Disclaimer

"Who is this Sass character?" you may ask. "Last I heard, her name was Susan. Why go messing with such a refreshingly simple appellation?"

Nothing against my parents, but there are just too darn many of me floating around. Susan Browns were a dime a dozen my freshman year of college—four in my class alone. Forget my own domain name, taken years ago by a real estate tycoon pretending to chat on her cell phone. And now, at least one more of me is writing and publishing poems, creating the following awkward scenario:

Friend of The Real Susan Brown: "Hey, I saw your poem in Ploughshares last month. Nice imagery!"

The Real Susan Brown: "Uh, actually ..."

And so I decided to take charge of my own destiny and name myself. If I were a blues diva, I always said, I would be named Sassafras "Sass" Brown. Well, I'm no singer, but I sure am sassy.

So no need to be confused now that I work under two different names. The IRS still knows me as Susan, and most likely, so do you. I'll happily answer to either.