Geauga Parks’ Nature Writing Honors & Performances

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon in Geauga County at the 25th annual Nature Arts Festival of the Geauga Park District, where I was awarded an Honorable Mention in the Adult Poetry category for “Among The Roots!” Please enjoy my performance and the flattering comments of contest judge Grace Butcher in the video below!

I also feel compelled to recognize Martha Kennedy, age 10, for her prize-winning haiku in the Child Poetry category of the contest. Martha’s vivid sensory descriptions and emotive undertones are stunningly brilliant, and I genuinely hope to hear much more from this poetic prodigy as her creative writing career continues to unfold! Please click here to read her piece!

Here’s the video described above:

Much to tell, much to do!

There’s lots of news of which to tell! In no particular order, here’s what’s new:

• Full details of the 2016 Hessler Street Fair Poetry Contest have finally been made public! Check out this year’s plans for the Cleveland tradition!
• Writing Knight Press is graciously including me in their lineup of featured poets for the 20th National Poetry Month! The details for the event at which I’ll be reading haven’t yet been finalized, but  UPDATE: Here is the event info! I am scheduled for the evening of April 4th! My 100-word bio is now featured on their website!
• As you may have noticed, I’ve created an official Facebook page for my career as a poet! Please “Like” me to be among the first to hear what I’m up to!
• Last but not least, I’m excited to announce that The Ghazal Page has accepted my submission of “Ghazal of Humanity” for an upcoming publication!

Please watch for updated on these and other topics in the near future!

It’s Hessler Season Once Again!

…and for the 4th consecutive year [Edit: My firsthand memory and my physical records are in conflict regarding this statistic. Please contact me if you can definitively confirm or disprove it. Thanks!], one of my submitted pieces has been accepted, both for publication in this year’s edition of the Hessler Street Fair’s annual poetry anthology and for the coinciding competition at Mac’s Back’s on Coventry [NEW LOCATION: Ensemble Theatre] on Wednesday, May 13th at 7:00 PM! As in years past, in addition to cash prizes, the top finishers in that competition will be given the honor of reading their winning poems at the Hessler Street Fair on Sunday, May 17th at 2:00 PM! Wish me luck!

The other event of the Hessler Street Fair which I’m specifically looking forward to is the “Hessler Poetry Jam,” which is scheduled for 2:00 to 5:00 PM on Saturday, May 16th at the Barking Spider Tavern, hosted by the awesome & talented Ray McNiece! I’m planning to recite several of my newest poems, some of which I’ll be debuting for the first time in front of a public audience! This will be my second time participating in this open mic event; my performance at the event last year can be seen in the video recording below.

I hope to see you at one or more (or all!) of the aforementioned events at the Hessler Street Fair! Viva poetry!

What To Do?

I recently gained possession of the last 4 print copies of my chapbook, and, while I have a possible buyer for one copy, I need suggestions on what I should do with the other 3. The only idea I’ve had so far is to put one or more of the books up for auction on eBay, but I’m not sure how I’d attract potential buyers to place bids. PLEASE COMMENT on this post with your thoughts on what course of action I should take regarding these books. Thank you!

Oh, and fear not, for new poetry is coming soon!

Upcoming Publication & Competition Performance

It’s that time of year again: the Hessler Street Fair is approaching quickly, and for the third consecutive year, one of my poems has been accepted for publication in the affiliated annual poetry anthology! As you may recall, this means that the accepted poem, “Appalachian Eruption,” is also eligible for this year’s performance competition on May 14th at 7:00 pm at Mac’s Backs on Coventry. I have no intention of letting this opportunity pass me by.

That brings me to a question: What can I do to make my performance of “Appalachian Eruption” stand out??

Past contest-winning poets whose performances I’ve had the good fortune of witnessing have displayed the ability to present their work in ways which caught and held the attention of judges & audiences alike. How can I best do this with “Appalachian Eruption”?

PLEASE HELP ME! LEAVE ME ADVICE & IDEAS IN THE COMMENTS BELOW!! THANK YOU!!!

“The ‘PPP'”

If you’ve visited here recently, you may have noticed that I’ve created a new page (pages, not to be confused with posts, are listed in the top navigation of this blog) to welcome visitors who arrive via something called the “Poetic Plague Project”. What is the “PPP”, you may ask? Well, it is best explained by its developer, B.M. Stroud, on this page of his website (click here). [Did that help you to understand the workings of the “PPP”? If not, feel free to ask me questions for clarification via a comment on this post and I will get back to you in a timely fashion.] Anyway, the poems which I submitted to the “PPP” to be published as “germs” are two of my personal favorites: “Woodland Retribution” and “Always Remember Me“. As of 4/20/14, I’ve dispensed 3 “germs”, each containing one of the 2 aforementioned poems, and made plans for the placement of an additional 3 “germs”.

Alright; I believe I’ve said enough for one evening. Be 0n the lookout for a new poem sometime this week!

IMPORTANT!! PLEASE READ!!

IMPORTANT: Please DO NOT order copies of my book from Amazon.com! I DO NOT RECEIVE ANY ROYALTIES FOR AMAZON.COM SALES OF MY BOOK! If you appreciate my work enough to buy it, PLEASE BUY ONLY FROM THE PUBLISHER’S WEBSITE HERE: http://store.writingknights.com/2013/0051-3051.html

THANK YOU!

Returning & Ready!

Sorry for the long delay! There are several reasons for said delay, none of which I intend to waste time explaining. That said, here are the latest happenings in the world of my poetry:

My chapbook, Smorgasbord, is AVAILABLE TO PURCHASE! You can order your copy(s) here: Buy Smorgasbord here!

If you’re not yet convinced that you should buy a copy of Smorgasbord, have a look at this review which was written for “The Artistic Muse” about the book: Read a Review of Smorgasbord here!

Aside from all the goings-on about Smorgasbord, I have three poems ready to share in the coming weeks, one of which was written for, and submitted to, Writing Knights Press’s upcoming “Karma”-themed poetry anthology!

Also, from among my list of poetic ideas, I have chosen, and begun working on, three new pieces: two song parodies and a Tanka poem! I’m not sure how long it will take to complete those projects, but I am confident that I can and will finish them in due time.

I believe that that is all the news I have to share tonight, but be sure to look for more posts here in the near future!

THIS SATURDAY, 9/7/2013: CHAPBOOK RELEASE!

THIS SATURDAY, 9/7/2013: Come to buy your copy of my NEW CHAPBOOK, and stay for the reading & open mic! All are welcome!, so CLICK HERE to RSVP and get all of the details: https://www.facebook.com/events/522238131139442/

In case you haven’t seen it on my Facebook profile, here’s a preview of the front and back covers, which feature an original photograph by me and an excerpt from one of the poems in the book:

“Smorgasbord” Book Release – GREAT NEWS!

Howdy! I have wonderful news to share with you regarding the upcoming release of “Smorgasbord”: Instead of printing “Smorgasbord” as a chapbook, Writing Knights Press will be printing it as a perfect bound book! The release date is still Saturday, September 7, 2013, at this event (click on this link to RSVP!). I hope to see many friends, relatives, and fellow poets in attendance that night in support of myself and the other poets being featured! I suppose I should mention that releasing “Smorgasbord” as a perfect bound book raises the price slightly, but I sincerely hope you will find that the increased quality of the book is worth the cost!

Well, I think that covers everything new regarding “Smorgasbord”! Thanks for reading! I’ll be posting a new poem on this blog tomorrow!