on persuading some terrific writers: I know and admire Chuck Wachtel, and I'm a big fan of Breyten Breitenbach and Dorothy Allison. I think that I reviewed two of Breitenbach's books in the NYT Book Review, if I remember right. Onward. Andrei

Margaret Drabble

Dear Nancy, Thank you for your kind message and update on plans for June. The weather here is not as bad as it is in New York, but it is fairly dreary and the thought of the Dordogne in June is very attractive. I think A Pilgrimage to the Past is a good title, and I will draft a paragraph for you in the next couple of days- I’d like to talk about the ways in which fiction can explore the past, both personal (family, individual) and over a much longer timescale, using geology, landscape, history and archaeology as tools and metaphors for constructing plot and understanding psychology. I hope that sounds appropriate. I’ve always liked books which suggest a great hinterland of human endeavour and evolution behind the contemporary world, and the location in France seems a good place to look at these issues. I’ll get back to you. If there is anything else you need to know, please let me know. All good wishes, Margaret Drabble

Connie May Fowler

Dear Nancy, Oh my gosh! The web site is GORGEOUS! And the program you've set up is, to say the least, astounding. Congratulations! I'm also thrilled to see so many of my dear friends included in your line-up of writers including Dorothy, Jacqueline, and Andrei. Nancy, thank you so much, and a million blossoms at your feet for your astonishingly beautiful and comprehensive web site. See you this summer, Connie May

Jackie Mitchard
	Hi Nancy, How absolutely lovely. This would be my fourth time in Tuscany; I’m not fluent, but I’m getting there, and once was married to an Italian (my husband who died of colon cancer). Those dates can work for me. COUNT ME IN and Grazie, signora, Jackie