AWP, Part 7, Final Thoughts

I am going to let my friend Rashena Wilson, whom I had the great pleasure to hang out with at AWP, have the last word. This is a kickass excerpt from her application to a conference and expresses so well the desire to write and why we go to conferences.

I am ready to fight. Fight who and what I’ve been, fight what I’ve been led to believe, fight to re-imagine it all. I want to fight to give voice to bad girls with good intentions like me, give voice to new possibilities, write truth to power. I want to give voice to the beauty of my people; tell their stories from grandmothers to whores. I am ready to fight my demons and enemies with deft, illuminating strokes of my pen, and even and especially fight myself. I want to fight because I am a survivor and a creator, and because I want to be a teacher and a healer for myself and hopefully others. But I need a trainer, and because [this conference] is gladiator camp for the coolest, baddest motherfuckers in all the land ~ students and teachers alike ~ this is where I want to suit up.