I've been in Key West for the past week attending some amazing panels and having some great conversations. The theme of this year's conference is New Voices, and I just returned from a panel including writers Junot Diaz, Kevin Young, Nell Freudenberger, Carolyn Mackler, and Manuel Munoz. The panelists discussed whether there is an _American voice _and what it sounds like. Beyond measures of classification (regional, ethnic, etc.) the panelists seemed to agree that "a voice" is in itself a force derived by multiple factors and difficult to define. One knows when one hears it but to deconstruct it is risky because too many factors are inherent in any given writer's voice. Junot Diaz stated that sometimes he feels like a publishing house when it comes to selecting the writers he thinks of as important new voices, writers that will still be read in twenty years. That at best, his choices are like playing the lottery. While it's evident that renowned writers who praise new voices is a sure measure to hear those voices (this whole seminar is based on this principle) it becomes elusive how a new voice is constructed. Some really interesting insights came out of this discussion and ultimately what I took away was that voices stem from multiple and simultaneous realities. That while we strive to make universal statements about ourselves, we are ultimately met with the truth about this country: that it is divided and filled with silences where scores are invisible. So how does one fine a new voice? I think it's more important to know how to listen, to perfect your ears so that when a voice is heard, there is some measure to gauge its originality. Seeking it, however, seems to me a dangerous endeavor.