Marker days. Days in which certain events are scheduled – there is before and there is after. Today was a marker day, the day of the Alaska Center for the Book Clia award. Before, the day, I mostly spent time taking care of things around here, such as cleaning the goat pen. After, tomorrow, Pete and I are heading to Slana with books, then further north if the fire danger has diminished.

Today – Pete was most concerned about getting two books out to those who purchased them on eBay. Now we have online sales going on. Next, I put on the Kuspuk, set aside for such events, then on to the award ceremony.

Robert, Susan, Cheryl, and I first got together for pizza in Anchorage, sat at a table near the garage door exit. Then we all headed to Alaska Pacific University for The Event.

Mingled in the front area of the Carr Gottstein area. Food had been set out by Center for the Book board members Patience and Sarah. Colton showed up. We chatted for a bit then all took seats in a classroom that doubles as a space for small events.

I estimated that 30 or so attended this event. As Pete noted, there were six of us, six attendees, Sarah and Patience, and one poet. The rest were MFA candidates at APU and their director.

An overview of the Bright Lights Book Project was first provided by Sara—once again, I thought – I never in my wildest dreams thought that it would come to this. I was then presented with flowers and a plaque and then asked to speak. I was told to keep it to one minute, which I did. Like I said above, my audience was MFA students, so I spoke about the importance of writers needing readers, and said that MFA students should both be required to take a literacy course and do a service project.

I could, as I said this, see Wendy Bishop rolling her eyes, well knowing that MFA educators and their students would see this as being senseless. But the truth be known, and I will say this again, writers need readers. Times are such now that (as one person told me earlier in the day) there is danger of the written word being taken from us.

I work inductively, and in the final chapters of my book, will conclude with this.

I then sat down and watched as the others received their awards. Following the awards, a poet with the first name of Erin read from her work. I found this writer to be very pretentious – she kept putting on and taking off her glasses – this was very distracting. And I found it near impossible to distinguish her work from that of her mentor.

Colton, sitting next to me, did say after that he had never before had been at a live reading. So he had no basis for comparison. We will have to go to a poetry slam or open mic session together sometime.

We stopped at the hotel on the way home and I sorted more of the books in the back room. Pete went and moved the newspaper box, again.

We are nowhere near ready to go tomorrow. My thinking is, when we get going, we get going.

Next: 191. 7/14/25: Great Vacation, Already