I was fortunate enough to attend AWP in Baltimore a few weeks ago. I’ve been to the conference in the past, but this year I was excited to return to my hometown, meet some colleagues, and reconnect with old friends. Colleen Alles and I chatted about AWP and literary conferences in our latest video blog, but I also wanted to add a few insights here.

As I was handing out “free coffee” cards for the press I freelance for, I ran into a former MFA colleague. I glanced up, and there he was, sitting at the Red Hen Press booth. It was like I had seen him yesterday, although it had actually been 10+ years. I was a bit flustered in that moment. It took me a while to realize he was promoting (and selling) his new book: Kill Dick. There might have been a time where I would have felt jealous of his accomplishment, but what I felt in this moment was relief—relief that my MFA friends were still out there, producing art, fighting the good fight. Sometimes it feels as if good, literary writing has become obsolete, that the world has moved on to bigger and better things, but seeing my old friend gave me hope for the future and reminded me of the importance of the work we do. I was able to get a signed copy of my friend’s book. I’m going to read it, add it to my shelf, and carry on (or so I hope) doing what I’ve always done—sending my work out into the world, fighting the good fight.