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| Infographic © Megan Parisot 2016 |
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Roger Angell, Let Me Finish. Orlando FL: Harcourt, 2006, pp. 231-232—
One day in the late sixties, [American fiction writer ] Donald [Barthelme] needed to get somewhere upstate and dropped into his neighborhood Hertz office for a rental. All went well until it was revealed that the applicant did not possess a credit card. "We'll need some identification, then," the Hertz man said unhappily. "What is your occupation, Mr. Barthumb?"
Don—already sensing the onrushing scene from "Mondo Donaldo"— confessed that he was a writer. He wrote books.
"What are some of your books?" said the Hertz guy, slightly retrieving the application form that lay between them.
"Well, Snow White."
"You wrote Snow White? Any others?"
"I have a new one just coming out, Unspeakable Practices, Unnatural Acts. It's a collection."
"Well, there's a lot of that going on these days, isn't there?" said Hertz. "That'll be seven hundred dollars down, cash."
