Posts Tagged ‘#w_awp20’

8 Mar

Update, Day 3 of #AWP20

Posted by Kendall Dunkelberg in Travel, Writing. Tagged: , , , .

On the third day of #AWP20, things we’re much the same as before: somewhat bigger crowds in the book fair with the folks who had book fair stickers instead of badges. Since our table was in the hinterlands and some of our neighbors packed it in early, we started to wonder whether we should have moved, like some other tables did. On the other hand, we had a fair amount of foot traffic, nothing like a normal year, but the folks who stopped by were also more willing to talk. One of our alumni made it up from Houston for the day, taking advantage of the $5 admission. It was good to see Xenia.

All but one of our crew made it by the table, and it was good to see that no one was suffering from anything more than the usual effects of staying out till the wee hours. I did see a post from our other student, so I know she was okay. The only worries now we’re about getting home okay. With some news of cancelled flights and with the state of emergency in New York, some had reason to be concerned, but as far as I know, no one had any actual problems getting home.

Most of us are traveling today, though some left last night. Here’s wishing everyone safe travels and hoping we all stay healthy. It seems like we may have as much risk at hone as we had here.

7 Mar

Update, Day 2 #AWP20

Posted by Kendall Dunkelberg in Travel, Writing. Tagged: , , .

This will be a quick update, since day 2 was much like day 1. Smaller crowds, cancelled panels, a few more people in the book fair, and as far as I can tell, everyone seems healthy. In fact, I’m hearing more news of COVID-19 from other places than from here. Some of us may be going home to greater risk than we have here, which is no to discount the risks of traveling.

Some friends are telling about the measures their universities are taking when they come back, such as formal self-monitoring. Still, everyone is calm and there doesn’t appear to be any greater risk than traveling anywhere else.

In the meantime, one of our grad students, Dani Putney, was invited to read with Juke Joint at the last minute. Some of us got the news in time to go hear them read, and of course, Dani represented well, despite having no time to prepare. That’s one advantage of being able to read from your phone (something I wouldn’t attempt anymore). It’s been a good AWP so far. As I’ve told a few people, it reminds me of the old days when the conference was smaller. It’s, sad that so many people and exhibitors aren’t here, but given the situation, everyone’s doing the best they can. We miss those who decided they couldn’t come. We understand and support that decision, too.

Looking forward to Day 3!