It was cool to see my classmates at the IPRC again last night. I think I beamed at everyone. One of the hopes of this program is that it will hook us all into the Portland literary scene, which of course includes each other: I like this aspect, but I sort of wish it could do something to make me more social in the first place. I’ve gotten really fond of the people I’ve met, but I still seldom go out after class– only partly because it’s usually ten at night. What is the balance between working in solitude and connecting for inspiration and collaboration? I get the feeling that a small press is not something to run by yourself, and maybe neither is a writing life.

Anyway, the semester sounds fun. Letterpress at the IPRC, then screen printing at Em-space Book Arts down by the Springwater Trail. Classes in In-Design, E-Books, binding. I’m mostly worried I don’t have enough material to practice all this stuff on. But for letterpress, we’re just bringing in six-word memoirs to practice with. Six words by Monday, I think I can handle.