Many thanks to the following people who in one way or another have helped me through the long journey of this book: Kim Bernstein, Nina Chaudry, Rory Devine, Elena Georgiou, Angela Himsel, Mark Leydorf, Brenda McClain, Mary McGrail, Thais Morales, Eileen Myles, Jaymie Ridless, Aaron Zimmerman, my parents, and the rest of my friends and comrades. Big-time thanks to J.T. Rogers for sharing his wisdom and insight and for the early morning wake-up calls; to Johnny Temple and Johanna Ingalls for running the classiest literary shop in town; and to Gerry Gomez Pearlberg (and Mao, Otto, and Gumdrop) for being so darn wonderful to come home to.