Day 3. Patricia Smith. A force and a whirlwind: so generous, so intensely focused on pushing us not to turn away from deep pain and horror. Her presentation and her reading were stunning. I do not know another poet who can write of a baby's drowning and make both the terror and beauty so stark. Her presence at the conference was, as my co-director Kerrin texted me afterward, "deeply complex as well as uber practical. Master class." My response was "Exactly! And scary in a way that I find very exciting."

I'm reading tonight. It supposedly will be available to anyone via Facebook Live, whether or not you have a Facebook account. Here's the link. Starts at 7 p.m. ET.