GCLS Day 3

Another great day of both fan and writer content. I learned about ways to improve my craft, how the monolith of Amazon works for books, and how to be creatively resilient. Oh, and Katherine V. Forrest wrote a scifi trilogy! (I immediately bought it in the vendor room after the session.)

I also learned that the Supreme Court decided that religious bigots can now freely discriminate against the LGBTQIA+ community and that affirmative action is no longer allowed, at least at universities. Obviously, that is a vastly oversimplified description of what the rulings represent, and I have not had a chance to fully research the implications, but I’m pissed regardless.

And scared, if I’m honest, which in turn pisses me off even more because I’m so tired of being fearful.

I am finally in the most joyful phase of my life that I have ever experienced. I am living and loving authentically and fully honing my craft and building community. I’m finally really happy, and the world around me is going to shit. So I’m angry that I don’t get to live blissfully in my bubble.

Based on what I heard from my table mates at lunchtime when the ruling was announced by the GCLS President, I am not alone, not that I thought I would be. I hate feeling so powerless so voiceless. I’m exhausted to be honest, and have tremendous respect for those who have been fighting this fight for so long and still have the energy to continue. I don’t know how they do it.

I have no poem for today and not just because i’ve written about my conference. I just don’t feel connected to that part of my soul where poetry lives right now. I hope I can reconnect soon.

Take care of yourselves, my friends.