Thursday morning I had chocolate chip pancakes. For the first time.
Eliot and Steph's rental car, a Mini-Cooper.
The strange woman hellbent on me shaking her hand, holding hers out for a full 30 seconds, refusing to reach for mine.
Terrence Hayes' awesome mohawk.
Dinner with Rebecca and Taylor in Trader Vic's, the tacky/ornate/kind of cool tiki bar/lounge/restaurant in the bottom of the Hilton.
Our sweet, possibly French waitress.
The bottle of rock candy syrup she brought me for my tea.
That old guy I always think is Merwin but isn't.
Him losing his granddaughter for half an hour.
The first ride up to the top floor of the Hilton with UTC students in the glass elevator.
Some of them freaking just a little.
Their mini-freak causing me to get nervous, despite not fearing heights.
Me, Rebecca, Taylor, David Hernandez, and Lisa Glatt camped out in the floor.
Introducing Charles Flowers to Rebecca and Taylor, all of us Chattanooga people.
Talking about Cracker Barrel.
Honoree Jeffers saying, in admiration, about Cracker Barrel, "You can get sick for $7.99."
Jet 94 FM.
The bottle of wine being passed around at one panel.
C. Dale's Green Lantern shirt.
Eliot's ganache-induced madness.
Drama.
The woman in her hotel room, at midnight, screaming, "HE SAID MY TIME WOULD COME!"
The hunt for Jim Clark.
The man stopping by the Diagram table, saying the problem with his previous submissions was "too many the's and that's."
The man trying to decide if a girl's medium t-shirt would fit him. I suggested it probably would not.
Because the laws of physics would have to completely change.
Discovering Steak & Ale still existed.
Watching a surprising number of AWP attendees go in.
The awesome, possibly Romanian hotel services employee, with uncombable hair and wild eyebrows and thick moustache.
Him listening intently to Ehling's request for electricity at his booth.
Him solving the problem, via cell phone, in under 10 seconds.
Him saying, with great flourish, "In this hotel, anything is possible!"
About Me
- Paul
- Paul Guest is the author of four volumes of poetry and a memoir. His debut, The Resurrection of the Body and the Ruin of the World, was awarded the 2002 New Issues Poetry Prize. His second collection, Notes for My Body Double, was awarded the 2006 Prairie Schooner Book Prize. His third collection, My Index of Slightly Horrifying Knowledge, was published by Ecco Press/HarperCollins in 2008. His fourth collection, Because Everything Is Terrible, was published by Diode Editions. His poems have appeared in Harper's, The Paris Review, Poetry, Tin House, The Kenyon Review, and elsewhere. His memoir, One More Theory About Happiness, was published by Ecco in May 2010 and selected for the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program. The recipient of a 2011 Guggenheim Fellowship and a 2007 Whiting Writers' Award, Guest lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.
2 comments:
Too Funny! As is the photo of your setup B-Day party at Hooters . . . can you say future book jacket photo?
Thanks for the AWP posts.
Brent
I didn't know a thing about Hayes before hand... but when I saw him walk up to the stage I turned to Lindsey and said He has one of the best mohawks I've ever seen, I like him no matter what his writing is like...
I'm happy it was a good reading.
Also- good to see you!
Also- I still want advice about MFAs.
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