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Crumb A little bit of news from the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference

The ‘B’ is silent! Vol. 94 Tuesday, August 20, 2019 No. 7

TODAY’S EVENTS

7:30 a.m. - 8:30 a.m.Breakfast, Bread Loaf Inn

9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. “A Room Within a Room:

Imagined Interiors,” by Matthew Olzmann, Little Theater

10:10 a.m. - 12:10 p.m.Fiction Workshops

2:30 p.m.Craft Classes

4:15 p.m. Reading: R.O. Kwon, Dustin

Pearson, Deepak UnnikrishnanLittle Theater

6:30 p.m. - 7:45 p.m. Dinner Bread Loaf Inn

8:15 p.m.Reading: Maud Casey and Vievee

Francis, Little Theater

5:15 p.m.Book Signing and Reception

Treman Lawn(Rain Location: Barn)

9:30 p.m.Staff Scholars Reading

Little Theater

12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.Lunch

6:30 a.m. - 7:30 a.m.Yoga, Barn Classroom 008

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.Trail Walk with John Elder

(van leaves from Front Porch at 10:30 am.)

Staff Reading TonightBecause they look like secret agents, high-powered executives, and newspaper tycoons, you might not immediately realize that the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference Back Office Staff, Social Staff, Little Theater Coordinators, Crumb Editors, and Blue Palor Coordinators are all very talented poets and prose writers as well. Don’t miss their reading tonight! In keeping with this publication’s high standard of journalistic integrity, we would like to state the objective truth: It will be terrific.

Gather at the Little Theater at 9:30 p.m. to hear the work of Gabrielle Bates, Caroline Beimford, Noah Bogdonoff, Katie Condon, Dolapo Demuren, Sara Freeman, Jennifer Funk, Elisa Gonzalez, Jason Lamb, Caitlin McGill, Sebastian Páramo, Zoë Ruiz, and Noah Stetzer.

Craft Classes: Back in Action

Craft classes resume today! Some may still have spaces available; check the sign-up sheets by the Back Office. Sign-up sheets for Thursday’s classes will be posted by 7:30 a.m. Remember, according to new protocol, prose sign-ups will be outside of the Back Office and poetry sign-ups will be in the Little Theater.

“Shaded Windows: The Neighborhood as Setting,” with Jane Delury - Barn Classroom 206

“Cultivating Chaos,” with Cristina García - Barn Classroom 102

“The Anatomy of a Scene,” with Lauren Markham - Barn Classroom 204

“Feeling Elsewhere: Time in Lyric Poetry,” with Sally Keith - Library Upstairs (Back end of building)

“Approaches to Language, Time, and Space in Poetry and Fiction by Queer and Trans Writers of Color,” with Zeyn Joukhadar - Barn

Classroom 101

“The Poet’s Name,” with Richie Hoffmann - Barn Classroom 203

Book Signing TodayToday at 5:15 p.m. on the Treman lawn, authors will be available to sign copies of their books. Free refreshments will also be available. If you need to buy books before the signing festivities begin, go hit up the Book Store! The hours today are 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.

In the event of rain, this event will be moved to the Barn.

9:30 p.m.Barn Pub

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Out of the Blue (Parlor)

Sad, but true: There will be NO Blue Parlor reading tonight!

Blue Parlor returns on Wednesday at the same time in a new location. The LGBTQ+ Reading will occur Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., in the Little Theater. Join us for a dazzling range of voices, genres, experiences, and support the Bread Loaf LGBTQ+ community.

Sign up for One Minute in Heaven! The sign-up sheet is posted on the Blue Parlor bulletin board by the back office. 45 minutes, 45 readers: it’s open to anyone, and there are still a few minutes left for you to secure your spot in heaven.

And, as always, we’re dying to see your photos and videos from the Blue Parlor readings. Send them to blueparlorblwc@gmail.com.

Questions? Contact Blue Parlor Coordinators Elisa Gonzalez and Sebastian Páramo. They also accept fudge, Polaroids, and hot gossip.

ANNOUNCEMENTSFrost Walk Reminder

Please gather on the Bread Loaf Inn Front Porch at 10:30 a.m. if you signed up for the Robert Frost Interpretive Trail Walk.

Contributor Scholarships

General contributors should consider applying for one of the scholarships available for returning contributors. The Carol Houck Smith Contributor Scholarships and Donald Everett Axinn Contributor Scholarships are awarded to contributors currently attending without financial aid who wish to return to Bread Loaf in a consecutive year and who found the conference particularly helpful in the revision and inspiration of their work. Applicants are asked to submit the work from their workshop packet, a revision that demonstrates significant attention to what was learned at Bread Loaf, and a sample of new work composed after Bread Loaf. Check the Bread Loaf website for details come mid-October.

Shut the Front Door

Friendly reminder, particularly to those who live in buildings with code access: Please make sure your doors close all the way when they are not in use.

Also, should you find yourself in a late-night conversation, please remember that others may be trying to sleep and adjust your volume accordingly.

GUESTS

Please welcome to the mountain:

Ladette Randolph Allison WrightKevin Young

Yusef Komunyakka

We also we wish safe travels to David J. Daniels.

WEATHER

Sun! Sun! Sun!

High: 79° Low: 62°

LOST AND FOUND

Remember! The Front Desk is the convergence point of all errant possessions. If you find something, take it to the Front Desk. If you lose something, please go check with the Front Desk and see if it’s there. When in doubt: Front Desk.

From Jayne the Massage Therapist:Take advantage of alternative modalities of massage, life reading, and chakra alignment. Special price for all three! To sign up, look for the sign-up sheet outside the Dining Room.

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The Writers’ Cramp RaceFollowing a night of raucous dancing and great merriment in the Barn, a slew of dedicated athletes of all ages gathered outside the Annex building just before 8:00 a.m. for the annual Writers’ Cramp Race, a 2.75 mile loop that stretches all the way down to the Homer Noble Farmhouse and back.

Despite a sudden downpour, our runners pressed on, powering their way through the course and waiting at the finish line until every participant made it through. To hearty applause, the final runner finished with a smile. “I knew I was going to come in last,” he said. “But somebody has to do it!”

The conference extends hearty congratulations to all participants in the race, and a special nod to the day’s winners: Milo Stanley 19:33; Michael Parker 20:12; Jonathan Freeman-Coppadge 23:00!

Health Care ResourcesPhysical Health CareFor non-emergency health matters, a self-care cart is available near the lobby of the Bread Loaf Inn. Should you find that the cart does not address your particular concerns, the Bread Loaf Inn Front Desk staff will help you with a referral. Porter Hospital is located in Middlebury.

Physical Health EmergenciesIn serious medical emergencies such as difficulty breathing, significant loss of blood, unconsciousness, or back and neck injuries, call 911. Persons with neck or spine injuries should never be moved—always call 911.

You can call 911 from any on-campus phone. A sign near each phone lists important details including the exact address and phone number for that location.

After calling 911, please contact the Front Desk staff at x2700.

Mental Health CareFor mental health matters, contact the director, assistant director, administrative director, or coordinator (Jennifer, Lauren, Noreen, or Jason) for a referral.

Mental Health EmergenciesThe emergency team at the Counseling Service of Addison County is available around the clock. Dial 9 and then 388-7641 from any campus phone or 802- 388-7641 from your cell phone.

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OVERHEARD

“Lions like tiny little voices. They like to eat them.”

“I ride the oatmeal train hard.”

Voice 1: “Are you talking about The Marvelous Ms. Maisel?”Voice 2: “No, I’m talking about my boyfriend.”

“I’m just really hung up on myself.”

“He has the weight, build, and brainpower of a loaf of Wonderbread.”

“Are you kidding? I think anyone with hair looks great.”

“These are Depends™; I’m ready to dance all night.”

Overheard anything interesting? Email us at blcrumb@gmail.com

FREE BROADSIDES!

On your way home after a delectable repast in the Dining Hall, please detour by the Free Table in the Bread Loaf Inn lobby and pick up a free, limited edition Robert Creeley Foundation broadside. Each features a poem by Robert Creeley; each is signed and numbered as well! Fans of Gary Snyder, Tracy K. Smith, Naomi Shihab Nye, Mary Ruefle, Thomas Lux, Bruce Weigl, Sonia Sanchez, and Ron Padgett might find the broadside offerings particularly interesting. The broadsides will begin appearing Wednesday afternoon. If there is a specific broadside you would like, see Terry House.

From a story by Lei Hu:

“On weekends, all three of them were on the big bed. Ming Ming would wake up with the boy’s arm or leg on top of her. She tried to stay still, not to wake him up. She was able to feel the rhythms of his breathing, through the touch of his skin. He was her flesh and blood, in a different body with a different mind. She wondered what type of person he would turn into: an American, or half American half Chinese. All she hoped was that he would stay close to her, and that he would still like her soy sauce oysters and steamed buns; that he would go shopping with her; and that he would visit her when she was old, take her to the doctor’s office, despite all her mistakes, her anxiety, and her ignorance.”

Excerpts from the Workshop

From a story by Olivier FitzGerald:

“Their son was best known as Father Thiel. My, a priest! was the customary reaction in Southern Illinois, but Philip distrusted the church (a conniving bit of mind-control), and Nettie was utterly crushed.”