Lovely reading

Friday night's event was terrific: great selection of poets and prose writers. Cullen's the best reader: serious, slow, respectful of the poem and of her listeners. Other writers read well, too -- one poet in particular who acted out her poem, but not in a cheesy way (a remarkable feat, actually). Only a couple folks seemed to zip or stumble through. Most writers were from MN and IA -- don't know if that's true for all of the contributors. Makes you realize we have *really good* writers in our neck-of-the-woods. One thing I noted, though: I'd forgotten how important it is to wear black to such events!

The gathering afterward in the auditorium lobby was a bit awkward: cramped space, food difficult to eat without sitting down (and the meatballs were terrible - like dog food!). Even in such straits, however, a nice red wine (even if its in a plastic "glass") can make an evening an occasion.