Turning

Smack dab in the middle of May, so I think I can say with some certainty that although I did not win a Pushcart Prize this year, again, for which I was nominated back in February, it was a heady ride getting to this month~significantly, because this time was different. The last time, I had been nominated by a wonderful journal that had published one of my poems that was included in my first poetry collection.

This time I have been nominated by a member, or members, of the Board of Contributing Editors for The Pushcart Prize Fellowships Inc. Along with my congratulatory nomination letter from Bill Henderson, publisher of the Pushcart Prize Anthology for the past 39 years, came a 4-column list of heralded, outstanding poets' names, none of whom I personally knew (at that time), and even more surprising, none of whom was an editor or publisher of one of my poems published in a journal in the last year. These were complete strangers to me. So, right now, while there yet may be a candle's flicker of bright hope left in these next two weeks, I write to say to these anonymous poets who have been this moved by my own poetry, to have selected me for nomination for this superb prize, thank you so very much, I thank you dearly.

And the world does keep turning~

I am fortunate. As of this writing I have poetry forthcoming in five extraordinary literary journals this year. The first journal debuting a new poem this year is Fourteen Hills. I am overjoyed, as it has taken me over eight years to break into this journal. The new issue will be debuting next week in San Francisco and just as soon as I can figure out how to post the magazine's wild cover art for the new edition, I will! It is a knockout.