AWP Atlanta – Webbish6

Jeannine Gailey — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 17:20:00 +0000

AWP – The Gift That Keeps On Giving

So, apparently I picked up a hell of a stomach bug at AWP, which I have spent two days recovering from. I guess when you fly on an airplane twice, and shake the hands of about five thousand people, you are bound to pick up a germ or two. It was still worth it!

One of the things about AWP that I am always -weirdly – disappointed with is how surface-y everything stays. It’s neccessary because of the short amount of time you interact – the panels at an hour and fifteen can only go into things so deeply, they don’t have time – and if you’re talking to someone for five minutes, it’s unlikely you’re going to get much of their life story. But it makes me sad all the same. It’s like, you just get this glimmer of an interesting person or idea, then you’re onto the next thing. Kind of like speed dating.

But the best thing is coming home with a pile of memories of meeting new poets and new journals and books to read. It will take me a week to get through everything, I’m sure. And I came home to a couple of acceptances, always a nice surprise. And have lots of e-mails to send and respond to. I loved meeting people I only knew by internet before.

I wasn’t crazy about Atlanta – at least most of the parts I tooled around in – although I’m generally a fan of the South, having grown up in Tennessee – it wasn’t like Chicago, the city I fell in love with during AWP a couple of years ago. I’m looking forward to New York City, which I last visited in 2000. I loved it then, even though I only got to spend a couple of days at a time there for work with IBM. When I travel I imagine living in the city, where I’d go grocery shopping, how the women wear their hair, finding the parks with the best views of the city. I have a romantic addiction to moving every so many years, since I grew up doing that (my dad was in the academic career path when I was a kid, moving every couple of years to get a promotion or get tenure or chair.) I didn’t love Seattle when I first visited it, it was cold and grey in a February and the people were rude and the traffic terrible. It wasn’t until I visited the second time in August that I saw what people loved about the city. People in Seattle are much more gracious when the sun in shining, FYI.

I did find a decent, kind of affordable/hipster restaurant called Taurus, which was kind of in Midtown or Buckhead up on Peachtree street. If you get a chance next time you’re in Atlanta, check it out. The Louvre exhibition at the High was disappointing, but the permanent collection there was pretty decent. Didn’t get to the botanical garden, but it didn’t seem like much would have been blooming anyway – the trees, unlike here in Seattle, were still bare and bud-free, and only a few daffodils poking out of the mud let you know it was almost spring.

And last but not least, a little pic that may or may not disappear shortly: Dorianne Laux and me at AWP luring people to Pacific U’s MFA program booth.

Jeannine Gailey — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 03:36:00 +0000

Download AWP Atlanta straight from my addled brain!
(As if I had any brain left. Yesterday at my book signing I had to ask my friend Denise from New Pages how to spell Denise. For some reason I thought it was spelled with a “c.” )
(Music: Breathe (2 am) by Anna Nalick)
The layout of the bookfair was a nightmare, and it was hot as blazes except for Saturday at my booth, where it got so cold my lips and hands turned blue. I think the Chicago AWP was probably the most logically organized one I have been to. I plan to go to next year’s in NYC but I wonder how nightmarish logistics will be. There was a tornado watch the first night (the day that tornado hit that high school in Alabama) and the lightning and sirens kept us jumping. Not too much lightning – or that many sirens – in Seattle.
Best two panels: the Southeast Review reading (including DA Powell, Dorianne Laux, Ander Monson and Beth Ann Fennelly – I was so excited to meet her!) Dorianne read a great new poem, Beth Ann read a hilarious poem about lusting after young male students and another interesting one connecting cow tipping to terrorism, and Ander read a terrific piece about murdered girls that I thought instantly I hope he reads in Chicago since it goes so well with all my dead girl poetry. This was jam-packed – standing room only. The “Fairy Tales in Fiction” panel – run by Fairy Tale Review’s Kate Bernheimer – had Kelly Link on it, which was enough to get me there. They must have had over a hundred people crammed into the room to hear the panel – if this is any indication, fairy tales are taking over! About time. LOL. And I shook hands with Kelly and she remembered me (from the Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror anthology) and said she liked my poetry! I’m such a fangirl, I was so excited! (PS Read her book Stranger Things Happen. It is amazing. I just re-read it and I’m ordering two more copies for friends.) Mostly that panel was just the people reading their work, I would have liked to hear more discussion of the whys and hows of using fairy tale archetypes and characters in narrative – maybe they will have another panel like this next year, given the turnout. I hope so!
The two off-site readings – Switchback’s and No Tell’s – were both terrific. Highlights of Switchback’s – I may be prejudiced, but Kristy Bowen, Amanda Auchter, Mary Biddinger, Brandi Homan, and Simone Muench were some of my favorite readers. I read “the Dead Girl Speaks” from my book and Kristy read right after me and read another dead girl poem in response – and later Simone told me she has a chapbook of dead girl poems coming out. The Django – upstairs from the reading – when we let out – had two huge bouncers patting down customers for guns, police, and a man asking “But where can I find real old-school hip hop?”
I got to the other reading (No Tell, Pilot, Octopus Books) late but it was a friendly and packed space and I got to say hi and goodbye to a lot of friends.
Let’s see, the book signing at the Steel Toe booth went well – Mary’s book sold out by the end of the signing – and mine sold out by the end of today – so we must have sold some books. Tom said to me “I’m surprised how many books you can sell at AWP!” LOL. Peter Pereira’s new book sold out at Copper Canyon before I even caught a glimpse of it! I can’t wait to see it at its debut next week in Seattle!
Oh, and I saw Oliver and Paul G and met John Gallagher (and got his book – yay!) and got to introduce Denise Duhamel to Pacific’s MFA director (hopefully she’ll come out and visit the program!) I got to meet some of Mary Biddinger’s very cool MFA students, saw the wonderful WKU student gang I had met before in Kentucky who came out to work with Steel Toe. I got Simone Meunch’s book and Brandi Homan’s chapbook from Dancing Girl Press and got a new review copy of a couple of cool books and lots of free journals and met tons of nice people. I missed meeting Kate Greenstreet (sorry Kate!) and a few other friends, which always bums me out. There’s never enough time at these things. I saw classmates from University of Cincinnati and two of my former professors from there and saw a surprising number of people from the Northwest represented. You know, it occurs to me at these things that half the people at these conferences – the ones you want to avoid – are kind of smarmy – enter the criticisms about AWP – but the other half are genuinely cool people who I could spend all day talking about real things with but won’t get the chance at AWP. Which is kind of sad. I wish you could intersperse the conference with quiet times and hang out with everyone individually before the end. I got to spend a little time hanging out with Dorianne and talking at the booth we worked at today, and a little time visiting with Mary Biddinger at our signing, and went out to dinner with friends from Pacific – but I wish I had gotten to spend longer with everyone – you know that feeling?
I had to work the booth this last day – and I’d gotten by on nothing but tylenol the whole time til then – from 9 AM til a little after three – and I literally couldn’t walk for a few hours afterwards. I went to the orthapedic surgeon the day before the conference and he said I had a little herniated lumbar disc that was pushing on a nerve and hence the pain and limping (along with problems with some muscles around the sciatic nerve and in the SI joint) but that I didn’t need surgery, just work with a rehab back doctor who usually works with real athletes, which I sadly am not. G ended up carrying all the heavy bags of books and stuff the whole conference, especially helpful at the bookfair, plus he was always handing out my business card (which I always forget to do) and checking at the Steel Toe Books table for things like change and book cards and how many copies were left of what. A gentleman and a half: props to my better half. Without him, I would have had to take a lot of hydrocodone.
Flying home late tomorrow. Looking forward to resting up and processing and reading journals and books. I know I’m forgetting lots of people and highlights and cool weird things – aforesaid brain-pain-muddle-lack-of-sleep problems.

Jeannine Gailey — Mon, 26 Feb 2007 18:50:00 +0000

Where To Find Me at AWP Atlanta

On Thursday: In the registration line (morning)
(afternoon) at the High Museum (bad me! but I’m addicted to art museums!)
(evening) Probably going to the Ahsahta Press Reading that night, so I can meet the lovely and talented Kate Greenstreet! And possibly some other parties.

On Friday:
Book signing at the Steel Toe Books table at the AWP Bookfair (I think table # 64) with Mary Biddinger from 1 PM to 2 PM. Bring your fancy pens!
From 8 PM to 10 PM, Reading at the Frock You Event at the Django in the Belly Bar. Be there or be square! So many many good poets are going to read. I’m looking forward to meeting them!

On Saturday:
(day)Yes, I’m working the booth at Pacific University. Come ask questions, or bring me a snack! Or just hang around and look cool. I’m not picky.

(night) If I’m still alive after booth duty, I’m going to the No Tell Books party-reading deal.

PS Thanks for your kind inquiries re: my aunt. She is doing better and is expected to leave the hospital in another day or two. Meanwhile, my mom and her son and husband whirl-cleaned her house while she was away. Hope that will help her breathing problems too!