On the Road Again

I returned today from the Burlington Book Festival where I had a lovely time as one of seven poets reading on Sunday afternoon. This was the festival's third year but the first year with poets. The event is run by Rick Krisonak and draws hundreds of visitors over a three-day weekend. I drove up to Vermont on Saturday. It was a longish drive of 5 and a half hours and many different roads, but the scenery was magnificent. And I didn't get lost even once which is some kind of miracle. Rick arranged a dinner for the authors that night at the Marriott, so I was able to meet several of the other poets and enjoy a nice relaxing evening. The readings the next day were fun. We each had half an hour, followed by a book signing. We had very nice, responsive audiences (though not quite the 250+ that Joyce Carol Oates drew the day before!). Here are some photos to help you almost feel like you were there.

Poets Susan Elmslie from Canada and Susan Rich from Seattle, Washington at the dinner Saturday night

Poet James Hoch and children's author Barbara Lehman

A distant shot of the Waterfront Theatre, the venue for the readings

Approaching the Waterfront Theatre

The front of the Waterfront Theatre

View from a back balcony overlooking the water

Poet Major Jackson, prior to his wonderful reading

Me in a partial aura just before reading