rupi kaur vs. my local independent book store owner

they asked me which three dinner guests I’d choose. anyone, living or dead. they asked about queen elizabeth, rupi kaur. I said, I am a queen and rupi kaur is too much like me. it wouldn’t be interesting. meeting her would be sad and lonely, a glimpse into an alternate reality.

I’d choose ernest hemingway. ask him about his process, why he put a shotgun to his head. I’d pick the owner of my local independent bookstore, ask him why he’s successful. I think book store owners know success because they own literal guides on what it means to be intelligent: the classics.

I’d choose Georgia O’Keeffe. or maybe Rothko. how did they make the art they did? it was sure as hell on their own terms. paintings that are immortal, what’s their secret?

a dinner party with these people would be illuminating. a stark contrast to the every day, the boring. I want a mixture of personalities like the textures of different plants in nature. above all, I want to improve my art, be better than - they are?