So I am in Santa Fe right now. This is the first time I've been to the Southwest at all! So everything is very new to me -- the land, the light, the smells. I'm here for a family wedding, and between the wedding-related events & the difficulty of getting my little group of family members all moving in the same direction at the same time, there's not a huge ton of time for sightseeing. But I've been able to spend several hours downtown (in the general vicinity of the Plaza), and I have to say, this seems like a really neat town. Also, everybody here dresses much better than people in Indiana do. Also, looking around all the little shops makes me wish I had a LOT more money than I do. :)
I went into a nice little bookstore called Collected Works; when I'm in a new town, one of my favorite things to do is to go into a local bookstore and try to buy a couple of books by local poets. Collected Works had a pretty decent poetry section which included quite a few local and local-ish poets, and I found three that appealed to me after dipping into them just a bit, so that was a big bookstore success (one book each by Pat Mora, Valerie Martinez, and Carol Moldaw). Also popped into a couple of galleries and several other little shops. It is definitely the sort of "interesting shops and galleries" town I love spending time in, and I think I will try to come back sometime when I can be more leisurely about things. I'll keep an eye out for particularly good poetry readings out here, and maybe try to time a visit so that I can hear somebody fabulous.
Speaking of which, I had hoped to make it to a reading by Sheryl Luna and a couple other poets at the Institute of American Indian Arts this afternoon, but the stars just weren't aligned quite right, or whatever. (Plus I was slightly mistaken about where the reading was, and made it to the IAIA museum about one minute before the reading was scheduled to start, but the reading was about 20 miles away at the IAIA school. Oops. I wouldn't have been able to make it out there anyway, unfortunately.) Sorry, Sheryl -- next time!
I do want to come back to Santa Fe; it doesn't strike me as someplace I am drawn to in an "I really want to live here when I win the lottery" kind of way (which is how I feel about Provincetown), but it's certainly a place where I'd like to spend a little time. I'd also like to get out of town and investigate the landscape a bit, do a little light hiking, that kind of thing. I have to say that after a dreary, rainy, chilly few days in Bloomington, the brilliant sunshine here is most welcome indeed. I'd like to go hunting for poems here, which would probably mean traveling alone (something I enjoy anyway). October seems like a particularly good time to be here, so maybe next year. Anybody know what the queer community is like here? I haven't been able to get a sense of that yet.
6 comments:
I love your report! It only makes me that more excited to fly out on Monday!
I haven't heard anything about the Queer community, other than that every lesbian I know who ever went to Santa Fe says "it's just like Oakland" - which means there are lesbians everywhere, but no one's wearing sequins or holding signs (about lesbianism, anyway).
Enjoy the rest of your trip! Score on the bookstore and I'll take it as a tip!
Hey Anne,
Don't worry about it. I literally drove up to the IAIA reading as Gabe Gomez was already reading!!
Santa Fe is nice! I'm in Albuquerque now and it's very nice too. I love the Southwest and always will!
oops, that was me, Sheryl
I'm currently reading Indian Trains, new book of poems by Erika Wurth, one of the poets who was at the Santa Fe reading. I really like the book, and expect to write something about it in my blog once I've finished it.
The book is just out this fall from West End Press. West End's books are distributed through the U. of New Mexico Press; Erika's book can be ordered through the UNM Press website, if you want to check it out.
Early word is that organizers of the Albuquerque Cultural Conference, which I attended this past Labor Day weekend (Erika Wurth was there too), are looking at doing the conference again next year. That may still be a little tentative, depending on one thing and another. Whenever I have firm word on any plans I'll post something in my blog.
Anne, be sure to hit up the labyrinth on Museum Hill. Spotted a scarab there. That's one of the places I've felt perfectly still.
that's a great idea to purchase local poets when you are at the bookstores. i had gotten into the habit of buying a local literary zine, but maybe i need to branch out.
i'm hoping to get to that part of the world someday myself. i've been to san francisco but other than that i've never been more west than texas.
Have Fun!
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