In the last few weeks I’ve read all of Nella Larsen’s fiction. This isn’t as impressive as it sounds – Charles Larson’s edited Complete Fiction collection of Larsen’s works contains only three short stories, none of which are her best work, and the two short novels Quicksand and Passing. It’s a slim volume, not much thicker in total than many literary novels. I came to Larsen by a circuitous route,

Before applying for my Masters in Counselling Psychology, I had to take several undergraduate prerequisites in Psychology and related subjects. I remember how nervous I felt teaching my first undergraduate course, Freshman Composition, at the University of Florida in 1984, only a few years older than most of my students and younger than several of them. After a time, being a teacher and university level became second nature, and my