Back-to-school time brought new beginnings for me: I became an assistant professor of English at Augusta University in Georgia. In the middle of August, I found myself amid a crush of eager students toting newly purchased books and searching for classrooms.
After ten years of bouncing around the country teaching wherever folks would let me, finding employment in my home region and teaching invigorating classes felt like a gift. But my ears were unprepared for the transition from wandering the woods and writing in isolation to the chaos of college. There was always a door opening or closing somewhere. I could hear my colleague clearing his throat through the wall. The air handler in the ceiling thrummed nonstop above my writing desk. Students clopped down the hall in their boots,
