Once again I'm overdue to post, but I can't wait to share my
vacation and writing experience. First of all, it was the first visit ever for
my wife and me to Key West, Florida, and we had a great time. My primary reason
for going was to take a four-day workshop with poet Billy Collins, as part of
the annual Key West Literary Seminar. I wasn't able to attend the seminar
itself, though I did attend the closing program on Sunday afternoon, which was
open to the public. Then Sunday evening was the opening event for the workshops
- a "luau"-style buffet for workshop faculty and attendees. Monday
through Thursday we had our workshops from 10:00 to 1:00, in a municipal
building that was originally a cigar factory. There were eleven of us, from a
variety of backgrounds and parts of the country (and one American ex-pat from London),
and coincidentally, one fellow poet whom I already knew who is from my area -
neither of us knew the other was coming.
Everyone was an accomplished poet, and we were very productive,
workshopping up to three poems each and also sharing the results of three
writing exercises that Billy gave us.
Billy himself was charming, down-to-earth, funny, informative and
helpful, despite dealing currently with a chronic health issue. Monday evening was a cocktail party for attendees and their guests, and Wednesday evening was an open reading,
in which the readers were drawn at random (their names literally picked from a
hat), and I was the last reader of the evening. I read "To Flight
370" (which I had offered for workshop and read with some minor changes
suggested by the group); "Autobiography" (the result of one of
Billy's writing exercises), and "Archaics Roadshow" (one of the poems
I had submitted with my application to the workshop). There's something gratifying about being the
last reader, especially when you get a good audience reaction.
In addition to all that, my wife and I had plenty of time to
enjoy the town of Key West . It's a city of contrasts - on the one hand,
there's a rich historic, cultural and artistic tradition; on the other, it's
quite a party town, with a large number of clubs and pubs, and a happy hour that
seems to start around 9:00 a.m. It's also the rooster capital of the world - they're
as common as cats, and roam blithely around town, stopping to crow now and
then. My wife and I visited the art
museum, the Hemingway House (Ernest Hemingway was by far their most famous
resident), and the Audubon House (John James Audubon also stayed briefly on the
island). We also took a glass-bottom boat tour out to the coral reef and
observed the tropical fish and coral, and were treated to a spectacular sunset
on the way back. My wife took a day trip to the Dry Tortugas, an island about
70 miles from Key West where there is a lot of nature and a former Civil War
fort. Of course, Key West is also famous
for Key Lime Pie, which you can get just about anywhere in town (including
frozen and chocolate-dipped on a stick), not to mention so many other Key Lime
flavored treats, including cigars! The
weather was perfect - sunny just about every day with highs in the mid- to
upper-70's. The only thing we would do
differently next time is perhaps not rent a car. We ended up with a Ford
Mustang GT (very tricked-out but hardly our first choice) and only drove it
about 30 miles the whole week. The Old Town section of Key West, where we spent
most of our time, is very walkable (and parking is at a premium), plus the
hotel where we stayed (the Sheraton Suites near the airport, a lovely place with a beach right across the
street) had a free shuttle service to and from town. Also, many people get around town on
bicycles, scooters, and electric carts. To
sum up, we thoroughly enjoyed our six days there and would gladly come back
again.
Poem: Here's one I wrote for workshop for one of Billy
Collins' exercises. The assignment was to read Frank O'Hara's poem
"Autobiographia Literaria", and to use some of the same elements:
Title it "Autobiography", use the first line "When I was child..." and the first line of the last
stanza, "And here I am now...", write in short lines if possible. and
use at least one exclamation point at or near the end. So here is what I came up with:
Autobiography
When I was a child,
I was a skinny, gawky thing
with black plastic glasses
and a target on my back
in the bullies' shooting gallery,
teased and smacked around
for being smarter but weaker,
their sideshow freak.
But I never abandoned
my books and my pen,
while they pulled up stakes
and their carnival left town.
And here I am now, a strongman,
with words like biceps.
Come back and get in my ring -
I'll take you all down!
