In which Piers returns to the Magic City

Last Thursday, I drove down to Birmingham to take part in a tribute to one of my old professors from Samford. It was a quick trip--down and back in the same day, with a dinner and speech thrown in the middle--but she appreciated the effort.

I relished the opportunity to finally say "thank you" to not only her but to the entire faculty of the SU English Department--for taking me seriously even as a scrawny, squirrelly 19-year-old with too much hair. Their influence propelled me to UNC, and they showed me the nature of the work I love so much.