I have arrived safely in Chicago, no wheel gripping or silent tears for me. I made the journey on my own, and even though I'm nearing-thirty, I have a sort of big-girl puffed-up proudness in my accomplishment: I wanted it, I feared it a little bit (those taxi drivers and their crossing-the-dotted-lines driving!), and I did it. Ta freaking da.
Everything here costs something: the parking (valet, $15 extra, which I declined), the internet ($15 / day for the slowest version in the room--free wi fi in the common areas, but my laptop is fussy and the battery has died and the hook-up needs to be jiggled and let's just say, the whole process could indeed prove to be a nightmare that one need not witness), and on. I paid with fives at the tolls so I could have ones for the week; I'm assuming vendors will love me, as will Dislocate, should our table run out.
(Hey! If you are at AWP and reading this, check out Dislocate! Buy the most recent issue! [You now can officially do so online!] A poem of mine is in it--they accepted the poem before I was accepted into the program, I feel the need to add! And I'll be at the booth at nine tomorrow morning, wiping the sleep crud from my eyes.)
Also, have you seen this? I absolutely adore the premise: the two editors asked some of their favorite poets to submit a poem for each of Obama's first one hundred days in office, reflecting on the world as it stands that day.
PS: AWP, Chicago 2009 photoset here. It looks kind of sweet with just three photographs tonight. Tomorrow: it grows like wildfire.
No comments:
Post a Comment