My writer friend Robert Day has a game he plays. He shakes your hand, and then says, “There. You have shaken Nabokov’s hand, twice removed, and through him, Leo Tolstoy’s hand.” This physical touch-tag game shows the human aspect of the writers’ lineages. Alongside the written books exists a living network of friendships, mentors, and teachers. These provide support for the next generations. Poet Langston Hughes lived in Lawrence, Kansas most of his childhood, and his school friend John Taylor told stories to Katie Armitage, who told stories to me and other Lawrencian about Hughes. Awe of the great writer leads to fascination with causes of their genius. An important part is the community of those who love the craft and art of writing. Always, a mentor from this community steps forward. For Hughes, it was his third-grade elementary school teacher, an African American educator named Mamie Dillard. He remained close to her the rest of his life. Mentors help young people with no idea if someone will become famous or not. They support the lineage of the literary tradition because they love it. This inspired RAiner Maria Rilke to exchange letters with an aspiring poet, collected in: Letters to a Young Poet: Rilke, Rainer Maria, 1875-1926.