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ARCHIVE / 2019 / May
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Story — From the May 2019 issue

The Unexpected

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“Thank you for the honor. I am very—honored.” You have been instructed to remove the clumsy black mortarboard at this point in the commencement ceremony. Now you incline your head so that a red ribbon bearing a brass medallion inscribed with the Latin phrase vincit omnia veritas can be looped around your neck. Then a royal-blue velvet doctoral hood with white satin trim is also lowered over your head and secured in place around your shoulders with a snap. A rotund little man identified as the president of the college congratulates you, shakes your hand vigorously. You are left alone
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, author most recently of the novel Hazards of Time Travel, is the 2019 recipient of the Jerusalem Prize for Literature.

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