A Writer's Notebook, Day One-Thousand-One-Hundred-And-Eighty-Six

 Today was the final day of the poetry festival, and I am a bit down about it.  I had a second poem workshopped in class today, and I feel that it went quite well.  The poem is rather thorny, as it is a bit abstract and philosophical, but, after hearing the comments of my classmates, I feel that it is working in a lot of ways already,  As well, I have a far better sense of what I want to do in revision, which is the best result I can think of, other than being told it is already perfect, which never happens.  I am very grateful to have been able to share this time with the others in the class, and that sense of good fortune is a part of what makes it hard to say goodbye.  At least I will have the time, now, to dig into the revision work that is waiting for me, not only with the poems that I got feedback on this week, but my work in general.  I am feeling energized and inspired to push forward with those efforts.  As mentioned previously, I've a strong desire to put together a full length manuscript, and I think that working towards that may be the structure I need to get more consistent with revision.  I know that collecting and ordering work is, for me, about more than just pulling the pieces and throwing them together, and I think that the context of the larger work will provide guidance for me in doing the necessary work.  As much as I wish the festival were not over, I am feeling energized by it and prepared to continue on.

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