Much as I hate blowing my own horn, I do have to thank the University of Toronto School of Continuing Studies for presenting me with an Excellence in Teaching Award. It sounds cynical, I know, but I've  always believed that these awards went to those who lobbied for them. So this one came as a huge surprise. When Lee Gowan, head of the Creative Writing Program, phoned and said he was donning his official hat, I thought: "Uh oh. I have been found out!" Then, in handing out the award, Marilynn Booth, director of the SCS, said so many nice things that she made me blush . . . and THAT is not easy to do. Photographer Max Summerlee took some great shots, among them this one of Marilynn and me.