I forgot how beautiful Coates' prose is to read. I love his reflective voice and the way he uses the epistolary to engage the reader in his thought processes. He draws deep provocative observations out of weaving together of trips to Dakar, South Carolina, and Palestine. But that's not actually what makes this book so profound. What I valued most is the way he thinks about the role of the writer in society and how he wants to impart that to his students. Just brilliant, hopeful, and inspiring.