This post is from Austin – so it’ll be fragmented – it’s hot here, in the eighties, compared to the in-the-forties temperatures we would be experiencing in Seattle right now – there were thunderstorms last night, but no drizzle or anything during the day – a welcome change. The air is filled with the weird crackling sounds of grackles, birds that look like blackbirds with long tail feathers, and the landscape is filled with scrubby, leafless trees. Yesterday Glenn and I sneaked off for a visit to the botanical garden full of blooming laurel bushes that smelled like grape soda and must have seen a hundred butterflies. I already have blisters from walking around in sandals so much. Got to meet some bloggers yesterday, and hopefully more today – the charming and very gracious Eduardo, Tony Robinson, Rebecca Livingston ( all these young men kept coming up to her and saying “I read your blog!” – what a pickup line!) the lovely and fun-to-chat-with Mary Biddinger and her husband – and got to chat with Peter Pereira (although I missed his reading – argh!) and had lunch with Tom Hunley, the Steel Toe Books publisher, and at night I went to that crazy anthology that’s causing so much consternation, Legitimate Dangers, reading at this tiny bar downtown, it was so crowded I couldn’t even move and after an hour and a half, even though I enjoyed most of the readers, I had to get out into the fresh air and go home. As at most poetry readings, not every reader was great and the reading was somewhat disorganized – I did get to meet Nick Flynn, who is as cute as his author photo and a great reader, which was fun – and see Rachel Zucker, who I am a big fan of, read – she looks about fifteen in person – and big, friendly Joshua Beckman and saw Ilya Kaminsky read, always a pleasure, but missed one of my favorite poets on the list, Dana Levin. It was so crowded I don’t even know if she was there. Tonight I have to make the agonizing choice of listening to Tony Hoagland, whom I’ve never seen read, or going to a little bar reading and social by Tupelo Books…decisions, decisions. As you can probably tell, I’m having fun this year, less stressed by stuff (politics, anxiety, etc) than the other years I’ve been, and feeling kind of carefree. The architecture in the city is beautiful – even the parking garages have frosted glass curving lines and decorative neon, and the skyscrapers form little sculptures at the top – and the Texans are very friendly. It’s very flat so you can can walk everywhere. Okay, back to real life, I have to go get ready for the Alice James reading at 11 with Brian Turner and Anne Marie Macari who I really want to see, so I have to grab some coffee and get going. I’ll try to post something more coherent later.