One big happiness sandwich

The first time I gave a paper at an academic conference (this is true!), my nervousness spawned a physical response so extreme (I'll leave the details to your imagination) that I later had to throw my conference clothes in a dumpster. 

I'm pleased to report that the students who gave papers today for the annual Ohio Valley Shakespeare Conference did not suffer such a response. Their nervousness showed only intermittently in the pace of their reading and their relief when their session was through, but they presented their papers skillfully and responded to questions with grace and insight.

Of course, this is a highly supportive audience. Our college hosts the OVSC conference about every five or six years and everyone in the English department is happy to assist, which is how I ended up chairing a student session even though I am not by any means a Shakespeare scholar. Before we began I told the students that the audience would be rooting for them to succeed, and in this case it was true. The question-and-answer time was lively and thought-provoking, lacking the competitive speechifying so common to academic conferences. Afterward I welcomed a chance to chat with a former student who's been busy introducing remedial reading students to slam poetry.

I'm always happy when my students do good work, so seeing current students on the stage and former students in the audience is just one big happiness sandwich. And, best of all, no one had to throw any clothes in a dumpster.