This weekend *sighs*…
I don't think that I've had a better experience interacting with the writing community since perhaps the Young Author's Conference or the Tomorrow's Writers Today Conference (both of which I attended whilst in junior high… 10 years or thereabouts ago). This weekend has reinvigorated my already increasing interest and joy in writing. It has also increased my happiness and surety with my educational decisions. Yet, at the same time, it has broadened my horisons. Over a decade ago, when I first learned of the Writer In Residence program at the UofA, I wanted to eventually be one. At the time, I hadn't realized that it was a year long appointment, or what exactly it entailed, but I knew that it interested me. I thought that it would be so incredibly amazing to be able to talk to and consult with those amazing indivituals who held this position.
This weekend I did just that. It was an utter joy to get to know some more of the faculty in the WRITE department, learn a bit more about the Creative MA that is available here (or at least about the students who involve themselves in it), talk to our Distinguished Visitor, and of course meet past Writers In Residence.
If I'm not somewhere else in March for the second half of the 30th Anniversary Celebration, I'm booking the time off work to attend. I believe that this was so crucial in my development as a writer that I am so thankful for the serendipity that meant I made it out to all of the events.
Now I've a couple books of poems (signed!) by two of my favorites (which I spoke to frequently throughout the weekend's events). If that's not icing on the cake, I don't know what is!