Don't say it ain't so...
First things first: Congratulations to me on the occasion of my being named a "CUNY Distinguished Professor of English" at Brooklyn College. Professionally speaking, it's just about the best thing that's ever happened to me. (Though it's not in the press release, I am also a Professor of Journalism at the new CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, where I'll be teaching the "journalism of ideas" in the fall.) While I [naturally] think I deserve it, I want to publicly thank the amazingly adroit chair of my department, Ellen Tremper, for providing both the spark and the work to make it a reality. Eleven people wrote letters in support of my nomination, none of which I will ever read. It's a confidential process, and so I will have to thank them all privately. The only exception, of course, is Richard Rorty, whom I cannot thank at all. The fact that Dick agreed, while suffering deeply from the pancreatic cancer that would shortly claim his life, to intervene on my behalf means literally more to me than I know how to say. I can only hope I do something so generous for someone someday.