he knew what most of the audience at the pen panel discussion would have thought - oh , yes , great picture for rich kinnell he probably wants it for inspiration , a feather to tickle his tired old gorge into one more fit of projectile vomiting-but most of those folks were ignoramuses , at least as far as his work went , and what was more , they treasured their ignorance , cossetted it the way some people inexplicably treasured and cossetted those stupid , mean-spirited little dogs that yapped at visitors and sometimes bit the paperboy 's ankles .