been a long, frenetic weekend. but lotsa fun. Anna and I spent today lazily splashing about at the lake in Pollock Pines. we are now baked and pleasantly exhausted.

Ms. Chatelaine's find of David Levi Strauss's collection of poems recalls a similar discovery of a book that the staff had no idea was on their shelves. I found Interviews: Edward Dorn ed. by Donald Allen (Four Seasons Foundation 1980) on the new poetry shelf at the used bookstore Beers Books a couple of years ago. it is a battered copy with a $5.00 price located on the back cover. at the time I was reading as much Dorn as I could get my hands on, and this book literally jumped out to me. when I took my purchase up to the counter the person ringing it up had this funny look on her face as she searched for the bar code, or something. she asked, I didn't know we had this one, where did you find it? I told her on the new shelf. Oh, she said, and rang it up for five bucks.

books find their readers, or readers find their books. either way, the beauty of browsing bookstores is the surprise and delight one might discover. I don't know a writer who doesn't love making these finds. I have the Dorn book beside me as I type and love holding its battered pages, how it fits in the hand.