Sunday, March 24, 2024
Vacation day 6 of 9. In The Old 77. Breakfast in our room: cereal with milk, water to drink. We walked to Hotel Monteleone. At the Saints and Sinners Festival Patrick was a panelist in a literary discussion: Writing Heroes and Heroines: Inspiration and Influence. ("Who is your writing hero or heroine? While we might frequently admire the works and lives of our fellow writers, sometimes the impact of another author is formative, foundational, and even profound. Their style, attitude, tenacity, creativity, successes and challenges remind us of our own artistic goals and keep us connected to our literary roots. Panelists will reveal some of their literary heroes and heroines and discuss how their creative lives have been enhanced, informed, and impacted by them.") Panelists: Cynthia Carr, Michael Cunningham, Matthew Clark Davison, J.M. Redmann, and Patrick Earl Ryan. Moderator: Jonathan Alexander. I chatted with and received Chinese restaurant suggestions from Daniel: Wishing Town and Miss Shirley's. Afterwards Patrick and I walked to Killer Po-Boys. We shared one BBQ chicken confit po-boy, unsweetened iced tea, bottled water. I found instructions on the web about the proper way to wear my Tilley hat. I hadn't realized that the back strap served to keep the hat on in any kind of wind conditions; I had thought it was meant to be tucked in the crown. I began wearing my Tilley hat correctly today, and it performed beautifully even in strong gusts of wind. We visited French Truck Coffee. Patrick was still hungry, so he ate a jalapeño sausage croissant with an espresso. Back to Hotel Monteleone: Patrick was a panelist in another literary discussion: Nostalgia as a Creative Act/Moving From Memory To Fiction. ("Nostalgia for both time and place is a strong trigger for memory, a longing and sadness urging us to return. Join our panelists as they discuss how preserving our pasts through the filter of fiction can be an act of survival for the writer. How queer writers can avoid oversimplifying our collective experience—Stonewall, the slutty ’70s, the AIDS battles of the ’80s—to transform personal material into detailed and intimate portraits that speak to larger truths. Added to this queer context, nostalgia can be a cultural marker—one that resonates in a love of old brands, family recipes, stories, and local legends handed down through the generations. How do writers bring the past to the page, while avoiding the pitfalls of sentimentality and wish-fulfilling fantastication?") Panelists: Lucian Childs, Dale Corvino, Andrew Holleran, and Patrick Earl Ryan. Moderator: Alan Williams. Patrick and I returned to The Old 77 to change clothes and rest briefly. We returned to Hotel Monteleone for the closing reception. A group of us walked to dinner at Cane and Table: Felice P, Dale C, Lucian C, Patrick, and me. Another group of friends to whom Patrick suggested this restaurant would be seated at an adjacent table about 20 minutes later. Drinks: Smoke on the Rocks, Fair Hope, Passionfruit Ginger Lemonade, Yellow Rose of Texas. We shared: grilled octopus (kalamataa ioli, sweet pepper slaw), tostones (twice fried plantains, pikliz, habanero hot sauce, salsa verde), sweet plantains (crema, salsa macha), arroz con pollo (half springer mountain chicken, saffron bomba rice), fish rundown (fried drum, rock shrimp, coconut curry, jazzmen rice). dessert: we shared passionfruit ruby chocolate rice pudding (coconut milk, chocolate condensed milk drizzle, marcona almonds) and rum cake (lime crema, rum glaze). We ate and enjoyed each others' company and stories and talk. Everyone joined in a walk along Decatur, returning to our respective hotels. Patrick and I bought water from the nearby mini mart before returning to The Old 77.