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They can be blowhards, but they're often the most interesting people you'll meet at the conference. They probably have a long Wikipedia page (written by spouse). If you happen to see one, do not make eye contact, or you will be miserable for the rest of the day.įancy professor you've never heard of: Wealthy individual between 50 and 70 years old who publishes books with respected presses periodically, sometimes has a story in the Paris Review, and is treated like a god in this small community. Professor who got tenure 20 years ago and then stopped writing: These guys and gals will not go out much-too embarrassed. We don't bite-we're truly just here for fun, and maybe to mention that our novel The Dismal Science was just published by Tin House Books ($15.95) and is available at. A couple books, some nice magazine stuff, an award or two. Most are on faculty somewhere, but some (like me) aren't.
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Mid-level writer you've never heard of: Full disclosure-this is me. Toiling-in-obscurity-for-years-after-MFA writer with large chip on shoulder, but ended up on a panel somehow, so decided to come to the conference anyway: This person will be blackout drunk and will hit on you, insult you, and then cry into your crotch (not necessarily in that order). Then say, "Yeah, you more or less got it." If you're feeling mean, look at their face with concern and wipe at your nose until they do the same. If you feel generous, grin admiringly at them and then look away, as if intimidated. Paunchy thirtysomethings in suits that they purchased when they were thinner: Job interviews! Check for minty breath and sweaty palms. Counterintuitively, these people are NOT trawling for material.
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Or they did some study abroad and it blew their mind, and now you're going to hear all about that month in a favela near São Paulo. They're trawling for material, so be cautious with your personal information.Įarnest nonfiction writer: Bad childhood. They're nice kids, the poets, their ambition is tempered by the fact that they went into debt for a degree in writing poems.Įarnest fiction writer: Bad childhood. On the upside, almost everyone is there because of a shared love for reading and writing, rather than for love of filthy lucre.Įarnest poet: Fashionable or schlubby, working-class or aristocratic, but if you're lucky, they'll be tipsy and will recite a slightly shocking Tony Hoagland poem to you from memory. It's not exclusively for academics now, but at the end of the day, the community in question is still decidedly not-for-profit (very few literary agents, almost none of the major New York publishers or magazines will be there, etc.). The conference was originally just for people interested in the pedagogy and administrivia of universities' creative-writing departments. It's a big boozy gossip with smart people, but for some reason, very little business takes place. Most of the fun happens outside the conference itself (see above), and at $285 for the tote bag and a lanyard that grants you access to the conference proper, you have to REALLY want to spend a few days walking the book fair, and also you need to REALLY want to see some of the official events/panels/readings.Īlso, if you're a writer, AWP is just not a great place to advance your writing career.
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I might anger the AWP gods by saying this, but no, probably not.