William H. Gass is David May Distinguished University Professor in the Humanities and director of the International Writers Center at Washington University. His published works include the collection of short stories "In the Heart of the Heart of the Country; "the collections of essays "Fiction and the Figures of Life, The World Within the Word, "and "The Habitations of the Word; "the book-length essay "On Being Blue; "and the novels "Omensetter s Luck, Willie Masters Lonesome Wife, "and "The Tunnel."
Lorin Cuoco is the associate director of the International Writers Center at Washington University."