I spent this morning at Lumberton Middle School in the company of three other local poets, judging the school’s first ever Poetry Read Aloud Contest for National Poetry Month. The kids were spirited and polite, the teachers charming and hospitable. The panel agreed that it was very difficult to pick a winner, and thankfully prizes were given to the top five placed kids, but all 19 of the participants deserve congratulations and encouragement for their efforts. I hope to be invited back again next year.
In other news, the new issue of Waccamaw is up with my poem “Cornered” and fine poems by other poets including Ross White and Nicky Beer.
…and it’s as if I never went away. Weather hasn’t improved much either.
So what IS new? Well, I’m two poems behind on my NaPoMo effort–the traveling just caught up with me in the end. I don’t know, at this point, if I’m going to continue. I have 18 poems, 5 or so of which are promising, and so much else to do!
While I was away I had a poem accepted by Paul Christian Stevens’ new online journal, The Flea, and someone nominated one of my poems that was published last year for Best New Poets 2009. Don’t know who, or which poem yet.
I also got some other good news but I don’t officially know it so I can’t tell you. Sorry!
It’s all a bit of an anti-climax really.
I promised my friend Rachel that I would update this blog tonight, and I find time running away from me as usual, so it’s going to be a quick one, bullet pointed for maximum streamlining.
- Rachel is running a really cool photo theme on her blog for every day of National Poetry Month. Yesterday it was me (I’m the neck…)
- Yesterday was also the Schuykill Valley Journal New Issue Launch party, and I delivered a condensed version of my essay on formal poetry from it, which went down well (although how some poets at these things develop the monster egos which permit them to take up over double their allotted time, I really don’t know.)
- I’m 6 for 6 on the poem a day (though a couple of them REALLY suck.)
- We leave for a visit back to the UK tomorrow! Or at least I hope we do–my US passport has not arrived so I am going to have to wing it on my British one…
- And finally a big thank you to Waccamaw for taking my poem “Cornered!”
