March was so packed that this post can’t possibly account for it all, but here are some writing-related highlights!

Millay House
I started the month by joining my friend Carly DeMento at the Millay House in Rockland, Maine! Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of my very favorite poets, so this was extra special for me. While there, I participated in a salon reading at the house and an open mic called Draft, and it was so lovely to connect with the writers there. I also released Issue 42 of Whale Road Review from the Millay House, and I spent some time working on my new book manuscript. (Non-writing highlights include stumbling upon the coolest Irish pub, sampling a variety of oysters, and taking a long freezing walk to a lighthouse!)

AWP
Despite more snow, I made it from Maine to Maryland on time to begin AWP Conference activities, starting with a cheese party on Wednesday afternoon! While the cheese was fantastic, my favorite parts were connecting with writer friends and taking Belle-inspired library ladder pics. On Wednesday night, I co-hosted a reading at Westminster Hall (Poe’s burial place) that was sponsored by Whale Road Review, SWWIM, MER, NELLE, Perugia Press, & Cultivating Voices LIVE Poetry. The readers were amazing, and we had a sweet time honoring the life and work of Jenn Martelli. We also had an organist playing movie tunes beforehand and during intermission, which was amazing. I was sad that I didn’t get to attend Wednesday Night Poetry this time, but I was there in spirit.

Other AWP highlights include wandering the bookfair alone and with friends, hanging out and signing books at the PLNU M.A. in Writing & Last Syllable booth with our fantastic grad students, attending the West Trestle breakfast, reading with some of my favorite friends at a One Poet, One Poem event sponsored by Rock & Sling and Whitworth MFA, attending an incredible panel on sacred texts and religious violence, and reading at two incredibly fun Friday night offsite events with Scrawl Place and A Dozen Nothing (my Scattergories poem was very well received!).

(Other non-conference highlights are the many meals and coffee dates with beloved writer friends, including a very giggly dinner at a “pirate cafe” with my dear friend Sally Rosen Kindred, a mind-blowing dinner at a Turkish restaurant with some of my favorite writer friends, and Sunday breakfast with Emily Capettini, my best friend from grad school.)

After the conference, I went home with Sally and got to enjoy some peaceful time meeting her family and pets, walking through the woods near her house, and going to some of her favorite local places like Busboys & Poets and Toby’s dinner theater. It was the perfect way to begin my spring break and wind down after a busy conference.

And here’s to National Poetry Month! More soon…

If you need plans for Friday evening, join us virtually for this reading with The Writers Place! I’ll mostly be reading from 28,065 Nights (poems about/to my Granny) since it’s her birthday. ♥

Our Staff Celebration Reading yesterday was a bright spot in a dark time. I’m so thankful for these folks who work on Whale Road Review with me and who are such gifted writers themselves.

You can join us asynchronously and watch the reading on YouTube!

I’ve attended the Glen Workshop many times, so it was a special honor to return as faculty this summer. I was the writing retreat guide, and I spent a few hours each morning working on writing projects in the company of wonderful creative people.

A few of my writing retreat folks

There were too many highlights in the week to name them all, but one that stands out to me is the LOGOS poetry reading on Sunday night. It was co-sponsored by EcoTheo and hosted by Shann Ray, who created such a welcoming space. I loved reading alongside Phil Metres and Gabby Bates, and the audience conversation and Q&A times were more lovely than I can describe; the whole event had a beautiful earnestness about it.

My people

As always, my very favorite part of the week was spending time dear friends and making new ones. When I first attended the Glen ten years ago, I said that I felt like I’d found my people, and despite a lot of changes (location, schedule, leadership, etc.) over the last decade, that’s still true.

Last Monday, I was the featured poet at A Conversation with Jimmy and Friends. This weekly Zoom reading and conversation hosted by Jimmy Pappas is so fun! I loved presenting game poems and having the attendees ask questions and make observations back to me. In addition to sharing some poems from my How to Play chapbook, I also shared two game poems I love that were written by other poets: “Do Not Pass Go” by Jennifer H. Dracos-Tice (first published in Whale Road Review!) and “Queen Me” by Kelli Russell Agodon.