This year’s Appalachian Writers Workshop was different for me, and somewhat difficult on some levels. I left on Friday, July 19, because I was also accepted into Marianne Worthington’s pre-workshop Poetry Workshop, which took place on Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21. The actual Writers Workshop ran from July 21-July 26. On Thursday, July 18, my mother-in-law, Sandy Peters, died unexpectedly. As Sandy was a huge supporter of my writing, Russ thought it was important for me to go on to Hindman to soak up words and wisdom about words. After some soul-searching, I agreed.
I also commuted to the campus in Hindman this year from Prestonsburg, KY, about 35 minutes away. It wasn’t a bad commute at all, really, just took some planning and thinking outside the box. The hardest part was not being able to hang out at night and socialize because I don’t drive so well in the dark these days. I also couldn’t do the meal plan because there’s very little served during the week that I can or will eat – paying $200 for it is just not worth the money, really. Well, that also cut out socializing in the dining room. You know me – I’m a very social creature, so I just had to try to find time between sessions. And I spent a lot of time thinking on my own in the Great Hall and in Bruce, my SUV.
I was in the Short Story class this year with Monic Ductan. I had Monic three years ago for Nonfiction and enjoyed her there. Since I was working with this short story collection project I’ve been doing since last September, I asked my mentor, Denton Loving for his advice, and he thought Short Story would be the best class for me to submit under (part of me wanted to try for poetry this year, but the competition in that class is always so tough). Monic is a fabulous instructor. There were 11 people in our class, and we workshopped the pieces in four days, then had craft lessons on a couple of days. I truly adored my classmates this year. Everyone was so giving and caring, so much fun to be around. I knew four members already from past Hindman experiences, and became buddies with a couple of new folks, Jean Dowdy, who also attends the Salvation South writing sessions each month, and James Turner, a delightful cattleman, who told me, unfortunately, there’s a big flaw in my story “Genevieve,” and has now been enlisted to help me remedy that situation in a better way that I can succinctly handle within the confines of the story. (I really did not need this complication at this stage in the short story collection’s life, though, because a first draft is due on August 25 when I arrive at Table Rock, yikes!)
I audited Nonfiction with Jonathan Corcoran each day up until Friday when his class had to change its class time to get him to the airport in time to get back home. He, too, was a wonderful instructor, and so giving to those who audited the class. I got some great ideas from his class, which was all generative all week, and a couple of starts to new pieces.
We had wonderful afternoon sessions and evening readings with writers like Jane Hicks, George Ella Lyon, Chris Green, and Willie Carver. I cried so hard in Willie’s session, I snotted all over my sweater – it was called, “Out of the Mouths of Babes” and dealt with remembering through different parts of your body. I ended up with a poem about Sandy from his session and am grateful for that experience. (For the record, just about the whole room was experiencing deep emotions – someone said we were all going to have to file with our insurance companies come Monday.)
I read part of another story in my work-in-progress during participant readings. It’s called “Tickets.” It seemed to go over well, which, again, was encouraging. That particular piece came out of a prompt from the 7 A.M. Group’s Pre-Conference time at the West Virginia Writers Conference and has become one of my favorite pieces in the collection. I read right before my buddy D-Ray, who read his piece “Stars,” which I love and cry over every time I hear it. Completely amazing!
On Thursday night, Marianne Worthington interviewed New York Times Op/Ed Columnist Margaret Renkl for the James Still-Jim Wayne Miller Lecture. I was not familiar with her work, but really enjoyed their discussion. Before the lecture began, Pam Campbell and I had been in the back of the room trying to take a selfie and she asked if she could take it for us. You don’t get an offer like that every day! Afterwards, her husband stood around asking us questions about Hindman and the Workshop. Turns out he’s a writer, too. Maybe he’ll join us on the banks of Troublesome next year!
That evening, we had the reading of “The Brier Sermon” by Jim Wayne Miller outside after the lecture. As always, this was my favorite part of Hindman. It has become my favorite poem over the years and always gives me all the feels. We followed it with the song, “Will the Circle Be unbroken,” which really got to me this year, considering we had just lost Sandy. I couldn’t sing a single word of it, but the harmonies were glorious to listen to and to stand in the midst of. That evening is always the highlight of my Hindman experience. I never tire of being part of that ritual.
Backing up to Marianne Worthington’s pre-workshop Poetry Workshop, since I forgot to discuss it earlier… It’s the first time there has been a pre-workshop event, and it was incredible! Marianne is a great teacher. In 1.5 days, we learned how to write three different form poems: a Centos, a Golden Shovel, and an Erasure Poem. I’ve played around a little with all three now and really enjoy them. Marianne’s instruction and handouts were so helpful in demonstrating how to make the forms work. I look forward to having more time to play further with each type.
I hope I have another Hindman or two in me, maybe with a roommate next year to cut down on costs some. Paying almost $1000 for a hotel room was steeper than I would have preferred to pay. But sometimes, like when it comes to an experience like Hindman, you just take the plunge, because you know it will be worth more than the dollar sign tells you it costs.
Recent Comments