Free at AWP

These are all the things I got for free, roaming the book far at the Associated Writing Programs Conference in Chicago (instead of going to educational sessions):

A cardboard coaster that says, “The pencil is still scratching. You just need to stay calm. Something might come of this;” a literary journal named Roger: a writing pad; miscellaneous magnets; an orange Cal Arts pennant; two stress-balls; a bag of popcorn; a compass keychain from Ecotone, a journal about “reimagining place:” candy hearts; playing cards from the Museum of Sadness; a red balloon; a yellow mug with “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire: on it; a piece of red licorice from Relief; a fortune cookie; a shot glass and ash tray from Hobart: Another Literary Journal; a ruler from Adelphi University; a mousepad from book club girl; a blue Frisbee; a "Good Books for Cool People" totebag from Harper Perennial with this quote from Michael Chabon’s The Mysteries of Pittsburgh on it: “Let’s go swimming;” a nifty little paper pyramid with ginger lemon grass tea in it; many pencils; many pens; two yellow highlighters; a bumper sticker that says “Fact*Simile;” Hershey kisses; a stamped postcard of Chicago; three miniature books from featherproof light reading series; Country Music: New Poems, by Dennis Cooley; a purple plastic clip and a keep-your-beverage-cold thingy from Puerto del Sol; a postcard of Allen Ginsberg holding a bouquet of daisies; free copies of the Writer and Writers’ Digest; two books of matches—one from a journal called Matches, the other from the Academy of American Poets with this quote from the Iliad on it: “When thou shalt have allotted me my fire/I will not fare here from the dark again;” a nifty little jug of maple syrup; a twizzle of honey; a pink ribbon that says “Princess of the Planet,” a green one that says “Emperor of Everything,” and a purple one that says “Czar of All;” three Valentines; two love poems; an air freshener; a coaster with the book jacket of Big World by Mary Miller; a postcard with a quote from Guy de Maupassant: “Get black on white;” a fortune cookie; Sweet Tarts from the journal Sweet; a black mask (always handy) from Anonymous; a white button with “I’m a Nobody” in black lettering and a black button with “I’m a Somebody” in white lettering, also from “Anonymous;” a piece of international (!) gourmet chocolate from Omnidawn, publishers of innovative poetry and fabulist fiction; Jane’s Stories: An Anthology of Work by Midwestern Women; penny candy; a postcard that says, “I did not want a psychiatrist, I wanted a tan” (From Wendy Brenner’s “We Are Almost There”); postcards with flash fiction on them; a button that says “Olive You” from olivereader.com; a meandering book form (kind of like paper dolls, only a book); a book mark from failbetter.com; a button from the Poetry Society that says, “I, too, like it (with the silhouette of a bear shaking hands with a child) and another one—just black on white; “I, too, dislike it;” a button that says “trust moonflowers” (Tim Dlugos); a bag of peanuts; a lime Dum-Dum; a piece of Harry London Dark Chocolate from OV Books; miscellaneous tattoos; a button that says “Got PMS?” from poemmemoirstory; a “memory” from Loop Review (a weird, perfectly round primitive-looking fossil that I picked from a jar full of rocks, shells, bits of glass, etc); a tiny red fan from Briery Creek Press; a back-scratcher; and a button that says “Let’s make out.”