2014 auspicious beginnings...

2014 seems to be getting off to a good start--I just found out yesterday that my poem, "Letter From Lara, Yuriatin, 1920" won 3rd place in Spark, A Creative Anthology's Contest Four!!

"Letter From Lara" is a persona poem written from the point of view of a fictional character from Boris Pasternak's novel Dr. Zhivago.  Pasternak was a Russian poet; Dr. Zhivago was his only novel besides one written in verse.  The prompt for the contest was "winter," so the frozen steppes of Siberia inevitably came to mind!

2013 in review

Writing-wise, 2013 was a great year for me:

• 11 publications
• 2 radio appearances on WLRN (one reading and a reading/interview)
• 2 writers conferences/workshops (resulting in 3 poems)
• 1 guest blog
• 1 Quote of the Day
• 1 poetry contest award

I feel like I made significant progress this year; I think
it will turn out to be turning point in my writing.

Next year I already have made commitments for two poetry
events in April, National Poetry Month!  2014 is shaping up!