Squaw Valley post no. 10

The local paper, the Tahoe World, ran a feature on the conference and a profile of staff member Joanne Meschery a few days ago.

Last night the conference had a finale of sorts, a talent show mainly featuring instructors and staff members, though mere participants made appearances. Pleasantly rollicking in-jokes set to music. Tin House editor Elissa Schappell read an essay early in the week about drinking absinthe and there were a number of attempts to find words that rhymed with "absinthe."

Even before the talent show, the "community of writers" started breaking up, either to go home a little early or to pursue individual desires. There was a big party last night at another chalet, but I skipped it; one of my housemates, who lives way down in the desert, left at 4:30 this morning.

This morning there'll be one last reading and a goodbye talk by California poet laureate Al Young.

I'm sure glad I came to this, though mostly what I feel like doing right now -- and I remember having this same urge after the only other lit conf I attended, several years ago -- is writing and publishing some short stories rather than the novel I started in November.