As with any part of my life, I seem to live on a roller coaster of emotions. Ups. Downs. Sharp, unexpected twists and turns. I had the joy of meeting Sue Silverman and getting her autograph, which was definitely the highlight for me. Writers, no matter how famous one may become, are still human and sometimes that's a good thing to remember.
The one thing that surprised me was the number of panels I attended that made me cry. Back in my hotel room, that is! A lot of emotional topics were discussed, but always in a positive tone. And even in a way of teaching those eager to learn.
AWP's Bookfair took on a new meaning for me. A meet market, a craft show, a flea market, or just crazyville! I felt horrible walking up and down the aisles and passing the friendly faces as they waited for someone to come talk to them. I didn't want to talk. I was in awe of the place. Almost everyone was hollering out, "Here, take one. It's free."In the first hour and a half, my AWP bag was so heavily filled with swag that I had to go back to my hotel room to empty the bag before returning to the bookfair. I had to do this three times and only made it through half of the bookfair.
I bought too many books, one out of sympathy. The author was right there and volunteered to sign the book for me. How could I look into that face and tell them no? I couldn't. I swear a quarter of my bag was filled with just candy that I didn't need, but ate anyway!
The rest of my days were spent in panels or at the hotel because I found it cheaper to eat an $18 Caesar salad for lunch than to re-enter the bookfair whenever I wasn't in classes.
And with anything good, you know there's bound to be some bad. My biggest issue with the panels were the descriptions of what each class would be talking about. Admittedly, part of the problem was me. What I thought a panel was going to talk about, and what they actually talked about, were absolutely not what I had expected. Vague descriptions had people leaving the rooms over and over throughout each panel I attended, both the ones I got what I expected and those I didn't.
I couldn't help but wonder if those people were walking out because of the same reasons I would have had I not been sitting near the front. In one such class I assumed the panel would discuss more personal issues within truth writing, but it seemed the panelists were more interested in discussing the broader topics of their memoirs.
Memoirs are constantly being criticized as Me-moirs or misery-moirs, and therefore harder to get published. And yet writers like myself continue to write them. Not to bring focus on our lives or our own pain, but with hope that our stories will one day help someone else who's going through something similar. At least that's my hope.
In one of the panels I attended, all of the panelists had written at least one memoir so I was shocked when a woman asked a 'legal' question and not one of them could answer her. So I did. The question: Can I write about something a guy did years ago and now he's a big politician? I asked her, "Is the topic public knowledge?" No. Then the answer is no.
Just because you say something is true, that won't necessarily hold up in the law if you're sued by this person. In another post I will share what I've learned from two different intellectual property lawyers on this subject and more. This is one example where the truth will not set you free.
In closing, my husband asked me if I would ever go back to another AWP Conference. Immediately, I told him no. Never again! But as the days have passed, I can't deny the good I learned-and not just meeting Sue Silverman. If AWP is ever in Minneapolis again, yes, I will go. Or if I ever have a book published and want to sell it in the bookfair and speak on panels, again, yes, I will go.
How was your experience with AWP 15?
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