Tasting the Milk of Eagles:US Road Trip

In Vermont, rain sluicing the window and just hours from catching a bus up to Maine and the Great Mother Conference. Word just in is that Galway Kinnell himself, the great poet, has thrown his hat in the ring and is coming up from NY too-alongside James Hillman, Coleman Barks, Gioia Timpanelli, Caroline Casey, Fran Quinn and many other great and startling teachers. I'm teaching 4 workshops from 'A Branch From The Lightning Tree' and Gioia and i are telling the conference story over 7 days-a big Irish epic of romance, aging and betrayal. I'm going to teach it on year two of the Westcountry School of Myth and Story programme, so won't say too much more about it for now.

Hours of flights, buses and ferrys-hopping coast to coast this past week. Strangest moment was when i met a bus driver who turned out to be a fan of the book and had come to see me teach 3 days before-lovely bloke and helpful with the luggage. First stop was Seattle with the Mythologist and storyteller Daniel Deardorff-a book launch and workshop. Good crowds-lovely to see a roomful of people clutching the book after 3 years writing it in complete hermitude.( Is that a new word?). Danny was brilliant as usual and we were joined by John Densmore, author and founding member of The Doors, another feral skin pounding drummer.

I was with many graduating students in Vermont yesterday, for a day on rites-of-passage and myth-today i have a few moments to catch my breath-which means shopping for presents for the girls-i got at least one gem, and one horribly awful breakfast in a local diner. America is immense-the land feels intimate to me in some way, but what's often stuck on the top of it seems disconnected (although i admire the wooden houses and the culture of The Porch-what a great invention). the UK is probably the same, i'm just more used to it. Folks are universally friendly (even when i lost my passport-that was fun), with many wisdoms and opinions.

Opened local paper to read today and found ad that said ' i need to pee. would you like to watch? please get in touch on.....'

I'm not in Devon anymore.

More musings soon, and snaps. (not of the peeing person......)
Blessings from Turtle island.