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[susanstinson]

Nolose was a song, a gift, a crisis, a confusion and a wild tap dance, filled with mighty work, burlesque, human mistakes and raptures. It was a beautiful thing. It was a swim.

I'm going to post a bit about the trip over the next few days, but can't wait that long to send most tender respect and regards – oh, so many amazing folks there, so many old friends, so many gorgeous others – but especially to the intrepid gang who made it to the Philly reading -- ericaceous, plasticsturgeon, amarama, charlottecooper, and kayisgay -- I really would have talked with you all night, if the bookstore hadn't been closing!

Well, and bounce_n_jiggle for her warm ways, and beccawrites for years of beautiful organizing, hard thinking, generous presence, honest feelings and risky, graceful work.

And everybody! fattest, lovelylikeyeast, queentushy, beatgoddess --wow, had no idea the car accident was so rough! -- everybody.

I missed seeing misia in Baltimore and meeting technodyke, whose work with FatGirlSpeaks was much praised.

Comments

[francita.livejournal.com]

Glad you had a fun time! Wish I could go to something like that. It sounds very...empowering.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Thank you, Francita. It's empowering and a lot of other things, too. I'm wishing you power, yourself, in exactly the form that feels right for you at this moment.

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

Yay Susan! It was so great to see you read! I feel so lucky that I got to see you read all several different parts of Venus of Chalk as well as that swimming pool piece. It really added *so* much depth to your work to see and hear you read it. And of course you are fabulous all around.

I am still sort of processing NOLOSe stuff myself, trying to figure out how to say anything about it, but I think it will come out someday.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Oh, it was so great that you and plasticsturgeon came to both readings. Just warmed the cockles of my heart! I felt like there was a lot more to talk about -- but we got a pretty good chunk in, huh?

Maybe you'll consider posting a review of the book somewhere when you finish? In your lj, one of the online booksellers, anywhere? That stuff truly does help (and I don't take it hard if you've got criticisms -- it's all grist for the mill.)

I always want to put a plug in for lots of praise for the incredibly hard work of the organizers and the risks the facilitators take when writing about the conference -- it's such a huge gift that they make to all of us, always imperfect, always with room for better, but, given the cultural context, pretty amazing. I think so, anyway.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

Oh, and golly, it's fun to be able to put your face to your lj name!

[ericaceous.livejournal.com]

I wanted to go on talking forever.

I'm holding off reading the book becasue it is our book group book for August, and I know from experience if I read it too far ahead of time, I am not as sharp as I'd like to be when it is time to discuss. It's hard though--I want to dive in!

But when I'm done in a month or so, I would be happy to write a review and post it around.

I love your plug for the organizers. I agree. ANd when something is "perfect" it's kind of dead, don't you think? The imperfections are signs of life, maybe even growing pains.

[susanstinson.livejournal.com]

That's really swell about posting your reactions to the book -- thanks. Yeah, definitely could have talked more. And I agree with you about signs of life.