I went to my first AWP last weekend. I thought it was going to be boring and uneventful and I wouldn’t sell anything and no one would care that I was there. Boy was I wrong.
My first sale! It was the first of many. I got rid of all my copies. Brought 48, gave 15 away and sold the rest.
I was like, “I’m the belle of the ball!” Then I ran into the Hobart dudes and dudettes and felt a little less fancy. They were pouring shots and selling cigs. It was like Pleasure Island on a particle-board folding table.
Looked like a fun table to be at.
Our humble setup in comparison.
I was making friendship bracelets as a diversion. Sold a few too. not as many as the mags. Guess people don’t really want to have friends.
Man, you know the economy is bad when even the rodents are offing themselves.
A blurry photo of Dorothy Allison.
A less blurry photo of Dorothy Allison. We went to the reading and Allison pretty much shook the halls of the Hilton with her rendition of “Frog Fucking” as she calls it. Me and Mary thought it was awesome. Seems like everyone else was like, “Meh.” Haters, man, haters.
Snowing when we got outside.
So much so that peeps started carving it.
My fave.
You said it.
It was cool to be back in Chi. And this was a way more productive trip than my last visit, but there were definitely some moments where I was like, “Man, this is exactly why I left.”
The few moments I found myself wandering the streets it really reminded me of how damn lonely I was while I lived there. Some of the most amazing people I’ve met in my life live there, but really, I never saw them much. With the exception of Sheebs, of course.
We stumbled across this artifact of Kane mythology.
And Sheba found the store of her dreams.
I snapped this pic of some dudes plaing speed chess and Sheba got all mad at me. “Leave those people alone,” she said, “You can’t just take pictures of people without asking them.” Isn’t that what a photographer is supposed to do though? Catch candid moments? How you gonna catch a candid moment if you ask someone? It might not be polite, sure, but it gets results. Anyone think different? An even better question: Anyone care?
Old Town Ale House. The bar that made headlines for publicly displaying a nude portrait of Palin. It’s just below the ceiling, about three pictures over from the TV.
I love my Chicago friends and I wish I could see them more. But that’s just life, I suppose.
The view from my hotel room.
On the flight back we crossed over polar bear lake.
Hey man. Great to meet you. Can’t remember who introduced us, but am glad they did. The issue I got from you is amazing and beautiful and I am going to start harassing everyone I know to get their hands on that mess. Good job having a good AWP!
Oh, Chris, we miss you, we surely do! At least we have a symbol of the eternal friendship you gave us so you can’t take it back.