The neighbor

Mia Manzulli writes about what it's like to be Joyce Carol Oates's neighbor. 

A friend asked why the “quiet watching and waiting and respectful stewardship of my connection” mattered. I realize that I like to think that we had an unspoken connection. And that it has something to do with honoring a commitment and coming to understand the value in living somewhere where your home was a sanctuary, where you did not have to be neighborly or interact if you didn’t choose. I admired how Oates created that space for herself and wanted something similar. I also enjoyed the nearness of greatness without ever having to confront its limitations or rejections.