sally, thank you. Enthusiasm like yours is a rare thing. I'll have to think about my own name. But it occurs to me that one reason I write fiction is to escape thinking about my name, etc.
lisa, your questions about the professor are interesting. I see-sawed about whether and how to describe her.
bosco, at the moment I suspect you know more about the beats and Black Mountain College than I do. Here's hoping I can watch a documentary rather than reading a pile of books. Maybe someone should start a blog recalling all the geniuses that collaborated there and how they got along.