AWP Conference Follow-Up

After a lengthy hiatus, owing mostly to end of the term papers it is time for an update from the now month-past AWP convention in New York City. First of all, New York wasn’t nearly the daunting experience I expected—and while my Brooklyn host assured me that there was indeed a scam around every corner, and that he himself had been mugged more than once, I actually found most New Yorkers pleasant. Part of it was that I usually enjoy the host city for AWP since the conference itself is so much fun. Regardless, the downtown energy of New York was very similar to Chicago, except that the landmarks were so close to one another. Over the four day conference I saw Radio City Music Hall, Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Trump Tower, Central Park, and David Letterman’s studio. My wife and I even snuck in a trip to the top of the Empire State Building between conference events. In short, the different New York every few blocks won me over and I can’t wait to go back when I can.

And the conference itself was fantastic. While I can’t give the same kind of commentary I gave for the Sewanee panels I can summarize the ones I attended. It ended up being a very professionally driven conference for me. I attended panels on how journals can be marketed as books, how novelists can interpret book contracts, and how writers can approach the tenure track process. From the craft point of view, I attended panels focusing on how to assemble a short story collection, which featured strong opinions on the subject from the curiously irate Steve Almond, and on how to make the transition from short stories to novels. I also saw a fascinating panel on the role of music in literature, both in terms of sound and of subject matter. Finally, there were some neat wild-card panels about the role of spirituality in writing (which featured Scott Cairns, for those of you who just clicked through from the Relief site) and about the difference between creative writing programs in the United States and the United Kingdom. In the UK, evidently, writers not only generate a creative thesis, they also generate a commentary on their thesis, either approaching it from the perspective of literary theory or of rhetoric. This helps clarify the scholarly contribution of the work, which helps ensure the continuation of government subsidies. I’m currently reading Story: The Heart of the Matter, edited by Dr. Maggie Butt, which is a compilation of essays by UK scholars, and I’ll post more on my responses once I finish the book.

As always, though, the best part was seeing old friends from Arkansas, Sewanee, and Evansville—good people doing good work. But I’m on Spring Break right now, which means I’ve had a lot of time to work on some of my own stuff. Tune in soon for an account of some ongoing projects that are coming along nicely. Hope to see you then!

Posted by Alan Ackmann - Mar 25, 10:38 PM.
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