Episode 1270: Finalised My Conference Paper Title!

I've finally decided what my conference paper is going to be titled: '"This image of themselves": Anxiety of Influence and the Merlion'. Also spoke to Emma Mason today about my essay for EN954, and she likes my idea of looking at the AIDS elegies written by Thom Gunn and Paul Monette, thinking in terms of the differences in the forms employed by these two poets. Now the question is whether I should actually order a copy of Monette's Love Alone: Eighteen Elegies For Rog. I've got a few poems on the handout Emma gave us, but I'm curious to see what the whole collection reads like, and just generally curious about Monette's poetry, which seems to be largely out of print, although there are plenty of second-hand copies floating about. Now that I'm not getting my driving license in the UK (I need to send my passport to the DVLA for the provisional driving license but I absolutely do not trust the British postal system), I don't have to worry about setting aside money for driving lessons, so all that can either be saved or spent on more books, and we all know which is the likelier possibility for me. I've definitely got other books in mind that I want to get, including all three Vintage paperbacks of Tom McCarthy's novels. I'm just waiting for The Book Depository to do another 10% off promotion.