ABSTRACT
I never write alone. Scholarship is often said to be a solitary occupation, but when I sit down in front of the keyboard, I never lack for company. Looking over my shoulder, whispering or shouting red-faced in my ear, imaginary companions are always with me. They may nod approvingly, exclaim over my insights, pat me on the back. More often, though, they complain: Who does he think he is? How can he say that? He obviously hasn’t read/doesn’t understand (insert name of prominent theorist). He doesn’t know Greek! The voices babble and roar as I write this sentence (“Trying to take the rhetorical high ground, are we?”), prompting preemptive revisions. Recording the approving voices might seem a trifle, well, self-serving – leave them to their tasteful musings, then. What about the rest? Can I answer them?
