Tucson Festival of Books

I feel blessed to live in the same place as the Tucson Festival of Books. From the Arizona Geological Survey booth (my personal favorite, where I finally found the giant art that my walls need--seven gigantic satellite photo posters of AZ, what color and texture!) to the panel on GLBTQ Poets and Identity (regardless of gender or sexual orientation, how does one use language to create an identity--or not? does language cage or free one's identity?) to the discussion on The Writing Life: Making Time When You Have None (time? what's that?) to the children's play area (if only my son were with me!) to the food court (yay Tucson Tamale Company for keeping it tasty and gluten-free!), there was something for everyone. If only my favorite author could be convinced to travel here for the Festival.

You'll have to excuse my use of exclamation points. Today was a good day.

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Take home notes:

• Arizona is awesome in the spring. 70 degrees and sunny--total perfection.
• Tucson is a wonderful blue island in an ocean of red. Apparently there's a petition making the rounds to recall Gov. Brewer. You bet I signed it.
• My friend Becky is really awesome.
• Collective found poetry can be fun. Thank you, Eric Magrane.
• Use writing as a reward. I did the dishes--yay! I get five minutes of writing. I did the laundry--yay! I get 10 minutes of writing. I cleaned the toilets--gross! I get 45 minutes of writing.
• Also from Eric Magrane: choose a spot on your wall and write on it every time you pass. Okay, so maybe you rent and writing on the wall is impossible. Put up a piece of paper. A dry erase board. Chalkboard paint. This really resonated with me. I just might do this.
• In finding time to write, be a madwoman. Be dogged and flexible. 
• Your first draft is really just your notes to yourself.
• Reading counts toward your writing time. 
• Did I mention Tucson Tamale Company? The Madison is the BEST. Red pepper masa, black beans (I think they spice them with crack), cheese...I can't get enough...
• Kore Press--small, locally owned, women-only press--is awesome. Maybe someday they'll publish something I write. 
• Identity isn't something that can be summed up in any one word. And perhaps our search for identity is really only something introduced to us by the constraints of the English language and our particular society. Some languages aren't structured in the same way ours is--subject, noun, verb, predicate. In some languages, it isn't necessarily possible to ask: Who am I?
• TC Tolbert is inspirational.
• Drew Krewer's poem inspired by the HSN was priceless.
• Tolerance isn't enough. Acceptance is vital. Celebration is even better. And celebration starts with each individual.