Today is the final day of my 11-day fellowship at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. As such, I thought a roundup of my time here would be appropriate.

Number of days at VCCA: 11

Number of speeding tickets: 1 (hopefully this number doesn’t change! I promise not to speed on my way home tomorrow!)

Cost of ticket: $187 (I was clocked at 78 mph in a 60 mph zone. Oops…)

Number of poems written: 7 – while this is pretty low for me, my goal wasn’t to write new poems while at this fellowship. Of course it’s always nice to write new poems but during this fellowship I had other goals in mind!

Number of tasks on to-do list: 14

Number of tasks on to-do list completed: 14 – this was my main goal while here. This list has been stacking up and I was really excited to cross the last item off my list yesterday, leaving me a full day to work on other things because let’s be honest, to-do lists are never really done!

Number of handmade chapbooks created/bound/completed: 100 – this was another huge task I wanted to complete while here. I’ll write a separate post on these but the short version is I wanted something to have as a nice little extra to sell during my in-person readings for my book tour.

Number of readings booked for my 2023 book tour: 5

Number of emails sent regarding readings for my 2023 book tour: 25 and counting – turns out scheduling a book tour means sending a lot of emails and then waiting for a response. But I’m working on it and if you have a venue, bookshop, college, etc. you know of that would make for a great reading, let me know!!

Number of hikes: 2

Number of runs: 3 (1 in the pouring, freezing rain because I’m either a bad ass or an idiot.)

Number of HIIT workouts completed in my studio: 9

Number of yoga sessions: 3 – the permanent resident at VCCA is an ashtanga yoga instructor. She said I have one of the best chaturanga dandasanas she’s ever seen and for yogis this is a huge compliment!

Number of books read while here: 14 – 8 collections of poetry and 6 novels. (You can see all the books I’ve read this year on Goodreads – follow me if you don’t already!)

Number of manuscripts read for Riot in Your Throat: 22 and counting – the independent poetry press I run, Riot in Your Throat, is currently open for full length poetry manuscripts. I’m looking for 2-4 collections to publish in 2023 – submissions are open all month so if you haven’t yet submitted there’s still time!

Number of dreams about ex-lovers: 3 – seriously, what is going on in my brain?! But hey, I’m sure it’ll inspire a poem or two. 😉

Number of talks by the fire / over coffee / during dinner with other artists and writers: Countless

Overall this has been a wonderful 11-day fellowship and I’m so grateful for the time, space, comradery, quiet, inspiration, and friendship I found here. If you’re considering applying to VCCA I highly recommend it, this has been a wonderful, beneficial time.