Over a noisy lunch the other day, I overheard Ellen Datlow talking about her experiences in Australia and New Zealand while she was teaching Clarion South. I only caught bits and pieces of the conversation, but I heard someone say “I heard they’re mean,” to which Gordon replied “That’s because they’re all hopped up on eucalyptus.” Naturally, I assumed he was referring to the Clarion students, and I found myself looking forward to seeing the prose churned out by the eucalyptus-fueled rage of the Aussies.

Turns out they were talking about koalas. Needless to say, I was greatly disappointed.