West Side Y via the Brooklyn Bridge
Tags: Brooklyn, Brooklyn Bridge, Literary Writers Conference, Manhattan, Mary Gannon, Poets & Writers, YMCA
Last Sunday I returned from a Literary Writers Conference in Manhattan, where I read from my work and received critiques from literary agents, gong show style (“I’m bored — stop reading now!”). I also learned about how to get published (“you have better odds at winning the lottery — throw in the towel!”). It was a tough love boot camp, no question. And it rocked. Seriously.
And **famous person alert** I actually had the chance to chat one on one with Mary Gannon, Editorial Director of Poets & Writers Magazine. I know, right? Mary Gannon!
If you’re all like, “um, who’s Mary Gannon?”, then I envy you. See, you’d have shaken her hand and been your usual charming, inquisitive self. Me, I was so starstruck I divebombed straight into awkwardland and spent my conversational time assessing the damage from my crash landing. “It’s a pleasure to meet you” was the only coherent thing I was able to stutter.
Now, my friend Joanne joined me on the trip, though she skipped the conference. On Saturday, we took the train to Brooklyn, then hoofed it from Brooklyn to the West Side YMCA where we were staying. That’s a 10-mile walk, people. And it was fabulous. We passed waterside lofts and shaded brownstones and Parisian-style cafes. And New Yorkers? Warm. Supportive. Lovely.
New York, I think I’m in L-O-V-E.
