Hey all,

My name is Ariel Gordon and this is my third year blowing HOT AIR.

This year, I'm planning to take in as much of the festival as is possible. I always enjoy the nooners and the afternoon book chats and I take great pains to attend at least a couple of the readings at Red River College and the U of Wpg during the day.

And then there are the Mainstages. I usually plan to attend far more of the Mainstages than I actually get to. I'm not sure why that is, but...this year, I'll definitely be at the Poetry Bash on Wednesday and It's About Love, Actually on Thursday.

I'm also going to continue to post pictures of writers' hands, something I started last year during the second part of the week.

Mostly, I'm going to try to make sure that the stomach flu that kept me from Opening Night yesterday doesn't keep me from any more of the festival. Nasty inconvenient virus!

* * *
Ariel Gordon is the Winnipeg-based author of two recent small press chapbooks and has had poetry published in fine lit mags such as Carousel, PRISM International and Prairie Fire.

Her first collection of poetry, Hump, is forthcoming from Ontario's Palimpsest Press in spring 2010.

When not being bookish, Ariel likes tromping through the woods taking macro photographs of mushrooms.