September News

Hi, friends. I thought September was going to be a quiet month, and it turned out to be anything but!

First, I’d like to share that I will be co-hosting the SpookFest 2021: On Mute, No One Can Hear You Scream.

Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021

6-8 pm CST

You may attend via Zoom or tune in on Facebook live.

I’d like to invite you to sign up to read—poetry or prose, bring something spooky! If you don’t have something written, we’d also love to hear any para1 experiences you’d like to share. We will also have a costume contest—winner receives a $25 Amazon e-card. I’d love to see you there!

I’m also over the moon to share that I have received two Best of the Net nominations this year.

“Beauty Released” was nominated by D.C. Wojciech at Anvil Tongue Press. You may read the original poem along with a selection of other poems here.

“Acheiropoieta,” a cadralor, was nominated by Lori Howe at Gleam.

Many thanks to D.C. and to Lori—it’s a tremendous honor just to be nominated.

Here are my publications for September:

“Asylum Prayer,” appeared in Volume 5 of Switchgrass Review, page 111. (Reprinted from the Rye Whiskey Review.) Many thanks to editor Robin Carstensen and the rest of the Switchgrass team.  

“Two Bits” appeared in Rye Whiskey Review. Always grateful to my dear friend, editor John Patrick Robbins, for his unflagging support.

A selection of poems appeared in Lothlorien Poetry Journal, one of my favorite poetry spots. Thank you to editor Strider Marcus Jones.  

I’m pleased to share that the Making Waves: A West Michigan Review journal is out! It has my poem, “Ambergris.” Copies are available for purchase on Amazon or you can go to the journal website and listen to audio recordings by poets and authors. My thanks to the West Michigan Review editorial team for putting together this beautiful journal.

“First Blood, Last Blood” appeared in Sledgehammer Literary Journal (UK). I will have another poem there next month. Many thanks to editor J. Archer Avary and the rest of the Sledgehammer team.  

This is not a publication, but I was one of the featured readers at the September 7 SpoFest event, along with Jonie McIntire, Paul Koniecki and Molly Fuller. If you didn’t catch the show live, it was recorded.

I posted two O4S trivia posts this month, both for Going Forth by Day (Book 6): Part 1, Part 2.

And finally, I’d just like to share that the Thank a Nurse writing project has brought in over 40 poems and messages from poets across the US, as well as Peru, Poland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India and Italy. Thank you so much to everyone who has contributed—we appreciate all the help we can get to keep our nurses’ spirits up.

Thank you for reading!