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John Horwitz's avatar

It gets better - at my 50th, all the glitter is gone and they are 'just people' - no need to impress.

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Sherman Alexie's avatar

My writing career has placed me firmly in the most elite literary circles. But I lived on my tribe's reservation and commuted to a farm/ranch town high school. And I just have a B.A. in American Studies from Washington State University. At the beginning of my career, I was often the only non-white writer at the prestigious gatherings and one of the few people not from an elite background. Those gatherings have grown more racially diverse over the years but they're still highly elite. I feel equally separate from the Ivy League white writers and the Ivy League black and brown writers. I fit in, of course, because, like you, I'm fluent in elite-ese. But I've never felt fully comfortable. And I'd guess that only 10% of my closest friends are writers.

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