Decompressing after the fabulous Dodge Poetry Festival in Newark, NJ. Actually quite a lovely little city, and really wonderful weather!! The venues for the Dodge included the New Jersey Performing Arts Centre and churches and hotels around the core, including the lovely old First Baptist Peddie Memorial Church which is full of beautiful wood and a domed ceiling with stained glass 'skylights'.

Highlights included a poets laureate conflab between Rita Dove, Billy Collins, Kay Ryan and Mark Strand - and guess what?! same problems for all of us Laureates! Also Amiri Baraka playing with his brilliant band Blue Arc, Rita Dove reading from her new book Sonata Mulattica, Kwame Dawes being Kwame Dawes and Martin Espada talking about craft.

Then a couple of days in Manhattan where I went to see one of my favourite dance troupes, Sankai Juku perform their latest creation 'Tobari' at the Joyce theatre. Check out the review here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/arts/dance/07juku.html.

It's always good to get away for a few days, especially when poetry is involved!