interviewers truly loved by writers because . . . . well , you will see why :
April 9 , 2002
Dearest Susan
When I was immobile and in pain , you appeared in my dreams and I experienced the deepest refreshment and joy . I thought about you every day with a kind of foolish ardor , and my affection and admiration turned to love . So this is a love letter , typed , sent by e-mail , composed at wit ' s end .
You have told me about criticisms that have hurt you . . . As variously admired and awarded as you have been this past year or two , I think you have been consistently underestimated , misunderstood and misrepresented and . . . I feel the highest of appraisals doesn ' t describe the person I have come to know .
Why this extreme need to praise ? Because you have been a brilliant example of being alive in a world of living facsimiles . Because you buoy my spirits when they are bruised and wonderfully lambaste me when I am lazy or frightened . Because I read and reread your work with increasing pleasure and recognition . Because I am never complacent or at ease in your company but love being reminded of the simplest things ( to be attentive in a museum , to be startled and astonished by the variousness of people and their projects ). . . . your wonderfully phrased explanation of your friendship with Annie on a taxi ride downtown ). 4
And so on . Silverblatt is not , as I say , alone in his extravagance . A lot of Sontag ’ s friends behaved like characters in eighteenth-century novels who were pleased that Lady Sontag had condescended to include them in
4 Silverblatt ’ s complete letter is in the UCLA archive . 13