Why the change? What is the poetry scene like in Pittsburgh?
Since I left New York in the middle of high school, I have lived in Miami, Milwaukee, Seattle, Berlin (Germany), San Francisco and Pittsburgh, plus spent large amounts of time in Los Angeles, Syracuse and New York. I kind of drifted from place to place for a long time, having many adventures and getting to know many people with diverse backgrounds, cultures and aspirations. I moved to Pittsburgh as part of a decision to settle down someplace and get serious about my creative writing. If an old woman-friend I was visiting had lived in Boston or Washington instead of in Pittsburgh, I would probably have ended up one of those places. On many levels the poetry scene is very vibrant in Pittsburgh. Two or three nights of most weeks you can hear non-university poets read at a bar, coffee house or art gallery. There are several lively small presses, plus the University of Pittsburgh and CMU presses. Pittsburgh offers both open workshops, plus some fairly exclusive ones. There seems to be more
