Thursday, November 20, 2008

2008 National Book Awards: Part III

Just to let you know no one around here’s getting too big for his britches… we spent some hours today cleaning the apartment. I’m talking low-down-dirty, down-on-the-hands-and-knees cleaning. Borders is coming over this Saturday to shoot a video inside the apartment, and though we’d hoped to hire a housecleaner, our one possible point of contact—another poet who shall remain nameless here—has apparently driven all her former domestic employees into friendlier lines of work.

The two of us still aglow from the events of last night. I had a great time talking to any number of people—Frank Bidart, Joel Connaroe, A.M. Homes, Tony Hoagland, Marilynne Robinson, Ira Silverberg, Susan Wheeler, Marilyn Nelson, Robert Pinsky, Craig Morgan Teicher, Jayne Anne Phillips…. Any more and I would slug my own face for namedropping. Good spirit and love for books in the atmosphere.

And I got to shake Joan Didion’s hand!

And was offered a visiting position at an excellent graduate writing program, next fall, a very short commute away! Who would have expected that?

For those who care about such things, a picture of this blogger minutes before the car from HarperCollins came to pick us up last night.

And now back to that Swiffer.

4 comments:

Elizabeth McCracken said...

Even better than I imagined.

lu said...

Be still my heart…you and Mark had to have been the most handsome couple present. I’m all a-gog and scrambling for all the names you dropped; goodness me. I would have gone all gushing and embarrassed myself at meeting the two of you as much as I would meeting the other esteemed on your list. I’m just so pleased for Mark and for you.
Have you ever met Antonya Nelson? She’s from my neck of the woods, and chaired the awards some time ago. She came to Watermark Books (where I moonlight when I’m not teaching)to discuss the process; It’s quite a heady undertaking.
Big Congratulations.

jayme said...

i'm so glad that i ordered all those extra copies of mark's work while employed at borders. i knew it would pay off eventually.

Sanjeev said...

Congratulations to Mark on this win. I saw the book Fire to Fire at the public library last month and meant to pick it up. Now I have to!