On the list

In 2007, being "on the list" was one of our phrases. I don't remember if that was an actual freewriting topic or not--I think it was--but one of the Fellows constructed an alternative identity for another, teacher by day, paid assasin on weekends. Anytime someone did something that may be offensive, you were on the list, and your weekends overflowed with paranoia. Sasha Reed, are you hanging out on the blog this year? Actually, Sasha will be one of the responders on the E-Anthology as soon as I remember to add her and let her know when y'all will be posting.

I love lists. I am a compulsive list maker: lists for the grocery story, tasks lists for what positively, absolutely must be done on a given day, lists of writing topics, lists of memories with certain people, lists of potential co-directors and other BWP leaders. I keep a list constantly, usually in writing but sometimes just in my head.

I wonder what our phrases are for this year, and I wonder what our t-shirt will look like. I love the t-shirts Rebecca designed for the three of us. The color especially rocks. So does Rebecca. And Lindsi. The preplanning weekend allowed us to revamp the ISI completely.

Back to t-shirts . . . I like every year's t-shirt, but last year I got a long-sleeved tee as well as a short-sleeved one. I wear that long-sleeved one a lot, even in summer, because our house is FREEZING. I swear Wes cannot be fully human. Other than Lynita, I know no one else who thinks he NEEDS to keep a house that cold.

This year, I know we have some good sayings, but it's always a balancing act between what is funny within the confines of the room and what translates well to the public. And the t-shirt is always, inevitably, a public relations tool, even though that's not the purpose. It does get the name of BWP into a larger audience. For that reason, we rejected a LOT of sayings last year.

On a side note, what's up with my use of all caps this morning. I don't usually like to yell at people (despite the conversation before the ISI began this morning), but I seem to be emphasizing a lot of stuff today. Oh well, random tangent over.

There's been a lot of talk about revision this year, so maybe something playing with that idea. One year, the group made coffee mugs that said "We lead a rough-draft life." One year the ISI focused on coaching, and everyone got a number and a nickname on the back of the t-shirt. One year Fellows did a trip to the Ichetecknee (how is that spelled?) and used something about the river of writing or something. I'll try to look that up. In 2006 we did sayings from Blackwater. Those shirts are black, I think. The 2007 shirts are red, have a pirate motif, and the back says, "Yo ho, yo ho, a writer's life for me." Or something like that. Last year we created tour t-shirts for the Blackwater Tour. The shirts were gray and used a swampish green font, and the sayings morphed into song titles on the back: "Matt's got the Ansley's," and I can't remember any more.

Maybe this year, it should be "I survived the 2008 ISI." Or "I'm a BWP survivor." I don't know. A theme hasn't emerged yet, but I'm sure it will. It always does.

Maybe it should be a checklist:

• Book review? Completed
• Memoir? Completed
• Poem? Completed
• Admin memo? Completed
• Teaching demo? Completed
• Sanity? In progress

Maybe it should be a definition of who we are or a parody of advertising slogans:

• BWP: The Teachers, The Writers, The Fellows
• BWP: When you positively must be the best
• Tuition: $1,768, Fees: $834, Summer Institute: Priceless
• BWP: Scribblers, Writers, Actors, Teachers (I was playing with "Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves," but it didn't work.)
• BWP: I can't believe I did the whole thing. (Pepto Bismol, anyone?)
• Writing: It's a Southern thing.
• Writing: It's a teaching thing.

Okay, I'm brain dead--at least for this kind of thing. Other suggestions?