Thank you,Tusculum Review, for your Poetry Prize ~ and ~ Poetry, Say Hello to the Visual Arts

So April, Nat'l Poetry Month, has come and gone. May is almost over. Hello, sweet blog. Yes, I have been somewhat busy. Grand news to report on the prizewinning scale: I won the 2014 Tusculum Review Poetry Prize for my poem, "The Timekeeper." Much gratitude goes out to editor Wayne Thomas, poetry editor Clay Matthews, and final judge of the competition, Jericho Brown. The prizewinning poem, along with the prizewinning fiction by John Blair, appears in TTR 2014/vol. 10. 

The Tusculum Review, vol. 10

In May, Sandra and Larry Ortega, owners of Obliq Art Gallery, created a really special art/poetry event I was lucky enough to be part of. 15 poets from the West and Hawaii were paired up with 16 visual artists, all coming together under the banner, "Ekphrasis: Sacred Stories of the Southwest." 

Each poet created a new poem responding to an artist's piece. I had chosen Seamus Berkeley's portrait, "Prayer." My poem is titled, "Patience, with Blue Shawl and Unrevealed Loom." Here's a photo of his exquisite portrait, with me in dramatic half-shadow beside. To the right of the portrait is my poem. What a joyful, special event that was to participate in. I'll surely be happy to participate again next year. The portrait and poem will hang in the gallery together through much of the summer:

Seamus Berkeley's "Prayer"

After this, I packed my bags and got on the big jet plane to Lincoln, NE. It was time for me to give my very first NPR/PBS interview and poetry reading. In addition, I would meet a man of royalty to me, a man for all seasons, Ted Kooser.