Going out West Where the Wind Blows Tall

For those of you who don't recognize the Tom Waits reference, sorry.

At any rate, I've just returned to the East from a lovely visit to both Washington and Oregon.

In Washington, I visited Walla Walla to read before a large and enthusiastic crowd at Whitman College. Whitman runs a wonderful Visiting Writers Program, and will be hosting the poet Richard Wilbur on April 10. Many thanks to Katrina Roberts and the always-lovely Dalia Hagan for the invitation and warm reception.

From Walla Walla, I drove over the Blue Mountains for two events at Eastern Oregon University. At the invitation of Jodi Varner and David Axelrod, I visited with a creative writing class and spoke at an evening event in the library. Great fun, great folks, and a great time altogether.

And oh yes — I got my first look at the paperback version of Finn today. It looks even better in real life than on the page...