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Li Yun Alvarado's BlogPoet, Parent, Puerto Rican! ¡Wepa!
Amplifying Puerto Rican and underrepresented voices while supporting aspiring & emerging writers through her writing, teaching, and advocacy. |
Setting Intentions to Make the Most of YOUR Conference ExperienceAWP is a little over a month away, and I'm already preparing my plan of attack. (I'm also heading to The Muse & The Marketplace and you can read more about that here. I've created the handy worksheet below to help YOU get your own conference planning on! (BTW: whether you're going to AWP or just wishing you had an upcoming conference, I think you'll find it useful): 
AWP 2016 in Los Angeles: I was expecting: a book and a baby!
Words or Water @ AWP 2019!
Thursday, March 28
11:00 am - 11:30 am Signing Words or Water at Finishing Line Press Table (T6073) Friday, March 29 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Signing Words or Water at Finishing Line Press Table (T6073) Read on below to learn about how I made my plans to fulfill my current needs and to check out my tentative schedule. And If you're headed to AWP later this month -- I'd love to see you -- come find me! For the uninitiated, AWP stands for Association of Writers and Writing Programs. It's (one of?) the biggest annual conference(s) for writers in the country... So basically it's a literary shit show... SO many people, SO many panels, SO many offsite activities, SO MANY BOOKS! In other words, it's the kind of scene that makes this extrovert's heart sing, but can send introverts into long periods of much needed solo decompression time before, during, and after. More on my AWP experiences below, or skip to the bottom to check out my tentative schedule for AWP 2019 in Portland, OR. I'd love to see you there! MY AWPs
I've attended AWP off and on since 2008 when it was in New York City and I was a couple of years into my MA in Creative Writing (yes MA, not MFA).
As a graduate student, I got a free pass in exchange for spending a few hours working the Fordham University table at the book fair. It was there that I met the folks from Acentos, a community based poetry organization for Latinx voices that rocked my writer world in the best way possible. One of my earliest publications appeared in The Acentos Review two years later. As the Poet's Out Loud graduate assistant for several years, I got the chance to manage Fordham's table at AWP several times throughout the country at no cost to me. Most of my time at AWP has been spent at the book fair, chatting it up with writers and catching the occasional panel and offsite event. My last AWP was in 2016. The conference was here in LA and I was expecting--both a book and a baby--later that year (see pic above). Since I was an adjunct professor, I was able to volunteer in exchange for a free pass to the whole conference. Since it was local, I didn't have to spend money on housing - WIN WIN WIN! This year I'm going because we have friends in Portland (where the husband went to med school), and have decided to make a family trip out of it. I did have to pay the conference fees -- womp womp, but at least I have a place to stay! I really do love AWP despite its many many many faults (you can read about some of them here and here and here). The thing is, I love AWP not because it's AWP but because I get to see so many people I love and admire all in one place. I get to see my writer friends, some of whom I haven't seen since the last AWP, and seeing my writer friends IRL makes me really happy. Also: the bookfair. I love love love walking down the endless aisles of books, literary journals, and literary programs, and chatting with people who are immersed in this world of writing in its various forms. How about you? Do you AWP? What have been your best and worst experiences at the conference? SETTING MY INTENTIONS: CONNECTION & INSPIRATION
Since the conference itself can be so overwhelming, I've taken some time to set clear intentions. I asked myself how I wanted to feel (connected and inspired) and crafted my two intentions from that desire: CONNECTION & INSPIRATION.
First and foremost I know I want to connect with my writer friends, especially those who I don't get to see that often. I want to show them love at their panels and readings, and I want to have yummy meals full of heart-filled chats. Connection is #1 for me. Inspiration in its many forms won't be hard to find, but I want the idea of inspiration to be top of mind, so I don't miss those quiet moments of inspiration that happen from being present and paying close attention (so not just "oh listen to that amazing famous author," but also: "look at that quiet kindness happening between strangers"). By setting clear intentions for this conference, I can easily check in with myself and ask if a certain panel, talk, activity, interaction is aligned with what I want to get out of the conference. If not, I can keep it moving without having my whole day taken over by the tsunami of activity and options that is AWP. You can see my plan below. May it inspire you to set your own intentions and plan of action for AWP (or any other upcoming conference you're attending)! Want some extra help setting intentions? Download this worksheet now: MAKING THE ACTUAL SCHEDULE
It's impossible to do everything I'd like to do at AWP especially since my family will be in town, and I will likely spend most evenings with them and our friends.
Still, having a plan takes some of the pressure off because then I don't have to figure things out while I'm there. Having a plan gives me a container that's less overwhelming than the madness that is the whole AWP schedule. The plan below is what I would do if I could do everything I wanted. I'm already going to have to flip a coin more than a few times. And I will definitely end up skipping plenty of what I've outlined below. #noregrets I've used CONNECTION & INSPIRATION as well as the following parameters to help me build a working schedule:
MY TENTATIVE AWP SCHEDULETHURSDAY, MARCH 28
9:00 am - 11:00 am Book Fair Wandering
11:00 am - 11:30 am Signing Words or Water at Finishing Line Press Table 11:30 - 1:30 Lunch w/ Friends R237. So You Think You Need a Website: A Tech-Wonk(ish) Lesson for DIYers E146, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Thursday, March 28, 2019 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm R248. Furies for Muses: The Poetry of Anger Portland Ballroom 256, Oregon Convention Center, Level 2 Thursday, March 28, 2019 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm w/ Barbara Jane Reyes R252. Writing the Mother Wound A105, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Thursday, March 28, 2019 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm w/ Vanessa Mártir OFF SITE. Women Who Submit Happy Hour Nucleus Portland 1445 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland, OR 97214 Thursday, March 28, 2019 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm R285. The Author Platform: A Contemporary Cornerstone of Literary Success Portland Ballroom 256, Oregon Convention Center, Level 2 Thursday, March 28, 2019 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm R312. Tips From the Wired Trenches: Tactics for Teaching Creative Writing Online F150, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Thursday, March 28, 2019 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm R302B. Teaching Embodied Poetry in Diverse Communities D136, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Thursday, March 28, 2019 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm w/ Aimee Suzara FRIDAY, MARCH 29
F122. Dear America: A Terrain.org Reading in Response to a Changing Landscape
C123, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Friday, March 29, 2019 9:00 am to 10:15 am w/ Blas Falconer F156. Tell Me a Story: Getting a Debut Collection Published C124, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Friday, March 29, 2019 10:30 am to 11:45 am w/ Ivelisse Rodriguez Bag Lunch F182. Of Color: Poets' Ways of Making—Readings from Essays on Transformative Poetics A106, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Friday, March 29, 2019 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm w/ Melissa Coss Aquino F180. Writing What We Know: Mining Personal Experience in YA Fiction A103-104, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Friday, March 29, 2019 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm w/ Lilliam Rivera F231. Writing & Mothering: Black Women Writing Under a Quadruple "Minority" in America D135, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Friday, March 29, 2019 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm w/ Cassandra Lane 3:00 pm - 3:30 pm Signing Words or Water at Finishing Line Press Table 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm Book Fair Wandering F302. Social Media Strategies for Diverse Authors and Multicultural Books D131-132, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Friday, March 29, 2019 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm F327. Latino Caucus F150, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Friday, March 29, 2019 6:00 pm to 7:15 pm w/ Raina J. León OFF SITE. VONA’s 20th Birthday Reading Literary Arts 925 SW Washington Street, Portland, OR 97205 Friday, March 29, 2019 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm OFF SITE. Pacific Northwest College of the Arts Reading w/ Kelly Sundberg and Stephanie Land at Corporeal Writing 510 SW 3rd Ave., Portland, Oregon 97204 Friday, March 29, 2019 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm w/ Kelly Sundberg SATURDAY, MARCH 30
S136. Embodying Writing / Performing Translation, Sponsored by ALTA
F149, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Saturday, March 30, 2019 9:00 am to 10:15 am w/ Urayoán Noel S172. “That’s Not Relatable”: Radical Teaching on Race & Intersectionality in Writing Portland Ballroom 251, Oregon Convention Center, Level 2 Saturday, March 30, 2019 10:30 am to 11:45 am w/ Luivette Resto & Cynthia Guardado S148. True Story: Revolutionary Creative Nonfiction B113, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Saturday, March 30, 2019 10:30 am to 11:45 am w/ Lizz Huerta 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm Bag Lunch or Lunch with Friends S180. The Border Against Belonging: American Occupation in Asian American Poetry A106, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Saturday, March 30, 2019 12:00 pm to 1:15 pm w/ Barbara Jane Reyes S219. Getting Home: Writing & Publishing Debut POC Story Collections B117-119, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Saturday, March 30, 2019 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm w/ Ivelisse Rodriguez S222. Crossovers: Writing for Both Teens and Adults C125-126, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Saturday, March 30, 2019 1:30 pm to 2:45 pm w/ Lilliam Rivera S261. Post-MFA vs. POC: Five Poets Speak About and Read from First Books D137-138, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Saturday, March 30, 2019 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm w/ Michelle Brittan Rosado S270. Teaching the 21st Century Poetry of Witness F151, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Saturday, March 30, 2019 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm w/ Elisabeth Frost S290. When We Write, We Write With Our Bodies, Our Hearts, Our Histories C125-126, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Saturday, March 30, 2019 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm w/ Melissa Coss Aquino & Kenji C. Liu S285. The Word on the Street: How to Start & Run a Community Literary Series B115, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1 Saturday, March 30, 2019 4:30 pm to 5:45 pm w/ Xochitl-Julisa Bermejo BEFORE YOU GO
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