Language--what is it? This was the blue question of the day in Monson, and the orange words and phrases were the kids' responses. It was the our first full day together, and we had two additional participants who were brand new, yet the conversation thrived. Everyone spoke, two-thirds were willing to share new drafts, and nobody had dropped out after the first week--a really promising start.

Afterward I had a long meeting with the executive director to hammer out details regarding the summer conference, which should open for registration very soon. So I came home tired and late, but with the feeling I'd gotten good stuff done.

Today I'll be back at my desk, catching up on house things, etc., and then after work T and I will drive north for an evening reading in Winthrop . . . Absolem Cider Brewery, 6:30 p.m., with Robert Carr, Meghan Sterling, and Martin Farawell. If you're in central Maine, you could come!

It's been a busy week and the busyness isn't over, but I've enjoyed being a poet in the world, after a long few months under a copyeditor's mask.