Katie's AWP Adventure: Day II
Katie seriously needs to take a break from obsessively checking Duotrope's Digest. I mean, really.
I'm getting all giddypants about a few journals that appear to be "holding" a few of my poems. Stop obsessing! Stop obsessing!
So to take a little break from all this madness, why don't I tell you a little bit about my second day at AWP?
I wake up in Chicago on Saturday morning. I'm up pretty early, mostly because I'm nervous for the panel I'm moderating. My nervousness wakes up BruBru, because we're... well, weird like that.
So after getting ready, we head to the hotel's breakfast area and had a yummy start with tons of coffee (which probably didn't help to ease my giddiness) and conversation in an atrium. Que bueno!
We head outside, and what do ya know -- it's snowing! I'm from South Texas; I'm easily amused. I stop to pose for a picture (and aren't you glad I did? lol).
It's about ten in the morning when I arrive at the conference. I consider going to a morning panel, but then I decide against it. Everything's going to be rush rush from here on in, and I wanted a little time to find some people I've been meaning to track down.
My first stop? The Fifth Wednesday Journal table! One of my AWP goals was to meet the editor. As you probably know, I'm an Assistant Poetry Editor there, and I wanted to thank him for giving me the opportunity to work there and gain some editorial experience. My next planned stop was to visit the Adanna table and meet the editor, Kristine Waldeyer, because... ::drum roll please:: two of my poems will be featured in the next issue! I end up chatting with Kristine for a bit, and buying her chapbook, Eve Asks. If you don't already know, I'm pretty much obsessed with Eve (yeah, look at my next two book titles: The Garden!? lol). I'll let you know what I think of it soon, though I'm sure I'm going to love it.
For AWP, I decided to do a "pay it forward" kind of book experience. For every book I sold, I vowed to buy one! I came home with a little armful of books B-)
AnYwAyS! Now that those two mandatory stops were completed, I noticed I still had a bit of time before MOLLY PEACOCK's panel (you know I couldn't miss that, right?). I make my way over to the Southern Illinois Univeristy table, and I have to ask... "Is Allison Joseph here?"
One of the guys manning the book table smiles. "She's right over there," he says, pointing to her. Ah hah! I recognize her right away -- we met briefly last summer at West Chester. She looked kind of busy, so I thank him and start to walk away, but he stops me. "Do you know her?" he asks.
I get all tongue tied... "ah... ah.... a little! but she doesn't remember..." and before I can finish my sentence, he calls her over. I turn bright red, completely not ready to introduce myself. I didn't need to though! She remembered me X-D I get her to sign my copy of In Every Seam which I happened to pick up at the Pitt Poetry Series booth. And we chit chat about West Chester, and formal poetry in general. She laughs when I say she's one of my heroes. But it's true!
Anyway, that was a wonderful AWP moment for me. She says "keep in touch!" and we hug and say goodbye just before... well... I run out of mildly intelligent things to say. She does tell me that COR is HoLdInG my poems though! ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG.
Yikes, it's almost 5pm here and I haven't even gotten to my panel! Ok, be ready for Day II, Part II in the next installment of Katie's AWP AdVeNtUrE!
I'm getting all giddypants about a few journals that appear to be "holding" a few of my poems. Stop obsessing! Stop obsessing!
So to take a little break from all this madness, why don't I tell you a little bit about my second day at AWP?
I wake up in Chicago on Saturday morning. I'm up pretty early, mostly because I'm nervous for the panel I'm moderating. My nervousness wakes up BruBru, because we're... well, weird like that.
So after getting ready, we head to the hotel's breakfast area and had a yummy start with tons of coffee (which probably didn't help to ease my giddiness) and conversation in an atrium. Que bueno!
We head outside, and what do ya know -- it's snowing! I'm from South Texas; I'm easily amused. I stop to pose for a picture (and aren't you glad I did? lol).
It's about ten in the morning when I arrive at the conference. I consider going to a morning panel, but then I decide against it. Everything's going to be rush rush from here on in, and I wanted a little time to find some people I've been meaning to track down.
My first stop? The Fifth Wednesday Journal table! One of my AWP goals was to meet the editor. As you probably know, I'm an Assistant Poetry Editor there, and I wanted to thank him for giving me the opportunity to work there and gain some editorial experience. My next planned stop was to visit the Adanna table and meet the editor, Kristine Waldeyer, because... ::drum roll please:: two of my poems will be featured in the next issue! I end up chatting with Kristine for a bit, and buying her chapbook, Eve Asks. If you don't already know, I'm pretty much obsessed with Eve (yeah, look at my next two book titles: The Garden!? lol). I'll let you know what I think of it soon, though I'm sure I'm going to love it.
For AWP, I decided to do a "pay it forward" kind of book experience. For every book I sold, I vowed to buy one! I came home with a little armful of books B-)
AnYwAyS! Now that those two mandatory stops were completed, I noticed I still had a bit of time before MOLLY PEACOCK's panel (you know I couldn't miss that, right?). I make my way over to the Southern Illinois Univeristy table, and I have to ask... "Is Allison Joseph here?"
One of the guys manning the book table smiles. "She's right over there," he says, pointing to her. Ah hah! I recognize her right away -- we met briefly last summer at West Chester. She looked kind of busy, so I thank him and start to walk away, but he stops me. "Do you know her?" he asks.
I get all tongue tied... "ah... ah.... a little! but she doesn't remember..." and before I can finish my sentence, he calls her over. I turn bright red, completely not ready to introduce myself. I didn't need to though! She remembered me X-D I get her to sign my copy of In Every Seam which I happened to pick up at the Pitt Poetry Series booth. And we chit chat about West Chester, and formal poetry in general. She laughs when I say she's one of my heroes. But it's true!
Anyway, that was a wonderful AWP moment for me. She says "keep in touch!" and we hug and say goodbye just before... well... I run out of mildly intelligent things to say. She does tell me that COR is HoLdInG my poems though! ZOMG ZOMG ZOMG.
Yikes, it's almost 5pm here and I haven't even gotten to my panel! Ok, be ready for Day II, Part II in the next installment of Katie's AWP AdVeNtUrE!
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