Yes, thanks, Alicia. Four days dead, before discovery. And at Christmastime. What a world.

I took a workshop with Rachel at the 92nd Street Y some years ago -- (I think Meredith Bergmann was in that workshop, too ...) and Rachel encouraged us to go to West Chester -- (Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing her at West Chester last year ... )
She was lovely. Smart, fun ...
Very very sad and disturbing news. What a tragedy.

No, she wasn't at West Chester last June. She had taken part in the previous two critical seminars, in 2007 and 2008, on W.H. Auden and Philip Larkin. She gave a short presentation on Larkin and happiness, of all topics. It was wonderful - witty and perceptive.

very sad news
 

Yes, along with Wendy, I studied with Rachel at the Unterberg Poetry Center in 2004. She was a lovely teacher: very smart, unflappable, serious and fun, deeply educated and able to share that with us. She was very encouraging to me as a student and welcoming to me as a poet. I remember her snort of laughter at a reading, provoked by a poem I read about varieties of worry, and her compliments on my sestina about NOT jumping off a terrace– so sad, now!

I was always struck by her bright, alert cheer and how brave it seemed. I’ll miss her a lot.