AWP 2018

Yesterday, I got the e-mail from the AWP with reminders about registration.  I printed it out so I could take it with me.  And then,  I made myself look at every day of the schedule.  It was overwhelming, so I did it in small parts throughout the day.

I'm still overwhelmed, so I won't write much about what I noticed.  I won't wade into the possible politics of what gets chosen from the submissions.  There's a wide representation of a wide spectrum of writers and our world.

Here's what I'd like to have seen more of:  how our spiritual lives intersect with writing.  I notice only 2 sessions.  It's possible that there are a few more, but as a minority group, spiritual writers are definitely not represented by as many sessions as other minorities, like for example LBTGQA writers or writers of color.  Again, I'm not complaining or whining, just observing.

I also realize that the amount of submissions from writers of faith exploring faith and writing were probably far less than submissions from LTBGQA writers or writers of color. 

I only saw one session about writers who have day jobs outside of academia or other fields in which writers traditionally find themselves and how this feeds their writing.  Other sessions may be tangentially related, like the one about community college and the one about college teachers who are transitioning to be high school teachers.

So let me note my yearning, which may be mine alone:  I'd love a session where people who are in academia, but very different forms of academia (the career college, the for-profit college, medical schools), forms of academia that don't have much to do with creative writing at all.  I'd love a session where deans and department heads, those with administrative duties, talk about how to manage those duties while still having a creative life.  I've been both a teacher and an administrator and while there are similarities between the 2 jobs when it comes to maintaining the job and the writing life, there are also vast differences.

I realize that a lack of this kind of session might mean that I might have a better chance of it being accepted, if I put it together.  Every year I have more ideas than I have time to pull together.  I hesitate to put together a panel, since so much can change between the panel submission deadline and the actual conference.

So, for now, let me enjoy a conference that's within driving distance to me.  Let me enjoy a conference where I don't have to present.  Let me enjoy the plethora of sessions--while also being grateful for a few slots where nothing appeals, and I'll have time to recharge.