When Doug Green and I discussed bringing out a collection of these early stories, he brought up the subject of an introduction. "You can read through the stories," he said, "and write some sort of preface."
"One or the other," I said. "You decide which."
I have a lot of trouble looking at my early work. I rarely like the way it's written, and I especially dislike the glimpse it gives me of the unutterably callow youth who produced it, I like that kid and wish him well, but read what he wrote? The hell with that.
You know what? I'm afraid to read them. I'm scared I'll decide not to publish them after all, and it's too late for that.
So an uncharacteristic attack of honesty compels me to advise you that I am in the curious position of introducing you to a couple of dozen short stories which I myself haven't read in forty years.
- Lawrence Block, Afterthoughts, Version 2.0, "One Night Stands and Lost Weekends," p.177
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