Savannah Report

The trip down to Savannah for my reading at the Savannah College of Art & Design was quick, but fun. It was gloomy and rainy for the entire the three-and-half hour drive (I listened to Miles Davis the whole way -- good driving music). I stayed in a gorgeous new hotel in the historic district called Springhill Suites (it's a Marriott hotel) that I booked on Priceline. I'd never done the bit where you name a price, they pick a hotel and you don't find out which one until after they charge your credit card. I seriously lucked out.

The reading with poet John Valentine was organized by poet Mary Kim and held in SCAD's beautifully renovated Arnold Hall on Bull Street. The former school building has been totally renovated and the auditorium was striking. I think there were between 75 and 100 in the audience, most of them students. John read a selection from his chapbooks and then I read a chapter of Conquering Venus. We had a good Q&A afterwards and then a few students came up to talk personally and have their books signed. I nabbed one of the posters (pictured) SCAD had put up all over campus.

After the reading, Mary, John, his wife Dona and I went to dinner at the fancy 700 Drayton restaurant in The Mansion Hotel. The food was delicious (I had filet mignon) and so was the wine. We closed the place down, talking about poetry, movies and more. Mary and the Valentines were great company, and I'm already looking forward to going back down to Savannah to see them again.

Many, many thanks to Mary and SCAD for having me.