Congratulations to everyone involved in pulling off the
held over the weekend at the
. It's always great to see the area's writers and readers come together for a day. Nancy and I moderated a panel of authors who are featured in
a new anthology of Baltimore writing, and they gave rousing readings. Thanks to Rafael Alvarez, Maud Casey, Michael Downs, Jane Satterfield, Rosalia Scalia, and Ron Tanner.
I also got a chance to attend a poetry reading by Laura Shovan and Maryland Poet Laureate Stanley Plumly (show here in 2009). the most touching moment came as Plumly broke down during a poem about President Kennedy's funeral. He was very gracious throughout the reading --- difficult because he had to compete with reverberations from the open mike session in the main courtyard. As Plumly read, one participant seemed to be delivering his interpretation of an outboard motor, mixed in with some yodeling. It was maddening for those of us hanging on Plumly's words. Yet he persevered, at one point saying he would pretend the noise was the Atlantic Ocean.