We would talk about the program where we both taught and which he chaired, our own writing, campus politics, the challenges of living in Lafayette, Ind. I did, however, have my work friend Brian Leung, a wonderful writer and person. There were some old, bent bookshelves, a desk from the 1960s and a filing cabinet. My last office was a desperately grim room that was filthy when I moved in. I had a day job as a creative writing professor for most of that time, but I was on campus only one or two days a week, and I did the rest of my work remotely. Since 2014, I have traveled almost constantly, touring the country and, sometimes, the world.