Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Back Home

I am back from AWP.  I enjoyed meeting some nice people.  I met Matt Bell and we talked for about a minute and a half.  I could tell in that ninety seconds that he was a nice person.  I met Aaron Burch and he was also very nice and I don't think it was because I was writing him a check for a Hobart subscription.  I shook Cliff Garstang's hand at the bookfair as he passed by me and then never saw him again.  I checked several times at the No Colony table for Blake Butler but never found him.  I stopped walking by because I didn't want to seem like a stalker.  I saw Molly Gaudry talking on her cell phone in the hotel but didn't want to interrupt, thinking I'd see her some other time.  Never saw her again.  Didn't see Amanda Nazario at all.  I did see Ryan and Christy Call and they could power the entire earth with their niceness.
Here is what I ate in Chicago: Half of a pepperoni and mushroom deep dish pizza at Gino's East; a wet Italian beef sandwich with hot peppers at Al's Beef; pad thai at My Thai; elk ragout poured over cheese fries at The Gage;  head cheese, pork belly, dozens of pickled items, duck & foie gras terrine, pork pie, and morteau sausage at The Publican.  This is everything that I ate.
When we got home from Chicago, after picking up Griff at my parents' house, we arrived at our cabin to discover that we had lost our housekey.  It was cold.  Griff was crying.  The doors and windows were all locked.  I had to act fast.  I kicked the door open.  One kick.  Like I was in a goddamned action movie.  The doorframe exploded into little splinters and we walked inside.  My wife was both scared and aroused by this act.  We found the housekey not five minutes later.  I am trying to teach myself how to reframe a doorway.  It's harder than it looks.
If I didn't see you at AWP, I am wishing that I saw you at AWP.

8 comments:

BLAKE BUTLER said...

dang, yeah, i wish i'd seen you. i spent way too little time at the table. next time we will have to make more solid plans to meet!

Molly Gaudry said...

I wasn't sure it was you! And then I ran into Michael Griffith immediately after and he said, "Did you say hello to Kevin?" And I said, "Aw, crap! That was him." And from then on I made it a point to always say hello to people I thought I recognized. Too bad we didn't bump into each other again. It would have been nice to talk in person.

Yours,
M.

Matt Bell said...

It was great getting talk to you, even for that ninety seconds. And way to be a badass on the home entry!

hobart said...

Was great meeting and chatting with you, even if only briefly! And I'll echo Matt's excitement about your badass home reentry.

Unknown said...

I figured I'd catch up with you at the Sewanee party and then . . . the place was packed. But it was good to see you, however briefly!

Amanda said...

One of my top three big-deal regrets was that I didn't see you! Some troublemaker told me you weren't there, so I stopped hoping.

3. Jamie Iredell, didn't run into
2. Kevin Wilson, misinformed about
1. Scott Garson, he didn't go

What a bust. Thanks for wishing we had seen each other, at least!

Dan Wickett said...

Kevin,

Thanks for coming to the Dzanc reading panel and for help with that door frame, email Ben Percy. I've been with him when he's locked himself out, kicked open a door and fixed it himself shortly afterward. Looking forward to Tunneling!

You're dead-on accurate about Bell and Team Hobart (no matter who you met, AB, EE, or any of their friends watching the table), and it's really too damn bad you missed out on both Blake and Molly as they fit that same bill themselves.

ryan call said...

hooray for niceness.

its hard powering the earth

good seeing you.