Paper number one was both well-received and well-attended. I ran out of handouts twice over. Given the fact that my work tends to be classified as gender studies, it’s kind of strange that this was my first gender studies panel. I don’t much care what kind of panel I’m on, but the way the papers are group changes the kinds of questions that get asked afterwards. The questions are quite different from a film studies or an orchestra studies or urban history panel. The other participants set the bar high. There was a paper about a female pianist who was the daughter of Scott Joplin’s principal publisher, one about female minstrel troupes and one about Nadia Boulanger, a French pianist, composer and conductor who is best known as the teacher of many famous American composers. I hope I rose to the occasion with my work. I got a lot of questions. I ad libbed a lot, mostly to good affect, but sometimes a little clumsily. At one point, I stepped out of the paper to give credit to an author whose comparison of two photos I borrowed because it was “brilliant and inspired” – those were the words that came out of my mouth, I think. After the paper, the author I’d cited came up to say hello – I guess it never hurts to make a good impression. I’d forgotten that she might be there. “It’s so nice to know that someone read my book,” she said. “I mean, you write these things and you never know if it gets out there.” I said that she should see my copy – the pages are dog-eared and all the pages were hanging out. Waiting behind her was another woman whose work I’d cited. It was so great to meet these people, the only two I know who’ve published recent work on my subject. That’s what’s fun about these conferences. So far I’ve met so little pettiness, of which there is a great deal in academia. People can get very territorial about their work. But the few people I’ve run into whose work abuts my own have been excited to find others interested in their favorite subject. And I feel exactly the same way.

As a scholar, you spend so much time focusing on minutia of things that you are or become passionate about but which pretty much no one else cares about at all. I love these “kindred spirit” moments at conferences.

I also met with the publisher who’d contacted me from Big Southern University, who seemed extremely excited about my project and he promised to hassle me to make sure I’m finishing. He also told me a lot about how the publishing business works and what I need to have prepared for a book proposal and gave me an idea of how long the proposal to book process generally takes. I still haven’t been able to bring myself to ask any money questions about books. That’s because I’m fairly sure there isn’t much there – that’s kind of not supposed to be the point with academic publishing. Maybe I’ll pump my British Press friend about it at some later date.

And now, I must run through tomorrow’s paper and then I hope to hit the gym – the conference is on hiatus this afternoon so all the business and committee meetings, of which I am not yet a part, can take place. This evening I’m attending a couple of book parties, which should ensure some free food and champagne, ah a musicologist’s work is never done.

[Second entry today. I am thinking here that this conference stuff is of little interest to anyone besides myself. But then, it’s my diary. If you want to read more, click back. And thanks for all who’ve sent me good wishes!]

5 people said it like they meant it