Wordstock 2008

I've been meaning to document my Wordstock experience for a while now, but with the holidays and everything going on this time of year it has unfortunately fallen to the side. If you get a chance to check out Wordstock next year, I would highly recommend going. They have many volunteer opportunities, and it's a great chance to mingle with other readers and writers.

The way that they have it set up is very conducive to mingling. The booths range in subject from publishing companies to writers' groups. I picked up some great info at the Willamette Writers' table as well as the Women's Writing booth. It's great to see so many classes and organizations devoted to the progression of the art form.

Also saw some great lit magazines and journals being represented, I can't wait to explore those one of these rainy days.

The job that I had as a volunteer was to usher the speakers to their stages and make sure everything was organized and on time. The first group I walked with was Ellen Heltzel, Mark Sarvas, Stewart O'Nan, and Floyd Skloot. They did a panel on "The Book Review Crisis" which I found really stimulating, as I often review or recommend books on this blog. I've been a follower of Sarvas's blog for some time now and I have read a couple of Heltzel's reviews, and I was really excited to hear what they had to say. The foremost topic of discussion was the part that the internet plays in book reviewing, and what that means for authors and reviews alike. The impact that the internet has as well as the interest the industry has in how readers determine what books they will read were also discussed. Personally, I tend to get book recommendations from friends, and when I really like something, I'll post it on here. I think the interent is a great way to make books of all genres accessible to all people.

I also got to have short conversations with Kevin Cook and Jennie Shortridge, they were both very nice, and as I haven't read any of their work yet, it's next on my list.

The highlight though, was being asked by an elderly woman to walk her to the author's waiting room. I was done volunteering for the day, but still had the shirt on, and I was glad to help her as she was having a small amount of difficulty with her cane. As we walked she asked me if I am a writer. I responded that I am in the process of writing, and it's a dream I'm hoping to pursue more in the coming years. She told me I am still young, and she recommended the 'Attic workshops', she said they helped her cultivate her passion. I did not get her name, but I've been searching to find out who she is as I know she has several volumes of poetry out, and I would like to read them. Hopefully I can find out soon.

Well, that's it for now, I plan on volunteering again next year as it was extremely gratifying!

Volunteering, etc.

This fall the volunteering in my life really picked up. I signed up to do Wordstock where I will be helping out as a stage assistant, and I've done two work parties for the Nature Conservancy so far. I also signed up to be a SMART volunteer which means that I go to an elementary school once a week and read to two little kids. It's way more fun than I thought it would be.

I am typically not a person who likes to do hard labor (especially for free), but I have to say that for some reason I find tons of expendable energy when it comes to doing things for the environment. Earlier this month I went with a group from the Nature Conservancy to the Camassia preserve. If you haven't been there, I highly recommend it (in spring there's an amazing blanket of wildflowers throughout). It's a small plot of oak savannah that the conservancy bought way back when there were no houses in that area. Since then, the residential neighborhoods have grown around it, and houses can be seen from almost anywhere inside the preserve. The task I had to help complete was spreading compost over a small area where they are planting some hedges to keep out the trash that floats in from the neighboring apartment complex. I was sore for about three days.

The second work party I went to I took my good friend Josie, and we had a blast. We went to the Kingston preserve near Stayton. The caretakers have been working very hard to bring this area back to its original state by eliminating the invasive species and harvesting the seeds of the native ones. They do this in a number of ways including controlled burns, but on this particular day we were lopping the heads off of Queen Anne's Lace and collecting the fluffy seeds of some kind of aster.

Here are some photos from that day:

I liked the way this lichen contrasted with the drab of the fall prairie.

I don't know what this plant is, but I like the fluffy, curly seeds.

We were collecting the seeds of this plant.

Just another sign of the times...