Watershed

I went to the Watershed reading today at Cal. It was set very prettily on a sloped lawn right by Strawberry Creek (a warning came from the stage to watch out for the honeybees whose hive was in a tree nearby). There were even patches of shade which weren't available in previous years when the reading took place at a park downtown. There were fewer people, however, as you had to know about it to find it.

I went partly because I wanted to buttonhole Bob Hass. I'd run into him on campus a couple weeks ago and he'd remembered me. So at that time I asked him if he would read for Poetry & Pizza, the series I help run in SF. He sounded positive, even suggested a charity to which the door funds could go, and offered to read with his wife, Brenda Hillman. Now, Bob being the famous poet that he is, I know he gets asked to do stuff all the time. Even though I wrote him an email the day after we talked I wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't remember P&P. When I cornered him near the stage today (right after he'd finished an interview with a woman who had a tape deck slung over one shoulder) he said he was just back from two weeks in Germany so had miles of emails piled up. Of course, I said.

So I sidled up to Brenda when she was signing books and laid out the notion. I'm giving 30 readings this year, she said, looking a little put out. She seemed least dubious about settling on a date in late spring or summer.

On the whole Watershed was a pleasant experience, the poetry decent, though I found myself editing the pieces as the poets would read. I do that a lot anyway.

Bob introduced the youngsters from California Poets in the Schools and after one girl read a line that impressed him, Bob enthused, "Like my wife might write."

Husband and biggest fan!