this weekend past, i attended a writing conference at christopher newport university (where "barmaiden of kulgera" placed in best nonfiction category!) and was lucky enough to cross paths with one robert day. i cannot stress this enough: the man, at 70 years old (he made sure to let us know this several times), had more passion and knowledge about the craft of writing than most of my college english professors. he taught two workshops, one about first person fiction techniques and the other about third person techniques. both workshops were insightful and fun and inspiring, which should be the distinguishing features of any decent writing workshop. i learned about the genius of katherine anne porter's dueling POVs, the nature of a crooked cigarette, and essential tips for utilizing narration, exposition, and description in prose. also, mr. day has planted in me the desire to become a ranch hand in kansas. one day.
which brings me to his novel, the last cattle drive. i'm about a 1/3 of the way finished and it's a fantastic read. set in kansas, it centers on a recent college graduate who moves to a small town in the western part of the state to teach at the local school. come summertime, he takes a job helping on a local cattle ranch. day's characters are hilarious and flawed and deeply human, and i'm reading the book rather quickly because i love it so much. sadly, it's probably going to be one of those books that i plow through greedily and then slow down and savor the last chapter, not wanting it to end.
