My dad passed away this week. I feel shocked by this every time I say it. This post is not about my dad, but it felt wrong not to acknowledge that after the last few hard months, things here continue to be hard and sad.
Somehow, there’s still been joy and fun in the last couple of months too. This extrovert writer is especially happy when I get to throw myself into a sea of writers and spend days totally immersed in the writing world, so here’s a rundown of recent conferences and a festival.
AWP conference highlights:
– Celebrating Whale Road Review‘s 10-year anniversary at our booth with nonstop author signings and some sparkling cider toasts (pictured above).
– Being part of amazing off-site events: Wednesday Night Poetry, Off Site. On Purpose. (co-sponsored by Whale Road Review, SWWIM, MER, Perugia Press, and Cultivating Voices LIVE), and Reluctant Prophets (a book launch for J.D. Isip). Each of these felt magical—full of incredible poems and some of my very favorite poets.
– Giving a presentation on Networking for Writers alongside Abayomi Animashaun, Elizabeth Dark, and Jessica Jacobs.
– Going to the Gregory Alan Isakov concert at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on the last night with some of my dearest friends.
San Diego Writers Festival highlights:
– Being part of an eclectic panel interview on the writing life that was organized and moderated by Adam Greenfield (pictured above).
– Reading as a featured poet alongside some of San Diego’s rockstar poets.
– Meeting new writers and visiting with dear friends around the bookfair and in the presenters’ lounge.
PCA conference highlights:
– Enjoying the poetry panels: all hits, no misses! Being there as an attendee/presenter rather than as an Area Chair for the first time in 11 years was a nice break (and Billie Tadros did a fantastic job chairing).
– Presenting on how to write occasional poems on a deadline alongside Morgan Tinin and Debbie Campbell (who I refer to as my Whale Road Review doula due to a conversation we had 10 years ago at PCA in NOLA!).
– Getting to enjoy panels and events in other areas, including a Disney area movie viewing (an unofficial sing-along) and the annual Game Studies game night (where someone just gave me a new expansion of Settlers of Catan after I showed him the Catan earrings I was wearing.)
– Spending time with dear long-time friends and some newly-made friends too, often over fantastic food. So many beignets, but not nearly enough. 🙂
