Tuesday, January 29, 2008

AWP, Part Two

New York feels like the calm before the storm. Tomorrow, floods of poets will take the streets of Manhattan, and the cooler sister borough of Brooklyn, specifically the Greater Greenpoint-Williamsburg Area. Poets visiting GPT for the first time, watch for dog poop, and be sure to visit Claank Design on Franklin and Huron AND Word bookstore on Franklin and Milton. Bring money.

I did not get a pass for the AWP. Now, I wish I had. I went back and forth. It is REALLY expensive and $200 seemed a lot to go spend $200 more on books. The only panel that sounds interesting is Paul Guest panel on disability. I am going to try to sneak into the panel on Thursday morning (my vacation day from Montclair). I was telling Andrea that the GOOD thing about being disabled is that people feel sorry for you, or are dismissive of you. If you look dishelved and cute, which is pretty much my constant state, you can get away with a lot. I can't tell you how many times I've ridden the city bus for free. Is this fair? No, of course not. But, a good friend of mine who was a full-blooded Navajo once told me, "They took all of our land and culture, but we get free dental care."

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