A Rainy Night in Georgia

AWP has been fun, but way too crowded. It is just a mass of humanity. There are so many panels, it's hard to decide what to go to, a feast in that sense, but overwhelming.

I went to the Robert Dana panel Thursday AM, and then to hear my friend Kathleen Flenniken give a great reading from Famous. It was fun to see all the nice people from Prairie Schooner again.

The book fair does not seem to be quite as well organized this year as other years, it is really hard to find the tables you want to visit. Still I have bought way too many books, and there are still 2 days to go! ~grin~

Met up with Michael and Joseph from Copper Canyon. It was great to see my new book sitting next to CD Wright's new One Big Self (which is terrific BTW, a long poem arising from her time interviewing prisoners in Louisiana with the photographer Deborah Luster).

Saw Charles Flowers at the Bloom/Lambda Lit table (my friend Jeff Crandall has a beautiful sonnet using some of the "over 100 false rhymes for 'love'" in the new issue: check it out!), and briefly said hi to C Dale (his new book is at Four Way: sweet). Saw Paul and Reb and Charles and Dana and others. It blows me away how many people are squeezed in to the conference area.

Went out with Collin Kelly and a dear friend of his named Geri to the fabulous Abigail & Muriel's (a funky 50's-retro restaurant in an old house just outside of downtown). A very hunky valet with a beautiful lanky southern voice parked Geri's van for us. A HUGE rainstorm and thunderstorm came as we were eating. The valet guy got soaked and had to take his shirt off (oh my). When he brought back our car, he said his pants were so soaked he thought they were going to fall off, and Geri shot back "I think I know a couple people who wouldn't mind seeing that" (or something to that effect). Hehehehe.

It has continued to be rainy and stormy here. I was hoping for some sun. Ah well. Perhaps I am guilty of bringing Seattle's rain with me.

Not sure what panels I am going to today. I've been invited to record some poems for the Poetry Foundation this afternoon. And tonight is my reading at the Portfolio Center. (Thank you to Collin for setting it up).
more later .