A Day in the Life of a Literature Professor, or Why I Do What I Do

Several years ago, right after I earned my Ph.D., a friend rather bluntly told me that the only reason people became literature professors was because they had failed at being creative writers. I remember shooting back with something along the lines of, "Not all academics want to be creative writers." Of course, my friend summarily discounted that statement with, "Yes, they do. If they haven't tried writing, it's because they know they'll probably fail, and they're cowards."

I've had this...