Dodie Bellamy thinks I was cutting in line

I went to the Bay Poetics release party last night at 21 Grand. Stephanie Young was the busy hostess, trying to get a photo of every contributor holding up the book. I worked the contributor copy table, handing out 2 books and crossing names off the list.

There were a few awkward moments: the middle-aged woman who just looked at me like I ought to know who she was. When I asked for her name, she said, "Leslie Scalapino." (I have several of her books, have seen her in videos, and was in the audience for a panel she was on 3 months ago. Yeah, I ought to have known who she was.)

During intermission, I tried to go to the bathroom (a door with a handwritten 'toilet' on it in a side hallway). There were a lot of people in the hall, talking in groups, and I went up to Mara, who was near the door, and asked, "Is there someone in the bathroom?" Nearby, Dodie Bellamy huffs, "We're all in line here." Oops. I went to the back of what suddenly looked a lot more line-like, and waited for a rather long while. No wonder Bellamy was worried about line jumping.