AWP Is Us

AWP -- Associated Writing Programs is a membership organization which connects writers, MFA programs and publishers, but many of those members treat it like it's the government out to oppress us, the man, the ogre in the closet. When we get upset, we hurl insults or questions via the web. Social media and emails allow us to behave like we're driving on a freeway. From our cars, we remain invisible. We can drive like crazy people, and we have the option of yelling threats from the safety of our offices at the organization that includes us. I have news for you people, there is no us and them. AWP is us.

One of the complaints lobbed at AWP is for not enough inclusion of different groups, another is for more transparency. This summer I was at a dinner and someone leaned across to me and confided, "AWP hates Native Americans."

"Really now?" I said, "I'm going to be in Washington this summer and I'd love to discuss this with them." I took out a pen and paper. "Who hates Indians at the office there? Is it Fenza?" I pictured David Fenza saddling up a horse, Stetson in place, going out to shoot Indians. It was an unlikely image. The woman began fumbling around; she couldn't tell me who the Indian hater was.

Transparency is another accusation, and although AWP is pretty transparent about the number of applicants to panels and who is on them, for some, it's never enough. How many questions should they ask? I'm going to offer some suggestions. First of all, as someone who is 50% Jewish, I want to know just how Jewish AWP is. How many Jews apply to panels? How many Jews have worked at the office, not counting the accountant? Is there any level of anti-Semitism going on at AWP? With some added queries, we can nail down the Jewish question.

Of course, I want to know about gender preference diversity as well. How gay is AWP? I would say that I'm about 30% gay, that percentage accounting for all the time with girls before I started dating guys and which I'd be happy to return to if the need arises. We could simply ask applicants, how gay are you? If the person is confused, AWP could lay out some questions to help tease out the truth. If you are a female and not sure if you're gay, think about this. Did you attend Smith or Reed? How many pairs of Doc Martens do you have? Have you seen the movie Bound more than once? If male, do you attend musicals regularly? Do you have a large Barbara Streisand collection? Do you shop at Crate and Barrel?

The point is this. Not all the panels can be accepted. Do you write to other places that reject you? The New Yorker has rejected me. Should I write to them or better yet, tweet about them and hint that they hate Californians? Blondes? Women in general? Why not just try again next year? The point of going to AWP is not to be on a panel, ladies and gentlemen.

The point is that this fabulous conference creates an intersection point of editors, writers, residencies, MFA programs and in the last couple years, agents as well. If you are being published in the indie press or literary magazine world, this is the place to meet the other members of your tribe. For us in Los Angeles, publishing is a lonely business. If we left the city, my friend Lisa would be sad. Not sure anyone else would notice. Los Angeles has a way of making you feel small. Being at AWP feels like publishing is a live generative force in this country. Like we're part of something bigger. Like we're doing something that matters.

I don't have an academic life or a literary career, I'm just a writer who works in publishing and tries to not let the little things get me down. In an ideal world, the folks at AWP enjoy what they do, like the conference and can brush off the haters. If you're a player, there will be haters. But it's good for the rest of us to remember when we want to set "them" straight, that AWP is a membership organization, it's us. There are people working in a small office in Virginia to make the organization work. If we the people wish something could be different, one option is to call that office. A person will pick up the phone and talk to you if you do. A real live person.

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