Eric Machan Howd

So I’m writing this last post in Slovenia in the afternoon before our last workshop, as I won’t have time at the end of the day today. I will predict the remaining experiences that happen after I click the publish link in WordPress.

I awoke feeling great this morning and after getting showered and dressed I went to breakfast early. I then came back to my room to get ready for our travel to the SEM Cafe in Metelkova, an artists district of Ljubljana that was once a prison/military block. We heard from a local writer, Nina Dragicevic, who spoke about the Lesbian Library she helps out with, in addition to LGBTQ artists and their history in Slovenia. It was a very interesting discussing as Nina is also a musician and writes about sound, so I was particularly engaged in hearing from another musician/writer.

Afterwards, we toured the graffitied/sculptured buildings and went into one of the hostels that used to be a military prison. The builders kept one cell intact to remember what the building once was, and it was powerful.

We were then asked to visit at least one museum while we were out, so three friends and I walked to see the David Lynch art exhibit at a museum a good walk away (Sharon, Jennifer, and Imogen). Wow! What an exhibit. Lynch is a great artist as well as a filmmaker, though I really just classify him as an artist. His paintings, all in blacks and grays, were deeply powerful, moving, and disturbing, like his films.

The four of us then walked to Cafe Romeo and sat on the side of the river for lunch. I got another burrito while there, while my friends all got salads. The waitress almost forgot to give me back my Ithaca College Corporate Card, so I’m glad that I’m extra protective of it.

I’m back in my hotel room now writing this, about ready to meet up with everyone to walk to our last workshop location. I also checked into my Air Adria flight for the morning, which they highly recommend we do. Right now, all of my flights are on time. After workshop, I’ll come back to the room to do some final, thoughtful, packing.

Later, we walk to have one more reading of a student who is graduating and some alum. Then, all of us walk to a final dinner, which is being paid for by VCFA (thanks, VCFA!). Then, the question is whether or not I should sleep or not as our cab will need to get us to the airport by 4:15am or so. I should be able to get a few hours in.

Otherwise, that’s it, dear reader! It’s been great blogging about this experience and I hope that you have enjoyed the ups, downs, and in between-s of my experiences. I’m sure that they’ll be at least one more posts where I share some snippets of work that I began here in Slovenia.

Planning is being made for our departures as I write. Time flies. Today was another relaxing, generative day, which I appreciate.

I tried to awake early again, only to sleep in until a little before 7am. Again I showered, primped, and got to breakfast around 7:30am and had a meal with my friend, Colene, who is always great to converse with! We griped, talked about our age-related issues (she’s 75), and talked about writing, from the poetry and fiction perspectives.

After breakfast, I went out to walk around the Old Town more. I sat on a bench across from one of the fountains and started work on yet another poem, entitled “One-Handed Photo” based on the hoards of tours I saw going by, mixed with the locals going to work, and the elders going to church. It’s a prose poem and I feel good about it, especially the title.

I then went back to my room to relax a little as I started not feeling well (headache). I finished reading another essay in Natasha’s book (two more to go then I’m done). I’m convinced that her essays on the craft of poetry have been a huge impact on my work here … 14 poems started now. I intend to NOT share them with her before our work begins in August. Instead, I intend to heavily edit them and portion them out to her throughout the semester, so that I can focus on my critical thesis and more new poems. How’s THAT for thinking ahead.

A little before 11am all of us met up outside the hotel to walk to the Salamun Reading Room (right off the main square) for a reading by our two faculty members, Richard and Brian. I call it the Rick and Brian show (for those fans of Rick and Morty … cheeky, I know). It was such a great reading from both of them and the Q&A afterwards was informative and fund. Brian had given everyone a photo challenge at the beginning of our residency: to submit to him one photo of a door, which I did back in Skofja Loka. He talked about the reason for the challenge and awarded prizes to everyone, whether they submitted or not, of little ceramic pigs. He then awarded a first, second, and third prize for the what he deemed as the best photos submitted. One Euro to the third prize winner; two Euros to the second place winner; and five Euros to the first place winner. I’m proud that my photo of the closeup door handle (in PRIDE colors) took second. Winning (smirk). I wonder if that prize could be shown on my Submittable account?

After the reader, my friend Imogen and I grabbed a sandwich and walked to a great spot by the river (amphitheater-like seating right up to the water) and debriefed about the reading that some felt attacked at, the one I deemed ‘insensitive’. It was so great to talk about our perspectives and sharpen our thoughts against each other’s about the entire situation. We also griped some more while also talking about the blessings we have experienced on this trip. We then walked to get gelato from the Cacao stand that Natasha highly recommended and we talked more … about rebel empaths and Terry Pratchett. She was disappointed that she couldn’t find a collection of Preseren’s poetry (the national poet of Slovenia) … one with the original Slovenian on one side of the page and English on the facing page. She said she went to every store, even the one where I purchased my copy. So, after gelato, we walked to that bookstore and went right the shelf where I got mine … and there were other copies. I was glad to help make that connection.

Sadly, my feeling sick increased throughout the afternoon. It really started during the reading. I felt fevered and yucky, but pushed through. When I returned to my room, I decided to nap for an hour or so. After waking, I still felt a bit woosy, but I still got up, went out, and walked all over town, including the poetry alley that Imogen showed me. I was in search of spicy Pad Thai again, in the hopes that the hot spice would make me feel better. I walked all around … from the other edge of Old Town to the other. I then walked down a street where we had our first workshop in Ljubljana and found a little Indian restaurant named Namaste, one of my favorite greetings. I went inside, ordered Chicken Tikka Masala and a Mango Lassi. I then worked on revising my prose poem from the morning. Boy! The Indian spice is exactly what I needed. As I write this, I feel great!! And boy, that was some of the best Chicken Tikka Masala I’ve ever had (don’t tell New Delhi Diamonds in Ithaca, please). Delicious!! I kept working and working on my poem after finishing the meal and then did something I usually do not do … I ordered dessert and a cappuccino. Yes, for those know me, I ordered kheer … and it was made with a long grain rice and more soupy than I’ve had before, but it was very good. I was surprised at how little I paid for the entire the meal, or, how little Ithaca College paid for the entire meal. Bargain. If you are every in Ljubljana, you must go there! I will again.

I then walked back to my room (around 8pm), ran into our resident coordinator who said that she received my email about my flight departure details and that she’d probably order me a cab along with Rick and Brian, who are leaving on the same flight as I am on Wednesday. Exhale.

What a day, dear reader. Ups, downs, passions, and poetry. Life is beautiful.

I’m thinking of my son and daughter-in-law back home in hot Ithaca. Today is their first anniversary. I cannot believe how fast time goes as last year I had to sneak away from my first residency at Montpelier (Friday afternoon) to drive the six hours or so home to Ithaca for the wedding the next day. I then drove back the same day (Saturday afternoon) to get back to finish my residency. Love them both and am wishing them the best today.

Today was a quiet day in Ljubljana. I didn’t get much sleep last night so it was also a bit tiring.

We had an early workshop, so I set my alarm for 5am, awoke to it, didn’t get up, and then looked at the clock at around 6:15am, so I quickly got showered and primped, ate a quick breakfast, joined by friends Colene (fiction) and Anna (poetry).

I then returned to my room to pickup the ‘Two Accordions’ poem I started late last night. My workshop group then walked to a cafe that was open (it’s Sunday, so most are closed), sat ourselves down, ordered coffees and teas, and began the order of business for our third workshop (questions, discussions, then sharing of more new poems).

We have such talented people here! We didn’t get time to workshop the new poem I worked on as we got into a conversation of a powerful piece written by one of our group, based on last night’s insensitive reading. That was more important. I just wish that our leader had given that person time to speak more and talk about her emotions. I hope that we can continue the conversation. Difficult conversations should NOT be avoided.

Afterwards, I paid for our coffees and tea and we walked back to attend one of our group’s graduate lecture, on Running and Writing (how the two feed one another with lessons and inspirations). It was very good. Then, part of the group traveled to Lake Bled for the rest of the day, up until our student readings. I opted to not travel as I got traveled out last week in Skofja Loka. Plus, I wanted to leave something for me to return to Slovenia with my glorious spouse, Katharyn Howd Machan (hi sweetheart!).

Instead, I took one of our group to the thrift store that I found, as I knew she’d like it. I wound up getting a shirt for my son and another shirt for me … I got the extra bag now, ya know. We then walked around old town and through an antiques market discussing poetry, writing, and our processes. I then stopped at a restaurant that I had my eye on that was both a burger joint and a Noodle house. I ordered the Teriyaki Burger, fries, and another house made ice-tea (with mint, strong on ginger, and apples). Delicious! I worked more on my new poem for the reading tonight and our last workshop on Tuesday (gosh, we are almost done).

Then I met up with my workshop buddy, Anna, and we took a long walk around the outskirts of the city talking about poetry, writing, processes, inspirations, and the color orange (the color of creativity and madness … I’ve come to love the color). We then sat by the river for a bit to continue the conversation before heading back to the hotel. We walked far.

The rest of the afternoon was spent resting, doing and little more walking, and preparing for our reading tonight.

A little before 8pm, we all walked to the Pridljice Restaurant/Bar in Old Town and entered their dungeon-like poetry room, where eight of us read some old and new work to each other, our resident coordinators, and our two faculty members, plus some guests. I wish that we could’ve had some Slovene students read with us as they’ve done in the past. Still, it was wonderful having the opportunity to read and test out some new work on the crowd. Most stayed to eat and drink, but for me, not really being a drinker, and being very tired, I dragged myself back to my hotel room to eat a granola bar I had in my bag, edit some photos I took at the reading, and write this post. I have a stigma against bars as others tend to drink, drink, and usually give me a hard time (usually jokingly) about not drinking. Wine, after a sip or two, gives me bad headaches. Beer, after one, gives me very bad headaches. I can take a whiskey sour now and then, but two can give me even worse headaches. Oh well.

Whoever has taken the time to read my posts, thank you. I like to be honest in these, both to capture my experience and to express my emotions as I make my first trip to Europe on my own.

Good night, dear reader.

Yesterday got away from me, so I’m writing this post the day after.

I awoke early in the morning to grab breakfast as soon as it opened at the hotel (6:30am) and then walked the quiet streets of Ljubljana as Natasha (fall advisor) told me that I couldn’t miss the Saturday farmer’s market that happens in Ljubljana Old Town.

The streets were quieter that early in the morning and I was able to see vendors setting up their wares of flowers, fruits, vegetables, meats, clothes, shoes, books, and crafts. It was beautiful. After perusing the market for a few rounds, I sat on a bench down a quiet alleyway to begin crafting a new poem. Then, I went back to one of the stalls to get some blackberries for our second day of workshops, to share with everyone. I was ignored at one stall as I stood waiting to be helped, so I went to the next stall to get a small container of some of the biggest blackberries I’ve ever seen. Of course I thought of the great Galway Kinnell’s poem, ‘BlackBerry Eating‘.

After a few more strolls I decided to purchase two coffee cups from a fantastic potter. I bought two multicolored mugs for home so that I can remember Slovenia everyday. The first mug I purchased is teal on the inside and magenta on the outside, which reminds me of my beloved’s hair. I’m sure she’ll be reading this before I can surprise her with the gift.

I then made my way back to the hotel to continue working on a new poem ‘Searching for the Emptiness’ for our second day of workshopping. This poem was in response to Richard Jackson’s prompt on 10 Things. The workshop was held at an outside cafe and although the music was a little too loud (it was lunchtime) I had a great time hearing what others created since our first workshop. I’m pleased to say that I received wonderful feedback on my poem, even though it was just read and not seen. I wound up sharing the poem online with my workshop buddies later that day so that they could see the work. I’m very happy with it, which means that I will be leaving it alone for a bit before coming back to it with a fresh eye.

After workshop, I had a great lunch with a friend in the fiction/CNF workshop group, Imogen. We ate riverside and chatted about life, writing, and life again. We ate an assortment of meats and cheeses along with with a wonderful pate, bread, and oils (pumpkin oil mixed with other oils). Delicious. We also griped to one another a bit about the experience thus far, followed by the blessings we have found thus far. What is great about this experience with a small group is that we can meet one-one to get to know one another more. I know that I wrote in the previous post how I felt that cliques were being formed and Eyeored about feeling left out (sole male student, old man with a strange beard, etc.), but those feelings have subsided. I chalk them up to exhaustion.

Following lunch, Imogen and I walked back to the hotel to hear a reading from a local visiting writer, Jani Kovacic. He is a musician as well as a poet, so I was interested in his presentation, though there were some uncomfortable ‘racial’ moments that unsettled me a bit, as well as some others. Being an almost 100% Nordic society, it doesn’t surprise me that diversity, inclusion, and emotional intelligence are missing. Still, that doesn’t rationalized the feelings of myself or others. This country needs to get with inclusion!

I then went back to my hotel room to finish reading a few chapters of Natasha’s book/essays, almost fell asleep (dangerous for me as my sleeping in the afternoon can take on Rip van Winkle magnitude, and I didn’t want that), and then went to hear our Slovenian Resident Coordinator, Iztok, read. It wasn’t that great. What was read was very insensitive and racially attacked members of our cohort, though it didn’t pinpoint anyone specific in the group. Very sad, as some left and were extremely hurt.

Afterwards, I was to go with one group to dinner, while the faculty, coordinators, and some other students were to go out on their own. It wound up being one gigantic group of all of us heading to dinner, but some of our cohort didn’t want to be near the Slovenian coordinator because of his reading, his stance on race, etc.. I know that I’m not clearly capturing this in writing and feel horrible because I’m not eloquent in these matters. However, I am eloquent in being an ally and advocate to others. So, when one of our cohort was about ready to leave on her own to get a drink and a meal, I decided to accompany her so that she wouldn’t be alone. We had a great time at Cafe Romeo having a drink (a margarita and a whiskey sour for me) and a meal of burritos, which were very good. I had a mushroom burrito and boy was it yummy. We share stories of our spouses, children, homes, art, music, painting, and writing. I just wanted to try to support and share and leave the emotions where they wanted to be. It was an honor to be there.

We then walked back to the hotel and I stayed awake a little listening to music, reading, and writing my poem for today’s workshop, ‘Two Accordions’. My brain was very active and I didn’t fall asleep until a little before midnight. I was a little worried as I wanted to bring an edited poem for today’s workshop, which I wound up doing, but we didn’t get to it because we had an important conversation at the end of the workshop on what transpired the night before at the reading. I’ll share that poem at our last workshop.

Almost forgot that I found the thrift store in Old Town and purchased a carry-on bag so help with the additional stuff I’ve gotten on this trip. I’ll check R2D2 again and take my backpack and new carry-on on the plane … he wrote hopefully. The store was also running a buy two get one free offer, so I got a cool shirt and a pair of black Addidas running pants, which I usually like because they are comfy … I don’t run, I walk.

That’s it, dear reader. The phrase for the day is ‘respecting emotions’, which is something that we all need to think about. How often do we try to correct people’s emotions, instead of letting them own them?

Spent the morning packing up and was about to schlep all of my belongings along the ten-minute walk by myself (no communication from the organizers of the trip that they’d pick me up with my bags) and it started to rain. Luckily, the owners of the Mini Hotel insisted that they give me a ride into town, which I was very thankful to have.

I read more of my upcoming faculty advisor’s book “Windows and Doors: A Poet Reads Literary Theory” and got more and more excited to work with her (Natasha Saje) as we have much in common in terms of perspectives on literature and poetry. It was very nice to spend some time in solitude reading, even when I got to the hotel where everyone else was staying (they were at a lecture of grant writing and proposal writing, which I didn’t need to attend because I’ve been teaching that for years).

We crammed into the cars one last time, more so with luggage, and made our way to our final destination for the remainder of the residency. I had a great talk about classical music in the car with fellow MFA students and had to jot some other composers and writers down.

Once we got to the capital, we had to walk a bit to get to our hotel as most of the area we are in is a pedestrian mall. The hotel is nice, but not as quiet and large as where I stayed in Skofja Loka. Still, I have a room to myself and there’s some AC, so I can be a little more comfortable in the hotter weather, plus, for my allergies.

After dropping off our luggage in our rooms, some of us went to a restaurant that the residential coordinator knew about, though it was pretty far away. I got the Lunch Plate 1 of sausages, potato salad, and beans and boy was it delicious. It also came with zucchini soup as a starter and tiramisu as a dessert (Prix Fixe). I also had the house made iced tea which was also very delicious and refreshing. The coordinator and a faculty member had to leave early to meet the rest of the group to head to a reading room and garden, so three of us stayed behind as we could catch-up, but the restaurant, though good with food, was VERY slow with service and we had to wait an extra forty-five minutes or so to settle up. Ugh. So, Richard Jackson (my poetry advisor from last semester) and Colene (a fiction MFA student) took a back-road tour, as Richard has been here before. It was nice to have a small walking tour.

We wound up in front of a big bookstore that Richard likes, but Colene needed to walk back to the hotel. Richard and I went in and looked at the Slovenian poetry shelf, and I bought three books: Milan Dekleva’s “Musi Musi Mushi Mushi” (a book of haiku), as Selected Poems collection of France Preseren, and “Falling Awake” by Alice Oswald (I know, she’s not Slovene, but I loved her book “Memorial” and had to have this one. I really have to pack carefully to make sure that I can fit everything in when I return. Richard also pointed out the capital’s Post Office, so I may buy a box and mail some stuff home. Still deciding.

I then returned to the hotel to rest and unpack a little more before our resident coordinator’s reading and lecture, which got delayed a half hour. That’s one aspect that could be much better about this trip: communication. I’m surprised that someone doesn’t decide right from the start that email will be the mode of communication on updates, so check your email on your phone regularly, and/or be with someone who has a phone for email updates. Well, that’s what the final evaluation of the trip is for, right? I’m also now seeing more and more cliques being formed and, being the only male MFA student, I tend to get left out and feel that I’m not really wanted in the other groups, but that’s my problem. I have no issues with wandering out on my own to get ideas or even sit at the base of a statue to write a poem.

The resident coordinator’s reading was somewhat okay, but hardly touched anything about poetry, so I felt that it wasn’t really important. Plus, the talk could’ve used a little more organization, but that’s in comparison with the faculty lectures, which tend to have a little more seasoned approached. Still, I got a great example to use for my Personal Essay class this coming fall semester.

After that event, I waited around for some others who were going to go into the old town square for a Food Festival that was happening. Many chefs around Slovenia converge upon Ljubljana at this time to showcase their dishes, like a craft fair for food. No one came out after they said they were checking with someone else on the plan, so I just wandered out on my own. I perambulated the stalls, moved in and out of the many people there, and settled on one of the first chefs that I saw who was making Pad Thai, and BOY, was it the BEST Pad Thai I’ve ever had, and that’s something coming from Ithaca, NY, where we have internationally known Thai food. I then strolled the streets of old town looking at shop windows, people, and eating my food with my chopsticks (I’m very adept). I got the extra spicy Pad Thai, too, so I was sweating!

To cap the night, I went to a gelato stand that my upcoming advisor highly recommended and got the pistachio flavor gelato in a cup, and yes, it was so delicious. I’m now claiming pistachio as my favorite flavor of ice cream/gelato. I scooped my gelato while watching a break dance group, snapped a photo of the empty cup to email to Natasha and then walked back to the hotel to call it quits for the night … and to write to you, dear reader.

The capital is full of distractions, but my attention is on the work that needs to be completed in this residency. Tomorrow morning I’ll have breakfast early and then work some more on my poems for workshop.

Good night, dear reader, where ever you are.

Today was castle, cave, and Srecko Kosovel (poet) day … as well as stuck in a car for many hours day.

We left for Postojnska Castle early in the morning and traveled about an hour to get there. I’m glad that the van-portion of this trip is at an end tomorrow when we leave for the capital for the rest of the residency. Being crammed into a back seat with three people for long drives is getting a bit too much.

That said, the castle was a bit expensive to get into, but we got a free audio device for our own self paced tour. Postojnska Castle is built into the side of a mountain wall and some caves, so part of the castle was like a regular castle and then the cave part was unlike any other castle I have been to so far.

After the castle, we drove about another thirty to forty-minutes or so to get to Hrastovlje Chapel, which has some of the oldest frescos in Europe, most notably, the Dance of Death fresco. The chapel was small, but covered in beautiful frescos. I was able to record the church bell for a bit so that I also have an audio memory of the visit. I also purchased a great fold-out brochure of the dance of death fresco. Such beauty. Such history.

Then, our party split into two groups. One group went to a coastal town to swim and relax and most of us went to the Skocjanke Caves, which is the largest cave system in all of Europe. It is considered to be the Grand Canyon of caves … and boy were we happy that we went, especially when hearing that the other folks had a bad time in the coastal town. The caves were gorgeous, though we were not allowed to take pictures in them as it would hold up the tours too much, even though they really didn’t admit that. Still, the caverns were HUGE and the bridge over one chasm was breath-taking. I was so tempted, with my long grey beard and all, to stop on the edge of the bridge after crossing and shout “YOU SHALL NOT PASS”, but I didn’t. I got a lot of steps in during this part of the journey.

After the caves, I was able to sit at a table and write for awhile, creating a new form for my poetry and writing two pieces, one based on a bridge. So, that takes care of two of our other workshop prompts. Thus far, I’ve started eight new poems on this residency afar.

As if that weren’t enough, we then traveled to the birthplace of poet Srecko Kosovel to attend a lecture at his reading room, which is housed in the apartment where he was born. The lecture was great and there were some more readings of his work in both Slovene and English. There wasn’t time for dinner, so beforehand, there was a quick stop at a local grocery store to get some food. I only purchased an iced-tea drink as I had a granola bar in my bag. That, sadly, was dinner.

The ride home took about and hour and a half because the faculty in our car weren’t paying attention and we got lost. Ugh. I’m going to build in more time in the capital to opt-out of travel and sit and write.

So I’m getting better at spelling Skofja Loka! And I’m enjoying the breakfasts at my Mini Hotel!

I was so tired from yesterday’s whirlwind tour of the mountains, caves, and WWI museum that I dragged myself back the ten minutes after getting dropped off in the town center and then fell asleep, not feeling that great.

The word of the day yesterday was ‘switchback’ … the title of a poem that I started. We drove to Soca Valley, where most of the battles took place during WWI between the Italians, Germans, Austrians, and Slovenes. It took about two and a half hours to get there, with one stop at the top of the mountain, and about the same coming back.

The roads consisted of many, many, many, hairpin turns on cliff sides, which activated my fear of heights, just a little bit. I had an easier time because I wasn’t driving.

When we reached the top of the mountain (the name is escaping me), we got out to stretch and get a cup of Alpine Tea (a delicious blend of mountain plants and flowers) in the lodge at the top. We then continued down the mountain and into the valley.

Once in the valley, we got an hour tour at a famous WWI museum. Although the tour was informative, our tour guide, who grew up surrounded by Fascism, was a little too apologetic of the Fascist and Nazi regimes for some of our liking. One cannot just brush the atrocities caused by these groups off that easily. Still, the museum was very well appointed. Most of the displays had English translations, so I, personally, would’ve preferred just walking around on my own.

We then continued on to a Tomlin Gorges, a state-like park that has the cave where, supposedly, Dante was inspired to write about the gateway to Hell in his Divine Comedy. I kept thinking of how my hometown of Ithaca is the birthplace of the ice cream Sunday and how that has been challenged by other areas in the States. I walked with everyone up the gorge trail to the cave, went a bit into the cave (it was slippery and in need of stooping too much), and then walked back with a friend, Anna (who was in my workshop last semester with Matthew Dickman), and got a beer at the restaurant by the parking lot.

About 5pm, all of us departed from home and stopped halfway at a fish restaurant, where we all sat at a long table, had the local fish, trout (I had mine with fisherman’s salad, not fries), wished our friend, Jade, a happy birthday, and then departed for home. Although we were told that the switchbacks would not be as many on the ride home, there were many, many, many, sharp turns, which didn’t help me and my digestion of the delicious trout.

I really had wished that I could’ve posted this last night, instead of in the morning. I also wish that there were more time to process these travels, more time to write, as I’m not that kind of writer who prefers to just experience for a week and a half and then write about it. I get ideas immediately and prefer to cozy up with a tea/coffee and write them out. Perhaps we’ll have more time in the capital for the second half of the trip.

I slept straight through the night after getting to bed around 10pm, Slovenian time. Though I slept through, I awoke with red eyes and congestion as all the pollen in the world tends to find my sinuses before everyone else’s.

I had a great European breakfast of meats, cheeses, a fresh hard boiled egg, bread, and yogurt and granola. I had the room all to myself at 7am and sat in front of the window that overlooks Skofja Loka. Priceless.

Afterwards, I walked to town center for our first group orientation meeting. We received an updated agenda (agendas are more flexible abroad than in Montpelier) and then walked to a cafe for our first workshop. I’m in Richard Jackson’s workshop (he was my faculty advisor this past semester) and am honored to be with two other poets, a fiction writer (who is really a poet, imho), and a postdoctoral visitor (fiction). I really believe in mixed genre workshops as our scope and appreciation for writing, in general, increases ten-fold. We learned how Richard likes to run workshops (we’ll be mainly generative) and then shared one piece of work that we sent ahead of time, so that we could have a base on which to get to know one another’s work, challenges, and goals. I shared my Ashbery-inspired poem, “The Piano” and received great feedback. We then were given four prompts that we could use throughout the rest of our stay in Skofja Loka. Our next workshop will be in Ljubljana and we’ll then share one piece that we made. We will be sharing orally, without print-outs, so that we can work on listening to poems to critique and provide feedback. Love that!

Once we exited the cafe, we were free to have lunch on our own, so I strolled the cobblestone street and immediately sat upon a bench to being jotting an idea down for a poem, which turned out to be many ideas, which then turned out to be one long poem entitled, for now, “Lunch Poem in Translation”. Yes, the poem follows the details of one of our prompts, which is to make a poem that includes ten items: science, history, philosophy, a mechanical thing, nature, a door or window, a personal incident from our past, an article of clothing, a part of the body, and a vegetable.

I then walked to a grocer to get a small loaf of bread (a bun, really) and a bunch of grapes. I sat by the river and ate my lunch before heading back to our headquarters for our afternoon travels.

We then caravan’d to Vrba (meaning, Linden Tree), the birthplace of Slovenia’s national poet, Dr. France Preseren (1800-1849). We received a tour of his childhood home, learned about some interesting Slovenia customs during his day, like sleeping bent-upright (rather than prone) and the black kitchen, and then had a reading of one of his Sonnets of Unhappiness by our Slovenia Residential Coordinator, Iztok. He read the poem in Slovenian and I volunteer to read the English translation.

As if that weren’t enough, we caravan’d back to Skofja Loka to Loka Castle for another guided tour. The tour was informative, but a bit too constrained and rushed for some. Still, our tour guide was called from her day off to be with us, so I’m thankful that she agreed. Afterwards, others decided to go on a hike to the ruins of another small castle, but I decided to walk back to town for an early bite to eat and some time at a cafe to make more poetry. All in all, I started work on three new poems today. In addition to the Lunch Poem (a’la Frank O’Hara), I started a poem on what we learned about the black kitchens of yore and another on how the nuns who used Loka Castle as a convent brought basketball to Slovenia. I also did one of my favorite pastimes: people watching.

I then moved my tired bones homeward to my Mini Hotel to chill, write, and read as I want to be sure that I get more rest before our long trip to the Soca Valley tomorrow, which demands that I wake earlier than usual, since we leave at 8am sharp.

So I made the twelve hour travel from Newark, NJ to Slovenia.

The plane ride from Newark to Düsseldorf, which I was dreading, wound up being quite manageable for me. I got on the plane, went to my seat on the side of the plane and found that I had a window seat, which I didn’t want for the six and a half hour trip. The elderly German man immediately asked if I was traveling by myself as he and his wife were put on different sides of the plan. I quickly agreed to switch, told the stewardesses, who were extremely appreciative, and then found his wife had an aisle seat on the other side of the plane, which is what I wanted after all. One stewardess was so grateful that she gave me a special gift later in the flight … a small box of German chocolates.

Being nice pays two-fold.

I had to sit in the Düsseldorf airport for about three and a half hours until I could get my boarding pass for Ljubljana, but that all worked out fine. I arrived to both Lauren (our main trip organizer and Virgo extraordinaire and my poetry advisor from the spring semester, and founder of the Slovenia program, poet Richard Jackson. In a haze, I say listening to the two of them plan our upcoming days.

Richard then drove me to Skofja Loka and my hotel. I dropped the bags off, not wanting to stay to get unpacked right away because I’m trying to push forward without sleep until tonight to stave off the jet-lag as much as possible. We then went back into town (a three-minute drive or a ten-minute walk), parked, and he showed me where our base would be while we are in Skofja Loka. This is a beautiful, ancient, town, with cobblestone streets, stepped alleys, old churches, and restaurants, which are closed today, for the most part, because today is the country’s Independence Day (from Yugoslavia in 1991-ish). We learned that if a store is stay open, they must double the pay of the employees, so most remain closed.

We then gathered a group of students who were willing … Anna, a poet who I was in Matthew Dickman’s generative workshop in Dec-Jan; Colene, a fiction writer in my cohort, and Lauren, Rick, and Brian (the fiction/cnf faculty) and walked around and settled on a place to get lunch. I got a delicious gnocchi with cherry tomatoes and pesto … and saved the receipt as my work is covering meals for me.

I then walked back to my Mini Hotel room and got settled in. I’m typing this on my iPad/desk setup, which faces the mountains and trees. I’m somewhat removed from the town center and am on the edge of the woods, so I get cool breezes, sunlight, flowers, and green.

Here are a few pictures of my accommodations, until Friday when we head to finish the residency in Ljubljana. Now I’m heading into the shower to wash the airlines off me.

Until the next post, dear reader.