We are happy to have Cliff Garstang back in Sewanee this summer for the 2010 conference.  Cliff has previously attended in 2004 and 2008 as a conferee and in 2006 as a Tennessee Williams Scholar in Fiction. Since Cliff only comes to the conference in even number years, he has now returned to Sewanee as a Walter E. Dakin Fellow.  Cliff is the author of a story collection, In an Uncharted Country (Press 53, 2009), which received praise from esteemed authors such as Tim O'Brien and Elizabeth Strout, and was selected as the Winner of the IPPY Gold Medal for Mid-Atlantic--Best Regional Fiction from Independent Publisher. He maintains a wonderful blog, Perpetual Folly, and can also be found online at his homepage.  He is also the editor of Prime Number Magazine, a new online journal that will debut on July 19th. In previous visits to Sewanee, Cliff has posted about his experiences (he is a model citizen, attending nearly every panel and reading), and we asked if he would provide a rundown of this year's conference, in a series of posts. Thanks, Cliff.

The reunions began as soon as I walked in the door of the Sewanee Inn to register. There was Juliana, Isabel, Carrie. It was great to see the staff, writers who have become old friends. And then, at my dorm, I ran into other old friends—from past conferences, from Facebook, and even some from real life. I’m thrilled to be here.On the first night, after we got settled and even had a brief reception for Fellows and faculty, things got off to a great start with the reading by Robert Hass—from his latest book and also from newer work. He’s a fantastic poet and reader. Even there, at the reading, and later at the French House, I kept running into old friends, and making new ones.

On the first full day of the conference, Wednesday, before the real work began, I managed to get in a long walk to reorient myself—out Tennessee Avenue to “The Cross” and one of the overlooks. I hope during the rest of the conference I have time and energy to do that often. And then we were off and running: the first Fellows reading (really fantastic stuff from Dorothy Fortenberry, Aryn Kyle, and Cody Walker) followed by Wyatt Prunty’s craft lecture—very useful for me because I’m not terribly familiar with the work of Philip Larkin, but now I want to read more. In the afternoon, fortunately, I was able to get some preparation work done for the workshop to come, finishing up before we were graced with the reading by Elizabeth Spencer. She is such a presence—and her reading of her story “A Southern Landscape” brought the audience to its feet. That’s not something that happens very often at readings, and it was a special moment.I always enjoy the visit to Chen Hall to meet the Vice Chancellor, and the first day was no exception. Chen Hall is a beautiful home and the Vice Chancellor and his wife were gracious hosts. (When I met them I realized that I had actually already exchanged greetings with them, and their dog, on my morning walk!)

And as if that weren’t already a full day, we had yet another fantastic reading in the evening—Beth Henley, who read from older and new plays, even using the opportunity to teach, to explain that for her writing plays is about desire and action. That works with fiction, too—an important lesson to remember. What a great first day!