Don Waters and other things

Dear Chicago,

Don't worry, we'll be there soon. Just hang on...we've got some shit to finish here, then we're on our way...Indie's excited to meet you. Though, we're probably gonna have to get her a fancy coat for the winters. I'm sure she'll be happy not to have to deal with pulling goat-heads out of her paws. Anyway, see you soon.

- X

So, except for two more fiction workshops and one poetry workshop, and giving a final, I'm done. We had a nice little workshop today, and ended up in this little nook, talking about the stories. But whatever, you probably don't care about that.

*

Last night I got to see Don Water's read from his collection of stories, Desert Gothic, which won the Iowa prize for fiction. He read the story, "Mormons in Heat," which is a really great story, and super funny. My friend Peter was laughing so hard, that Don started laughing a lot--that and he was laughing at his own stuff, 'cause he hadn't read it in a while. It was a great reading! Go check out Don Waters. He's brilliant!

*

What's funnier about last night is that the gentleman who read, the MFA student was a guy named David Roe, who introduced (each student is introduced by a friend in the program before the reading) by a guy named Steven Lloyd Weber. OK. So, Steven read last year, when I came to visit. And David Roe introduced him. Talk about fucking full-circle. Even if I wasn't leaving, I would have to with something like this. It's just crazy that the same students who I saw when I came to visit--my first reading series at NMSU--were the same two who read at the last. CRAZY.

*

I'm getting excited to get out of this town, but I gotta say, I really like a lot of my new friends. And some of them I respect as writers so much more than I did in the beginning of the year. Maybe it's cause they're grown as writers, or maybe I was just pissed. Though, there are some people you'll see out there in the fiction world for sure. Poetry-wise, ditto.

I think I'm also on the same page with most people here about the "laziness" of the town, and how that can affect the program. I think, for the most part, many fellow students are really hoping for a more intense next year...maybe not intense, but fuller.

I'm excited to start at Columbia, though we got till September 7th. I think I'm gonna go troll around over there during the summer. I applied for a teaching job, though, I don't think I'm gonna get it. My cover letter wasn't the best. I've rewritten it and made it really sharp. Maybe I should reapply. There's nothing wrong with that right?

*

I've got a headache right now. But I tried to pushed through it, I revised some stories and work on some endnotes and my poetry portfolio. I'll still have a lot to do by monday. I read a lot this semester, but I read a lot of fiction, and not as much poetry. Probably about six or seven poetry books. I read a lot more prose...plus prose books are longer...

*

There's a ROCKBAND party tonight. Me and Indie are gonna head over there in an hour and a half. She's gonna play with her friend Rory. So, we have to go over earlier, so they can get their sniffing, barking, and growling (And maybe some pissing) out of the way. They usually run around like crazy for a long time, then that night, and the next day, both of them just want to sleep...ALL DAY.

*

Alright, I think I'm gonna straighten up some shit for a while. Have a great weekend.

Later,

Joshua