Post-Election Blues, Reading in Port Townsend, and Lying Next to James Franco

It’s been a rough week for a lot of us. A trip up to Port Townsend two days after the election required that I rally myself, pick out some poems, and go out into the world.
The drive/ferry up to Port Townsend takes about three hours. On the way up, we were rewarded with sunshine, blue water, and plenty of wildlife – our day trip wildlife count included a playful otter, one seal, sassy kingfishers, two bald eagles singing and gurgling to each other as they sat as a couple in a pine tree on the beach, many many deer, basically more wildlife than I see in a week in Woodinville. I was late, but made it in time to have dinner with poet friends before the reading, which was wonderful. The ocean, the mountains, and the warm and welcoming people of Port Townsend made this reading trip – though slightly grueling physically – a pleasure. A pleasure that seemed really necessary, a reminder that there is beauty in nature, and in humanity.

The crowd at the Northwind series at the Northwest Arts Center was full of old friends as well as Facebook friends I’d never seen in person, and surprisingly, lots of strangers (God bless Port Townsend’s poetry-loving culture.) Instead of depressed and discouraged, a lot of the folks spoke about how they were ready to take on the challenge, the young people defiant, the older folks confident that we would overcome what seems like an absolute win for everything bad in America. The reading went well, the audience laughed and bought books, there were lots of hugs. One person said the poems from Field Guide to the End of the World were exactly what America needed at this point in time. That made me feel good – like maybe poetry could make a little difference, after all. (Because I’d been feeling the opposite the last few days…) I’ll try to have a link to the recording Glenn took up soon.

Another little happy thing was a friend (Thanks Michael Schmeltzer!) who snapped a pic on Twitter of my book next to James Franco’s at his local Barnes and Nobles. I made the joke that this is probably the only time anyone will see my lying next to James Franco!

I also want to remind you to vote in the semifinalist round at the Goodreads Choice Book Awards for Field Guide to the End of the World if you liked it. Only two more days left to vote!