Last weekend I attended the Associated Writing Program conference in Atlanta. I paid my own way, and it was, as usual, worth every penny to see former graduate school friends, colleagues in area colleges, great readers and panels. It is 5,000 people now, so it is not the intimate conference it was in the 80s, but still worth the crowds.
One of the highlights for me was the reading by Native writers in this photo, front row: Evalina Lucero (Isleta), Diane Glancy (Cherokee) (she read the night before), LeeAnne Howe (Choctaw), Heid Erdrich (Turtle Mt. Ojibwa), Gordon Henry (Ojibwa), Kim Blaeser (White Earth Ojibwa), Sherwin Bitsui (Dine), and Orlando White (Dine); and back row: Eric Garnsworth (Onondaga), Mark Turcotte (Turtle Mt. Ojibwa), and Santee Frazier (Prairie Band Potawatomi/Shawnee).
You can Google most of these folks for more information, but newcomers are Sherwin, Santee, and Orlando. You will hear more from them. They are all IAIA BA graduates who are now in graduate schools in creative writing. Lots of talent. Photo by Denise Low.
