I moved from Los Angeles to Portland in 1995, and the new place welcomed me in a way that the old never had; I actually finished my undergrad in English here, and almost finished a memoir, so books and writing feel like home, in the home I wanted. This convention is so very much more of that, so much so that it can feel intimidating and overstimulating -- almost like the isolation I ran from -- but all these booths are only individual people after all, and the community and isolation are both mine to give and receive. #home #AWP #AWP19