What a glorious part of the country Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina, proved to be. And what enormously generous hosts I had in my friends
Susan Tekulve and
Rick Mulkey. We walked, we talked, we taught, we ate, we found flowers, fresh and unsnowy. In the process, I met incredible students and community members, read from
Going Over, Flow, and
Nest. Flight. Sky., and shared some thoughts about the writing life.
And then there was this: I saw old friends. The glorious Carolyn Wilson Baughman, of whom you last heard when I was in Asheville, NC, for
her sister, Katherine's, wedding. The incredible Lois Carlisle, of whom I spoke after returning from the
National YoungArts program in Miami. And Lisa Hammond (and her friend Joyce)—Lisa being the mom of another terrific National YoungArts scholar, Laura Rashley, and
a poet herself.So much good feeling. So many indelible memories. An early spring.
Thank you, Susan, Rick, Converse College, friends and community.
(Thank you, Reference Librarian. Thank you, Susan Tekulve.)
For those of you who didn't know me when I was actually younger than I am today—that is my second memoir, Into the Tangle of Friendship, as well as my fourth, Seeing Past Z: Nurturing the Imagination in a Fast-Forward World, nested in with Handling the Truth.
I eagerly anticipate my time with Converse students and the Converse community—not to mention friends, old and new.
I'm not a talented shopper. I'm best off in a don't-think-about-it pair of jeans (just ask my students, who have seen me in nothing but).
But three very exciting things are afoot—the Books for a Better Life Awards program, this coming Monday in New York City (Meredith Vieira! Arianna Huffington,
Handling the Truth!); a series of talks as the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Visiting Writer at Converse College, South Carolina, next Tuesday and Wednesday (Susan Tekulve! my SC friends!); and the Texas Library Association meeting on April 10 and 11 (San Antonio, TX! Chronicle friends!, fellow authors).
And so I had to go to the store.
This is painful for me, people. Painful. Mirrors are not my friend.
But here we go. Bright pink to ward off the winter blues. A little fluff in the skirt to approximate a spring breeze. And a pair of nude pumps because I've never owned a pair before and because everyone who helped me today (when I said I didn't own a pair of nude shoes) looked at me as if they wanted to ask,
And are you a woman?Yes, I am. Thank you very much. And now I own a pair of nude pumps.
