Last week I attended the Split This Rock Poetry Festival. The festival coincided with Split This Rock’s 10th anniversary and it did not disappoint – it was three days filled with panels, discussions, readings, and friends. It was an inspiring time and I connected with old friends and made news ones. My friend, Maye, flew in from Michigan to attend the event.

Maye & Courtney – poets extraordinaire!

Every day we went to panels and then met for lunch, discussing the morning’s events. At night, after the readings we chatted about our days – the best things we’d heard and experienced. I wrote poems every day of the festival, two of which are decent enough to edit and workshop.

The first night’s reading featured three readers, including the amazing Sharon Olds reading from her book, Odes. I bought the book, had her sign it, and fangirled a little.

Fangirling over Sharon Olds

There were other great poets there too: Solmaz Sharif, Ellen Bass, Javier Zamora, Sonia Sanchez, Elizabeth Acevedo, Kendra DeColo, Franny Choi, Danez Smith, Fatimah Asghar, Hieu Minh Nguyen, sam sax, Rachel Wiley, Cathy Linh Che and about a hundred more I haven’t mentioned.

By the end of three days I was exhausted and exhilarated and had a few more books added to my “to be read” stack.

The books I bought at the festival, all signed by the author!

I’m feeling charged and my writing is renewed. Thanks to Split This Rock for an amazing festival. Oh, and if you love their work, please consider donating to help them continue to provide the great programs they run. Your donation is tax deductible and every dollar helps.