Quite honestly, I’m overwhelmed by the thought of writing about AWP.  There was just so much to it.  Where does one even begin?

This was my first AWP, and I could not believe how many people there were.  And events.  And parties.  It is utterly impossible to do it all, so I did what I could.  I was there with my good friend and fellow MFA grad, Tanya, and half the fun was just hanging with her for four days.  We live on opposite sides of the country and only get to see one another a couple times a year.

The first night, we ran into Carolyne Wright, who was my thesis advisor and Tanya’s second reader.  I’m glad we did, too, because we didn’t see her again the whole rest of the conference until just before she left.  Went to the hotel bar with her and her publisher, Christine Holbert of Lost Horse Press, for a drink.  Eventually ran into Kate Gale of Red Hen Press, as well, who we later also saw at the Red Hen/Rattle party on Friday.   That first evening ended up being my only night of partying, though, as I came down with a hideous cold the next day and was in bed by 10:00 every night thereafter.  I heard that most participants partied into the wee hours, though.

The panels were generally pretty good.  I did a lot of picking and choosing and got some nugget out of all of them.  Some were definitely better than others.  One thing I have to mention is Kim Addonizio’s performance during the West Chester Writing Conference reading.  She is an amazing reader, is hilariously funny, and can play a mean harmonica.

We made it through most of the bookfair, and getting to meet editors who’ve taken my work was a highlight.  I especially enjoyed meeting Tim Green of Rattle, and the Poet Lore folks, who had me sign my page in the current issue for their archives.  Does that sort of thing ever get old?  I also discovered a new (to me) poet, whose work I love: Lynnell Edwards.  I had the pleasure of meeting her, as well, both at the Red Hen table and later at their party.

By the end of the conference, I was overflowing with writing inspiration, hopefulness about an opportunity I was presented with and am crossing my fingers for, and exhaustion from all the schmoozing.   I will definitely be returning next year, but I may need the entire 12 months to recover from this one.