Lydia Davis did something interesting at her reading at DU tonight -- after she had read a new piece, about (yes rather a loose way of talking about a Lyia Davis construction) trying to find ways to pay homage to people who have died, she asked if after the reading people would tell her whether or not they thought the piece worked (it did). The first question she was asked during the q&a portion of the evening was what she thought wasn't working in the piece. She mentioned a few things she was questioning, then asked what the audience thought. Some thought it was too long, others too short, etc. She took it all in, asked a few follow-up questions and that was it. But everyone in the room (or at any rate a high-enough percentage of those present for me to call it everyone) seemed struck by the moment -- here's Lydia Davis for God sakes not just performatively asking for feedback, but actually asking for it and listening to the advice offered, for whatever it was worth. Humility, detachment, confidence all seemed to be in the mix. Very appealing.