Now With Active Cultures

The long weekend away was lovely. It was nice to have the luxury of sitting with my own work, some favorite books; plus I got to share favorite poems and my own poems with friends. Some revising got done and more thoughts and notes on poems-in-progress. All in all, a valuable trip.

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Signage from along the way (this makes me wish I had a digital camera...of course, I was driving solo so getting the pic would have been tricky.) This was on one of those large illuminated signs you see in car lots etc, at the Rustic Inn and Cafe near Marlinton.

*VACANCY!*
*WATCH THE GAME!*
*MATTRESS SALE!*

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Saturday we went to the WV Book Festival in Charleston. Our friend and former teacher Irene was reading and acting as part of a panel for the festival. She was fabu. She owned it. She has this habit of offering a seemingly tangential/effacing introduction to the poems that end up just being a gut-punch. The poem hits hard, her comment hits hard--it's really something. I've seen her in action numerous times over the years and I still have yet to figure out how she does it. She owned the room, hands down.

We ended up being locked in the conference room for about 10 minutes after the panel because the Secret Service was moving Bill and/or Hillary Clinton through to some Democratic hooh-hah being held on-site.

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Another art opening tomorrow. I'm hope-hope-hope-hoping beyond hope that this one is better than last months. Later tomorrow night, I'm reading with Eric. I've got my set list, I'm ready to go...I'm only wondering just how much product it's gonna take to hold my mohawk for 6 hours.