A West-Coastish Salon

I had the pleasure of attending a literary salon this past weekend at the home of the lovely Rashaan Alexis Meneses, where I met all sorts of new writers and reconnected with others whom I hadn't yet seen since returning to this side of the Atlantic. 

Jason Bayani read from his new book of poetry, Amulet. I've gotten about halfway through the copy on my desk, and if you like poetry at all, you really should check it out. And you should go watch him read on his own website.

Melissa R. Sipin recently won the Glimmer Train short story contest, and her list of publications is truly one to envy. I'm not a short story writer; I love listening to those who can pull it off, and Melissa's got it down. She read to us from both stories and poetry, most notably her untitled response to Typhoon Yolanda/Haiyan, which you can find on her website.

Gretchen Schrafft has maybe the best author picture I've ever seen. She writes about New England, toils at the San Francisco Writers' Grotto, and read us a piece of a short story with one of the most gorgeous images I've heard in a long time involving a child, a coat, a closet, and the sea.

Since I'm not teaching these days, I don't get to talk about reading and writing nearly as much as I'd like. And even when I WAS teaching, I didn't always get to talk about it with people who were completely willing to be a part of the conversation. Events like these are lifeblood.