After seeing a new translation of Jorge Luis Borges′s mini-essay "Borges and I" (included here), Halpern asked numerous writers to muse briefly on "the fictional persona ′behind the scenes,′" the alter(ed) ego that accompanies creation.

He asked some 50 well-known authors-such as Margaret Atwood, Pat Conroy, William Gass, Czeslaw Milosz, James Michener, Joyce Carol Oates, and Cynthia Ozick-to write pieces on this idea. The essays are mostly one- to two-page snapshots and vary widely as to approach. Some are touching, others delightfully silly.

Edward Gorey...