Getting Hit by Irene and Missing Beijing

Hurricane Irene left a footprint that won't soon be forgotten that ranged from destruction and catastrophic loss to near misses and charmed good fortune. I count myself among the latter, despite losing a favorite tree (that wonderfully shaded the deck on our house); the damage was minimal from a personal perspective.

However, it will be hard to recover from a business aspect what I consider a major loss - Irene forced me to miss my scheduled trip to the Beijing International Book Fair. I had to scuttle a full schedule, missed the impressive ceremonies along with Beijing International Publishers Forum. The Netherlands are the Guest of Honor for 2011. I was interested in seeing how a country steeped in Western literature would be presented in Beijing, what resonates in terms of translated literature as well as Chinese authors that have been translated and found audiences in the Netherlands.

Alas - I will follow the Beijing International Book Fair from a far; count my personal blessings while scrambling to make up for opportunities that were lost. At least I can do so with lights on and a functioning internet as so many people I know remain without power and will likely not have power for days.