i felt like i was floating above myself, disembodied. i went to way too many panels and did not spend enough time in the bookfair or at readings. i was hiding out in the panels. i didn’t want to see anyone from emerson at first; weirdly, i avoided the redivider table. when i finally did go into the bookfair and did go to the redivider table, i realized that i didn’t have enough time for all the things i wanted to see and i realized how much i had missed emerson friends since moving away from boston.
i felt small and sort of lost. my nametag still said “emerson” on it, but i don’t even live in boston anymore. the panels seemed more focused on craft this year, and not so much about jobs and teaching. there were some surprise readings at panels that were supposed to be discussions and a lot of surprise discussions of new media. i loved the panel on linked stories and the panel on rejection.
the panel on tenure track jobs made me want to get a high school teaching certificate.
on the bus on the way back to richmond, i read our island of epidemics by matt salesses, (published by pank) which reminded me of italo calvino’s cosmicomics. it gave me the light, flying feeling that i get when i read playful fiction. i loved it. i also read if you’re not yet like me by edan lepucki (flatmancrooked). i loved the story, “i am the lion now.” it made me think about justin and me, and being happily married. there was so much humor in such small things in that piece--it reminded me to not take myself too seriously. i also read a lot of the new issue of redivider.
when i got back to richmond, i made a big list of journals to submit to. if i wasn’t broke, i would submit to contests.
awp inspired me to keep on writing, reading and submitting, despite not being in an mfa program anymore. looking at all of the small presses at the bookfair reminded me, there is life after the mfa.
