More Notes from the 2012 Skagit River Poetry Festival – with pictures!

Above: Me with the lovely and talented Jericho Brown, Me with Motley Crew including Kelli Russell Agodon, Lana Ayers, and Jared Leising…

SO I am back home safe from the excitement of the Skagit River Poetry Festival in La Conner, Washington once again. There were some wonderful readings yesterday, in particular the reading where every single conference participant read one poem (a great way to see people you missed during the weekend – every conference should do that) and the evening reading with Nikki Giovanni (a revelation – and so beautiful!), Bob Hicok (yes, as funny as advertised, but also more moving that I remembered his poems being) and Marie Howe (whom I already knew I loved.)  Through the festival I got to see old friends (Rachel Rose from Canada for instance) that I usually only get to see at AWP, meet other friends like Marci Ameluxen and Lorraine Healy that I previously only knew by e-mail. And I discovered new poets who live right in my hometown – Karen Finneyfrock, for intance, who has not only a great name for a poet but wrote poems that just really resonated – and had an excuse to catch up with poets and talk poetry during a really busy and stressful time in my life, which is never a bad thing. After stopping by a poetry reading on the way out, I felt really happy we had decided to go despite our need to pack, build things, prepare, work, etc. This festival only occurs once every two years, so you’ve got to seize the day and go when it happens. These events remind me that I’m not just a teacher, I’m a writer, and I like being with other people who care about poetry, an eccentric but lovely crowd.