AWP — Hannah Elise Schultz

Adventures in
Serendipity

— Hannah Schultz (biographical name): a Kentuckian, traveler, PhD student, hiker, environmentalist, and Great Pyrenees enthusiast

When despair grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry, The Peace of Wild Things

Travel With Me: Spring in San Antonio, Texas

This year, the conference was held in San Antonio, Texas. Unfortunately, this was a few weeks ago, around the time the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) was making global headlines, but not much was understood about how necessary social distancing really was to mitigate the threat. The conference was overshadowed by this pandemic, with no handshakes, countless canceled panels and panelists, and lots of hand-sanitizing. However, San Antonio was still a beautiful city, so I wanted to share my experience as a first-time visitor there.

Flowers & Redwoods in Hoyt Arboretum (Portland, Oregon)

While most of the trip was spent attending panels about writing (shout out to the amazing environmentalism in young-adult literature and humor in YA panels I went to) and teaching writing, I did manage to explore the crazy-good food options in the city (try: Screendoor, Butterfly Belly Asian Cuisine, and Salt & Straw ice-cream). Most importantly, though, I was able to sneak away for some nature excursions. The first of these was at Washington Park, one of the oldest parks in Portland, in the heart of the city.

Hiking, TravelHannah SchultzApril 2, 2019portland, oregon, washington park, AWP, conference, PNW, pacific northwest, International Rose Test Garden, Hoyt Arboretum, flowers, camellias, coastal redwood, trail, hikeComment

Adventures inSerendipity

— Hannah Schultz (biographical name): a Kentuckian, traveler, PhD student, hiker, environmentalist, and Great Pyrenees enthusiast

Adventures in
Serendipity