On July 11th, the day of my book signing at the American Library Association annual conference in Chicago, I met three highly interesting people who were also either signing or performing: Amy Krouse Rosenthal, George Watsky and Mieka Pauley. I had never met them before, and had not even heard of George or Mieka. When I found out that Amy would be at the Chronicle Books booth that morning, I knew that I wanted to meet her, as I had enjoyed her book, Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. I had a nice conversation with her after she finished a signing for one of her children’s books. Be sure to check out her compelling short video, The Beckoning of Lovely, shot last summer in Chicago’s Millennium Park.
I discovered George and Mieka in a providential way. A friend had told me earlier in the day that I should meet a friend of hers, an editor at a library-related publication that had a booth at the conference. When I went to find her soon after I finished my signing, I was told she would be at the LIVE! @ your library Reading Stage. When I arrived, she was not there, but I quickly became mesmerized by George’s poetry performance, in which Mieka accompanied him at times on guitar and vocals. Although I only caught the tail-end, they continued with an impromptu performance (separately) at the booth of their representatives, the Auburn Moon Agency. They also talked with those of us who assembled.
What was amazing was that neither had performed together before George’s appearance on stage. Check out the material on each of their websites. I would gladly pay to see either of them perform again. And yes, I did find the editor later on. Amy, George and Mieka are each cool, super-creative people I could have easily missed out on meeting if circumstances had been only slightly different. If anyone at the conference (or perhaps any similar recent gathering) has had similar experiences, please let me know so I can share them with other readers of this blog!
