Sewanee, Day 3

Yesterday, I had my first workshop with Andrew Hudgins & Daniel Anderson. I didn’t quite know what to expect: would this workshop experience be similar to the ones I had in graduate school? I was nervous, even though my poetry wasn’t up for discussion. I feared appearing stupid to my peers. Have I mentioned how many talented writers there are here? Scads, I tell you, scads of them.

Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. Andrew & Daniel (whom everyone here calls “Danny”) played well off of each other. They even disagreed: I really appreciated that. Too often, workshops wind up constructing a kind of monolithic ur-poem, the poem that the entire class is trying to write. In this Sewanee workshop, however, disagreements over aesthetics & wording led to fruitful conversation. I actually like to see a couple of intelligent critics disagree about poetry: those conversations lead to some real talk about the way a poem makes meaning. The entire class discussion went well, too. I learned a lot, though I think I may have talked too much. I have a tendency toward verbosity when I’m feeling nervous.

Earlier in the day, I attended a craft lecture by Andrew; he spoke on James Agee’s poems & Agee’s poetics & aesthetics. I quite enjoyed the lecture. I spent the afternoon the workshop. Later, I wandered about campus, vainly in search of a cocktail party that was supposed to be BYOB. Well, I BMyOB, but I couldn’t find the party. So, I wound up drinking wine with a delightful couple & a really cool fellow named Dain.

After dinner, Charles Martin read. What a craftsman! I enjoyed his work, & he was a fine reader with a strong, measured, even voice. He knew when to pause & when to speed up. He knew how to read to an audience. Afterward, I meandered around campus for a bit & wound up back at my dorm. I read some more of William Gay’s Twilight; if you haven’t read this guy’s work, I urge you—read his work soon. Apparently, he was here at Sewanee several years ago.

Now, I’m off to critique poems for tomorrow’s workshop. Today’s been laid back; I’ve been hanging out in the dorm, doing laundry, & reading. Here are a few pics I took here around campus:

My dorm, Humphrey Hall

Inside Humphrey Hall



I found this view at the end of a trail I walked this morning.

One of the various trails on the campus.