AWP 18 - TAMPA - A Post Script

AWP 18 in Tampa is History.  The thing about AWP is there are always expectation, there is always too little time, there are people you are excited to see, and people your are disappointed that did not come or who did and you were unable to meet up with, bones & muscles that ache and  moments of serendipity.  

I went with a lame knee tat  ad been swollen and painful beyond imagination on the Friday before I left Wednesday morning.  Monday, I saw my Doctor and she gave me a cortisone shot and a blister pack of steroids to take daily in decreasing order.  I survived and per my fitness band, recorded 35,990 steps over the  four days.  They were not pain free, but tolerable.

When it comes to counting memories, I don't think I will be able to erase the steps, but there will be others that will be good ones. 

As for serendipity, the keynote address by George Saunders comes to mind. I was not planning to go to it. It followed a Writers to Writers reception and a last minute decision to go was made and I accompanied one of the mentee alumni from my mentee class to the event and it was both enlightening and humorous.  I picked up is novel Lincoln in the Bardo.

I ran into Maryfrances Wagner (from my home town). There was Mary Biddinger from Akron Press (were poetry not only lives but thrives), Diane Zinna who is director of the Writers to Writers program, and Ken Waldman, my mentor. Ken and I did an hour at the W2W booth answering questions from persons interested in the program. I purposely attended an off site reading just to ear Shaindel Beers read, 

There were people who I felt like I knew, but actually met for the first time - All three of these are  poets I adore -  Heather Derr-Smith (we tried to meet up last year in DC but it didn't work), Maggie Smith, who signed her book Good Bones, which I read to my mother on her deathbed, and Rachel Mennies, who is writing some of the most powerful poetry these days. She also happens to be the mommy of a Twitter famous dog (at least among poets and writers).

There were too many to name at the Writer to Writer Reception, but I was able to meet up with Michelle McAdams and Erin Robertson from my mentee session.

Best panel I attended was on Writing Confessional Poetry. Rachel Mennies, Maggie Smith, Jericho Brown, and someone else whose name escapes me were the panel. Honest to God, Brown is crazy funny. I have not seen him in a long time, I recall him being funny, but not to this degree. 

As usual the swag was fun. Some of it is Pictured at the top. 

Oh, and there was my Sylvia Plath moment.....