Sigma Tau Delta 2023 National Convention: Day Three

 Happy Hump Day! Today was the third day of my trip here in Denver, but the first day with actual presenter panel sessions taking place. This morning, I woke up at 7:52 AM before the first session at 8:00 AM. My time management skills may need some work. 

The 8:00 AM session was wonderful! We enjoyed learning to make a mini zine out of cut-outs from magazines, wrote Shakespearean sonnets, practiced an exercise called "writing without actually writing," and made mad lib poetry into pantoum poems. It was a good time, and the early morning creativity was much needed to distract me from being nervous before my own presentation. 

After this, I went to a session called Editing Professionally and took some notes about some steps I could take to develop myself as a freelance or professional editor within the work force. I was only able to stay for about half of this before I left so I could get ready for my panel. By "getting ready," I mean finishing what I couldn't during the 8 minutes between my waking and the first session this morning. I changed into red dress pants, dusted off my turtleneck, and did my hair and makeup. I practiced my work and added another poem to the line-up. Then, I found my presentation location in the hotel and shook like a leaf until it was time for me to speak (which wasn't long--I was the first listed in the lineup of panelists). I continued shaking and sweating while I presented, but the presentation as a whole went well! I was complimented on my ability to project and present my work as well as answer questions skillfully. The other panelists in my session were very impressive: there were six others that read from some of their poetry collections or individual pieces. I was blown away by how creative and successful these people are, and I am honored to be able to present alongside them. 

I received questions during Q & A about my research process, the authors I read, my publication progress, and if I plan to enact a similar project anytime soon. These were all wonderful questions, and I enjoyed being able to talk about my work and my vision in an environment full of other writers who appreciated my passion and were eager to learn more and even get involved. I had a couple of people willing to collaborate with my on future poetry projects, such as one I am thinking about focusing on conservation and sustainability of the Earth. 

For those who do not know about my project, I completed an undergraduate Honors Thesis Project last semester that focused on collaborative poetry in order to create a collection of 20 poems that shared the narratives and experiences of survivors of sexual violence. The project and subsequent collection are titled "68 Seconds: The Power of Poetics Surrounding Sexual Violence." I wanted to show that poetry is more than just words on a page and does not need to be authored by just one person. For me, poetry has always implied community, and I wanted to drag that aspect of community into the open by making this poetry an opportunity for others to write and share their experiences. After my defense of this thesis project, I received a grant that I applied for of $1,000 to provide me with funds to print the collection as a pamphlet, which I will sell locally, and launch a fundraising campaign that will donate all of the proceeds to Alternatives to Violence on the Palouse (ATVP), and organization that works to prevent and educate others about sexual violence as well as provide a safe space for survivors. 

If you are interested in watching my presentation today, my lovely roomie Alexandra recorded it! You can watch it by clicking here. 

After my presentation, we had some more unstructured free time, which we dedicated to making more zines. Alexandra stole a glue stick so we can also work on them in our hotel room (insert evil laugh). Since the magazines and newspapers in Denver, Colorado mainly consist of weed advertisements, I made a lovely little mini zine with a ton of marijuana pictures. I named it "The Crime Pot," and it features lot of little wacky things I printed out and glued down, such as a candy heart proclaiming the value of consent. Side note: if anyone wants to have a zine-making date with me where we can do exactly this, I would be as happy as a clam. It is so fun!

After this, Alexandra was Session Chair for another poetry session, so we went and watched that one before walking across the street and getting empanadas. We got enough so we could eat a couple for dinner, too! They were delicious and even reminded me a little bit of Spain. 

I did not go to the next set of sessions because I was set to tutor one of my fourth graders, but they didn't show up today, so I spent some time reviewing and organizing my notes I have taken so far. 

Once this was done, I headed off to the Chapter Share Tables, which was a place for some of the chapters to talk about their programming and chapter projects. There were some very cool initiatives, such as consulting an "oracle" and drawing out a literary quote to answer a question or to give general guidance, a poetry pharmacy, and a system that gives donated, secondhand books away with a QR code to track everywhere they go from person-to-person. I also purchased a couple literary posters, one of which is pictured below (insert a second evil laugh). Then, I spent some time brainstorming different literacy projects across different age levels and at different levels (local, regional, national, etc.) that I would like to accomplish one day. Going to conferences like these always revives my motivation to write, submit work to be published, and start new initiatives, even if it does drain my social battery. 

After this, I went back to our room and began doing some more Beauvoirian research for my project with Dr. Reineke back at the University of Idaho. I read for a whopping 45 minutes before I abandoned my task to getting drinks with Alexandra and some friends we made from Alma College in Michigan. The group of us went out to a restaurant called Otra Vez Cantina, where Alexandra and I shared a kiwi margarita and a passionfruit margarita before helping everyone else polish off their drinks. We also munched on the chips and salsa brought to the table. Then, we went to Target and bought some wine and seltzers, and then headed back to one of the hotel rooms, where we talked and enjoyed the booze until it was time for the Bad Poetry event. Leave it to the writers to pre-game for a poetry reading. 

We stayed at the reading for a little while before going up to our rooms to change into bathing suits, and then went up to the heated rooftop pool, which was not very warm for my expectation of being heated. However, it wasn't entirely freezing, either. We swam for a while before making a mad dash back to the room and taking some nice, hot showers before bed. I stayed up and called Griffen before going to sleep, and it was nice to talk to him for a while. Then, I read for a short bit, and went to bed.