And the reading itself...

I'm a little hard of hearing--my mother's right, and it's time I admit it. I often have a difficult time hearing voices because they seem to get lost in background noise. But Gina was miked, and tho she's soft spoken and I was in the back, I could hear her fine. I don't recall which poems she read--and anyway they aren't titled--but I caught the last half-dozen or so, and have read Saginaw several times since. (Another blogger--who?--remarked recently that she has a hard time absorbing poems when they're read aloud at events--and I sometimes do too. A phrase or two will stick, but usually I come away with an impression of the work, rather vague.) Her chapbook is a linked series of numbered poems recounting her memories of Saginaw, Michigan. I suppose that's where she grew up.



The said something about poetry, about greenhouses and

mental breakdowns, the Pulitzer Prize.

We read "The Heron" and "My Papa's Waltz." Al asked

what a Heron would taste like--imagined it a part of

Thanksgiving dinner. [...]



So when Gina finished [expurgated] stood to introduce me. It's funny that we'd never met before, though he read at Frequency (I was out of town that weekend) and & KPF (I sat up front and missed him afterward), so I introduced myself on the way up.



I never know what I'm going to say until I start. Same way with introductions. If I plan something specific, it falls apart. So I just start talking. Usually works out fine. I mean, I have a general idea--I just don't write a script. I'm much more comfortable EMcing an event for somebody else than I am reading my own work. But considering that two years ago I couldn't even get through workshop without almost passing out, or open a door and enter a place I'd never been without freaking, I've made a lot of progress. Luckily hubby says I don't seem as nervous as I feel. It's hilarious to think of poetry readings & KPF as forms of behavioral therapy. But they are.



Anyway, I read some poems from Brand New Insects and then some from Down Spooky. [expurgated]'s great to have in the audience--he was there in the front row laughing and chatting with me between poems. Shafer's friends (locals) Jaime Corbacho & John came out, so they were a nice surprise, though I wish they could have hung out after! And Gabriella came with Gina. And Mark Lamoureaux and Chris Rizzo and John Mulrooney. Some other people whose names I didn't catch. Another Wordsworths employee in the back. It was a nice event, I thought. I even read "Cherry" without flubbing.



Gina and I swapped chapbooks and I sold three, gave one to [expurgated]. Then we planned to meet up at Charlie's Kitchen. Shawn and I went to dump our backpack and books at the hotel. I called Amanda, who had to miss the reading because her flight from Omaha was canceled and she got in late. She said she'd meet us there.