3 Quotes & Sayings By Janet Kagan

Janet Kagan is on the faculty of the MFA Program in Fiction Writing at the University of Houston, where she teaches fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry workshops. She was a Fulbright Fellow in Azerbaijan (1992–1993) and has received the PEN/Heimrath Award for literary translation (1996) and the PEN American Center Award for her translation of The Story of My Dovecot (2007). She is the author of several books of short stories, including "The Lives They Lived," which won the 2001 PEN/Hemingway Award for best first collection. Her work has appeared in The Paris Review, The Believer, and other journals, and in anthologies including "Best American Short Stories 2000," "The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2001," "The Best of Women's Crime Writing 2002," "Best Women's Crime Writing 2003," "Best Women's Crime Writing 2004," "The Best American Mystery Stories 2005," and "Best Fiction 2009." Janet lives in Houston with her husband, David Kagan.

1
We're looking for a planeet on the strength of a song. it's crazy I know, but its the only chance we have to do something useful.". .Evan Wilson said gravely "I think you're as crazy as Heinrich Schliemann - and you know what happened to him! "" What". ."you don't know what happened to him?" she asked her blue eyes widening in astonishment." Ever read Homer's Iliad, Captain?". ."I don't know what translation you read Doctor, but there was no Heinrich Schliemann in mine - or in the Odyssey." "That depends on how you look at it." smiling she settled back into her chair and went on, " Heinrich Schliemann was from Earth, pre-federation days, and he read Homer too. No, not just read him, believed him. So he set out at his own expense-mind you, I doubt he could have found anyone else to fund such a crazy endeavor - to find Troy, a city that most of the educated people of his time considered pure invention on Homer's part." "And?""And he found it. Next time you're on earth, stop by the Troy Museum. the artifacts are magnificent, and every one of them was found on the strength of a song. Janet Kagan
2
That year the Ribeiro's daffodils seeded early and they seeded cockroaches. Now, ecologically speaking, even a cockroach has its place -- but these suckers bit. That didn't sound Earth-authentic to me. Not that I care, mind you, all I ask is useful. I wasn't betting on that either. Janet Kagan