ASAP 2018 - New Orleans

1. 

Back last night from New Orleans and the 2018 gathering of the Association for the Study of Arts of the Present.  Accuse us of presentism if you will, but Reverend Eburne was there conducting a revival and foreseeing the future, with liberal baptisms from the holy sisters.

I was there this year to join in a roundtable discussion with poet/novelist/critic John Keene, a newly minted MacArthur fellow.  I first met John back in 1994 in Virginia, and we've crossed paths routinely ever since.  For my contribution, I briefly addressed John's limited edition poetry collection Playland, attempting a few points in the process regarding forms of reception and interpretation, but mostly I was there to have a good time with these wonderful writers and friends.

 But the real highlight of the weekend was the reunion of the poetic tribes hosted at his home by Rodrigo Toscano.  I should have taken the camera along, but was intent on just sittin' and grinnin'. I also should have jumped in the pool when invited to do so -- I guess I was worried about returning to the hotel in visibly wet slacks.  As it turned out, I found the Penn State group reconvened in the lobby of the Intercontinental and we closed the bar.