image2In 2017, I’m focusing more on featuring writers who have influenced me personally, in addition to posting weekly poetry prompts. For the first feature, I’d like to share some great news about my Full Story partner Subhra Bhattacharya. With a little help from me and Duotrope, he landed a few publications recently, two poems and one short story. First, Plum Tree Tavern published a nature poem of his. Second, Rat’s Ass Review published his latest love poem. Third, Enchanted Conversation, a fairy tale magazine, published his beautiful story New Leaf (thanks to Rachel Poy who provided some excellent critique on this piece!). As many of us endeavor to turn over new leaves and set goals in the new year, I’d like to encourage all you writers to push yourselves as Subhra is doing, not just to write, but to edit, refine, and publish your work. Continue reading

I’d liIMG_1658ke to write a little about my instructor at The Writer’s Hotel earlier this month: Tim Seibles. He teaches literature at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia. He is a poet who truly believes that poetry can change the world, and after hearing him read from his upcoming book due out in January 2017, I believe it, too. There were so many lyrical lines I wanted to write down and post by my mirror, or on the wall. Tim writes: “Poetry does not have the power of an army or of a rich nation’s economy, but poems can keep a certain set of whispers alive in a culture until they become loud enough to engage more than the community of poets…” In one of Tim’s poems, Delores Epps, he writes about a schoolboy crush. “Even / the gloss on her lips sighed / Kiss me and you’ll never / do homework again.” Tim was a supportive instructor, giving equal time for all, and he was able to help steer us toward naming exactly what was missing in the poems we workshopped. I’m very thankful to have been in his workshop, and I hope you’ll consider checking out some of his work, either online, or by ordering his latest book, Fast Animal.
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Jersey City Writers has started posting the selected works from the April poetry contest they ran with Jersey City Independent. Abigail Pillitteri’s poem Our Crafts is the first to be featured.

Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Tracy K. Smith chose to read (on the air!) Aileen Bassis’s poem Beth-David Cemetery Bill. She even discusses it a bit in the clip. Congrats!