Naomi Schwartz

I lost my dear friend and long time editor Naomi Schwartz. Cancer made an anguished shell of her. But this how I’ll remember her: book in hand, barefoot, bathed in light. She was always telling me, "it’s okay to leave a work unfinished." She didn’t mean undone, incomplete. She meant imperfect, open. So I’ve left this picture unfinished, with white space and pencil marks to show where she lives in my imagination and the divine mystery of where she’s gone.

I was listening, Naomi. Even when I disagreed, I was listening. We all have literary mothers. Some of them are monuments like Toni Morrison. Others are humble, crazy-haired, big-hearted adopted aunts, who feed you books, and whisper over and over: Keep going. Just keep going.

Thank you Naomi. 😢❤️

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