Alan Ackmann

Start Spreading the News . . .

Listen to Alan Read This Article!

In just under one week my wife and I will be heading to New York for the annual AWP convention. As you might imagine, this is the source of two very distinct types of anxiety.

The first type, as anyone who has ever been there can attest, is the anxiety over going to New York for the first time. New York, to me, has always been like that hulking, sweaty bully in the corner of the playground—you know, the one who wears the untucked flannel shirt and has more five o’clock shadow than the 6th grade science teacher—and I’ve always treated it the way I used to treat such bullies: I pretend to ignore it and then pray to every God I’ve ever heard of that it doesn’t notice me. But now, the veiled threat that New Yorkers have been hurling at me for a decade (“Don’t worry; you’ll get there someday”) has indeed come to pass. So off we go! My wife, who is typically a more conscientious traveler on a Saturday trip to the supermarket than I am on, say, our honeymoon, has already amped up the pre-trip concern, wanting to leave behind credit cards and laptops and basic trust in our fellow human beings. It’s not like Chicago isn’t a big city—but New York just seems legendary. And before any martini swilling Manhattanites (that’s right—I get my impressions of New York from Sex and the City reruns) starting writing in from their Blackberries, I freely admit that this is all based on hearsay. Truth be told, I’m not even sure what to expect from New Yorkers . . . although for some reason I picture them all holding bats. Since we’ll be flying out of La Guardia on the day of the Superbowl, however, I also have the image of an overly enthusiastic Giants fan coming out of nowhere to sack me on the tarmac. Should be a fun trip.

The second type of anxiety, as anyone who has ever been there can attest, is the anxiety over returning to the always overwhelming AWP convention. I’ve been there twice before (once in Vancouver and once in Austin) and I have to say there’s nothing more nerve-wracking than being around 7,000 people—many of whom (let’s be honest) gravitated towards writing as career because of its unavoidably solitary nature—who are all trying to come out of their shells at the same time. The urgency of all these people trying to “make it”, in whatever form that urgency might take, is then off-set by the fact that everybody seems to know everybody else at these conventions, and I usually feel like I’ve forgotten the secret handshake. The good news, though, is that this year I will know people! I’ve already made contact with a wide variety of chums from Evansville, Arkansas, and Sewanee, which makes this year feel more like a ten-year reunion than a freshman orientation. And, of course, there are the panels and readings. Featured presenters this year include John Irving, Sharon Olds, Yusef Komunyakaa, James Tate, Amy Hempel, and Alice McDermott (among many others) and there is the usual assortment of Bookfair booths and afternoon panels. This year, I plan to focus on panels of people discussing what its like to find tenure track jobs, and on panels of people who talk about making the transition from short stories into novels. I am, of course, in the process of doing both things. And if I come away from the weekend with a better understanding of accomplishing either of these tasks, I’d say that’s worth the occasional awkward conversation.

We will be returning to Chicago on Sunday, and shortly thereafter there will be updates on how well-founded each of these anxieties proved to be. So check back soon!

Posted by Alan Ackmann - Jan 26, 01:37 PM.
Related Articles:
Updates from AWP
On the Passing of Michael Crichton
It Smells Like Noise in Here . . .