I’ve been back for a few days now, and meant to update here, but as soon as I returned I decided to sign up for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month, for those who don’t know, where the goal is to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of November) and now I have very little free time. Because I’m…you guessed it…writing. A lot.

Anyway, the trip was very productive and grueling and also fun. The highlight, of course, was the Red Hen Press fundraiser and 15th Anniversary celebration at the Luxe Hotel in L.A.  It was a thrill to chat with people I’ve long admired, such as Mark Doty, Wanda Coleman, Eloise Klein Healy, Lisa See, and more. Not to mention rubbing shoulders with Carolyn See, Doug Kearney, Jamaica Kincaid, Alicia Ostriker, etc.. etc..  The literary talent in that room was mind-boggling. I had the good fortune to be seated next to my friend Naseem Rakha, who is on her way to being one of those huge literary names, and who is very fun. I’m sorry we didn’t get more time to chat. You should go buy her book immediately and read it, though, because it’s brillant. The Crying Tree. You won’t be sorry, I promise.  While in L.A., I shared a room with LA Review nonfiction editor Ann Beman, and it was just like a slumber party except with room service. We had a great time together, shopping, eating, and visiting the Getty Museum, which I’d never seen before. What an amazing place! I want to go back sometime soon.

The big snafu of the weekend was that I was absolutely certain the Red Hen party ended at 1:00 pm (it even said so on the Red Hen website at one point) so I had a flight home at 3:45 pm. What I found out after arriving was that the party ended at 3:00 pm. I was absolutely crushed, but had no choice but to leave at 1:00 to catch my plane. I missed the best part of the event — the readings and speeches. What a disappointment! I won’t say I wasn’t absolutely thrilled to be home again, though, after five days away. The alternative was the red-eye, which I would have taken if I’d known, but it would have been hell.

In other news, the Kim Addonizio workshop continues to be brilliant and is making me write a poem a week, which isn’t as hard as I imagined it would be. I’m getting so much out of it. And Los Angeles Review work continues apace with reading for the Spring 2010 issue. We will be opening up a CafePress store soon for the purchase of LA Review and Red Hen Press gear. Stay tuned.