Dear advisor,

I hope things are going well at midterm. I'm writing to update you on
my progress and send a revised timeline (attached). I also wanted to
let you know that I'll be taking board minutes at the NeMLA meeting on
Oct. 27th--thank you so much for posting the opportunity!

I have about 30 pages of "notes" which I've mined to produce 8 pages
of solid chapter on *The Color Purple,* healing narratives, and
radical spirituality. In particular I've discovered a great literary
connection between Walker's work and 19th century radical spiritual
narratives, and some interesting themes are emerging between Walker's
work and Lorde, Bambara and Rich.

I have been pushing like Sisyphus to get through my block and keep
writing every day. I expect to be through *The Color Purple* by the
end of the week and moving on to build the second half of my argument
about Walker's later work. Here's a revised timeline which estimates
the chapter on November 1st. I'd rather give you as finished a draft
as possible, but please let me know if you'd like to see the shorter
sections I've got now.

Thanks for your patience. I'll see you at the NeMLA meeting, if not
before--thanks again!

Susannah