As Writer after Writer Stayed Away from AWP San Antonio For Good Reason, Soon We Could Only Hear Queer Voices

March 5, 2020 at 8:34 AM

South San Antonio, the Quintana Neighborhood

Wednesday night, I went again to the Sun Poets Society, determined to read at the open mic. We gathered as expected, as the society has gathered every Wednesday for the last twenty-five years, with a few exceptions, very few exceptions. This fact became poignant this Wednesday because the mayor had declared a state of emergency Monday. A person in quarantine at the nearby air force base had been dropped off at the North Star Mall. A review of records discovered that her third test for the Coronavirus had come back weakly positive. This news of this emergency spread like a virus throughout the world.

We read our poetry for a full house as if the world didn’t stand on the brink of epidemic.  We gathered to celebrate the publication of the society’s periodical, and poets included arrived from afar to read what we published in their name. It was a moving ritual, to celebrate the work of fellow poets whom we hadn’t met yet in person. 

We returned to our usual rotation, inviting back a few of our society after absences. Maybe we were happy to be together one more time before the virus required us to self-quarantine for a week or more. Instead of dancing a Tarantella, a young man gave an intermission concert, playing the didgeridoo, a harmonic hand pan and a drum simultaneously.

Unfortunately, San Antonio had big plans to host the great writers of America and the world, plus all the scribes in the writing programs at colleges from Maine to California. The society called the Association of Writers and Writers Programs, AWP for short, had big plans to light up the south Texas nights with literary events. The news of plague ruined it all. I received an email from Blue Flower Arts. The writer wrote the apology perfectly. 

All of their A - List writers had decided to self-quarantine at home. Blue Flower Arts decided they could put off tabling until next year. We might have a different plague next year, but for now, the AWP conference remains on the calendar for 2021. Save yourself. We understand, of course. Someone needs to be around to write about germageddon. I truly wish I didn't sound ironic.

To be sure, Blue Flower Arts did not write “Save Yourself”. I thought the phrase to be frank.

The Academy of American Poets didn't send me a well-written email. The academy took the step of cancelling the Friday reading featuring Robin Coste Lewis, Raquel Salas Rivera and TC Tolbert. I've always wanted to hear TC Tolbert. I have to keep waiting.

Although the reading had been scheduled for the trade at 3:20 PM in the afternoon at the convention center, I had worked out a plan to depart work early to attend. Now, excusing myself from middle school and catching two buses won't be required. If the Coronavirus threat grows to epic proportions, hopefully our poets will sing of our fight against the scourge. Again, seriously, I'm glad these talents have taken cover. I am not being ironic.

Tonight, Thursday night, begins the celebration of a week of work. It is the first week of work I have completed since I departed my previous employer in May of last year. As much as I applied for work, it seemed that I was ignored. 

A few times, I made decisions that made it hard to follow up on opportunities. I went down to New Orleans and then the Census called me for interviews in Washington DC. The president of a company in Troy New York called me to a meeting, but I was pursuing what seemed to be opportunities in Brooklyn. I interviewed and completed screening tests successfully and then heard nothing. I wonder if I really am being put out to pasture.

Thursday, however, has arrived and with it a chance to renew myself by seeking entertainment, something cultural. A lecture at one of the museums, the McNay Art Museum, seems promising. A man named Tobin took great steps with his family to make San Antonio flourish as a center for arts and culture, especially opera. Tonight, at the McNary Museum, a man will talk about the family legacy. I hope this free event allows me into the museum free today because I just don't have money to throw around on admissions and cover charges. 

I have grown to love Esperanza Center for Peace and Justice, and so far, I haven't heard a cancellation for Friday’s AWP fringe event, Queer Voices. The program lists almost fifty writers, and let’s face it. When it comes to being a writer who has undergone the rite of coming out, courage comes standard for the queer writer. Who can forget that the AIDS epidemic forged the Queer identity in America. I’m attending. I need to hear these brave voices in order to be brave.