The First Week

By the suggestion of my parents and others, I’ve decided to keep a blog while I’m here in New York City because it's an easy way for me to keep everyone updated on how I’m doing and what I’m up to in the big city :-)

So, for those of you who don’t know (who are very few I’m sure because I talk about New York ALL the time), I’m living and interning in NYC this fall as a part of the New York Arts Program. I’m living in Chelsea (midtown Manhattan, somewhat near Times Square) with about 30 other students. For my internships, I'm splitting a full-time schedule among three small presses: Ugly Duckling Presse, Granary Books, and Futurepoem. All of them are non-profit, and they try to publish works that probably wouldn't be published elsewhere.

As of yet, I've mostly been doing typical intern-like work. My most exciting tasks in the first two days were to pick up/deliver packages and make an ad for a recycling bin on craigslist. No joke. Some other work I will eventually be doing, however, is reviewing submissions, designing publicity materials, and helping with events, among other things. My first substantial job is to copy-edit a manuscript this weekend for Futurepoem.

Some of the work these presses publish is a bit "out there." Its been hit or miss with everything I've read so far, but I have absolutely fallen in love with one UDP publication already, A Plate of Chicken by Matthew Rohrer. SO GOOD. NYC is just full of literary goodness in general. For example, Granary Books recently published a book by John Ashbery and Trevor Winkfield, and the party/reading is coming up later this month. I did a paper/presentation on John Ashbery's poetry for one of my classes, so it would be sweet to see him read and possibly even meet him. I also found out the other day that my boss at Granary spent time with Allen Ginsberg in the 70s in Boulder, CO at the Jack Kerouac School for Disembodied Poetics. Legit!

Enough with the English babble though. As for the city itself, I’ve only been here a week, but I love it! My room at “305” is bigger than I expected. We’re lucky because there are only three of us in a quad (extra bed for anyone who wants to come visit)! The housing isn't glamorous by any means--there are rumors of roaches and mice, and the bedding they gave us is mucho sketchy. But for New York, it’s a nice place in a good neighborhood.

A bunch of us during our orientation ferry "cruise" around Manhattan

There’s just SO much to do and see here! In the last two days alone I’ve gone to an improv show, a play, and stand-up comedy at the Comedy Cellar in Greenwich (which was hilarious). It's hard to force myself to go to sleep at night because hey, the city doesn't sleep, so why should I? And there’s so much to EAT too! Food is definitely one of the best things about NYC. I tried Falafel the other day. Delicious. And I ate at a café yesterday that had the absolute best coffee I’ve ever tasted. Mmmmm. Don’t even get me started on pastries and desserts!

Most of my exploring of the city has been good, but yesterday was…interesting. It was the first rainy day since I've been here, but it wasn’t just rainy, it was absolutely crazy, windy, cold, inside-out-umbrella kind of weather! I went with a couple guys in the program to grab lunch before heading to our seminar. Our info said we were meeting at W. 10th St, but after we walked ALL the way to Greenwich Village (where W. 10th St. is located), we couldn't find the place. We wandered around and asked for directions for about an hour before we found out we were supposed to be at W. 10th Ave and not W. 10th St…one little typo makes a BIG difference. The actual location was only three blocks from our housing. Wonderful. We were completely soaked by the time we got to our seminar, but hey, it was a once-in-a-lifetime, NY experience!

The subway walls are watching you! Creepy...

I also took a trip down to Ground Zero for the 8th anniversary of 9/11 yesterday morning, since I didn’t have to work. The whole area was swarming with tourists in ponchos, police, and people handing out trachts (mostly political, meh). I almost turned around and got back on the subway because it was so ridiculous, but I decided to walk for a while, and I finally found the place where they had the memorial service, which was nice to find because it was the only place in the area where everyone stopped, calmed down, and listened respectfully. I stood there in the cold and rain for quite a while because I didn't want to have to fight through the mess again to get back to the subway. Yay America.

Well, in closing of my probably-too-long, first entry, I want to say that this whole experience has already been opening my mind in a lot of ways, and being here this semester seems to be exactly the thing I need right now. I’m sorry for any of you who are missing me in Michigan and Iowa, and I miss you all as well, but just know that I am having a GREAT time, and I’m safe. Promise.