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Tayari's Blog: Summer's Gone!

Posted by TayariJones on August 26, 2007 08:06 AM
Filed under Travels & Rambles

Bread Loaf is the last writerly event for the summer. Pulling away from the Ripton, Vermont campus, I was reminded of Charlotte's Web, when the whipper whills say "Summer's Gone!"

For people who want to know more about the Bread Loaf experience, Monica Brown, a member of our blog community, has agreed to write up a report. Meanwhile, I'll just give you my impressions as a person who visited the conference in no official capacity:

Bread Loaf is located in Ripton, Vermont, which is not particularly close to any city. To get there, I took small local streets and even a dirt road or two. You'll know that you have arrived on the campus when you see the yellow-painted buildings all along the stretch of highway.

Try and imagine about 500 writers living in a closed world-- the only phone service is a single pay phone near the laundry rooms. This is not the tranquil space of a colony like MacDowell. Bread Loaf swarms with writers at all stages in their careers. Much of the time is spent talking about writing, going to readings, attending craft-lectures, participating in craft classes, and having one-on-one conversations with publishing execs. The only writing-related thing that doesn't happen is actual writing. (But that's okay, you can write about your experiences when you get home.)

In addition to the official work of the conference, there are all kinds of social networking and cross-purposing going on. Back in the day, the conference was nick-named (ahem)"Bed Loaf." Though Michael Collier cleaned up the place, there is still enough romantic melodrama to satisfy even the most ravenous gossip-monger.

As for diversity, I'll give this year's conference a passing grade, but not a gold star. Again, since Michael Collier took over almost twenty years ago, the conference has gotten much more diverse. The year I was a fellow (2003)I declared that it was the most diverse writers conference I had ever attended. I imagine that it must fluctuate from year to year.

I was sort of surprised at how different it felt for me to attend just as a visitor. (I drove up to hang out with my friend, Natasha, who was serving on the faculty.) When I attended as a participant, I felt a sort of pressure to make my Bread Loaf experience "count". I wanted to meet people and maybe make the sort of career-changing connection that is the stuff of legend. I returned home emotionally exhausted. (I tell people that you will have at least one crying breakdown during the two weeks on the mountain.) This time, I just went to hang out and I really enjoyed myself much more. I didn't even take my business cards with me. I did things like meet a poet on the roof of my building just to talk. I drank beer by the bonfire. I had the pleasure of running into another writer who shares my passion for The Brand New Heavies, Teena Marie, and Donny Hathaway. In town, I ordered a hamburger that I washed down with a really good bottle of wine. I didn't write a word. Like I said, nobody does. But the first thing I did when I got home was fire up my computer and got to work.

photos here!