I've been writing more poetry, but it's been slower than I like. I haven't actually had "writer's block" in forever and, like some writers, I'm not even sure if I believe that it exists. I think it's common for writers to want to write but not be able to think of anything, and this is … Continue reading Writer’s Block or Something Else?
When I left Twitter after Elon Musk beat it to death and then ground its dead body into ash, I grieved the loss of the incredible writing community there. I made so many friends and watched them start their writing journeys and find different levels of success; I also learned a lot about the publishing … Continue reading Poetry Community on Threads
I checked my Submittable account and I currently have 50 different submissions out for publication consideration. Some of these--a lot of them, actually--are manuscript submissions for Sonnets for Post-Divorce Photosynthesis, but several are also submissions of individual poems; anywhere from 3 to 10 are sent in at a time. I haven't been this actively submitting … Continue reading A Little Breathing Room
Yesterday was the first day that I read poetry voraciously in quite some time. After work, I went home, grabbed a couple of books (Matt Hart's Sermons & Lectures and C.T. Salazar's American Cavewall Sonnets) and I went outside, sat in my backyard with the warm sun glaring down on me, and I read a … Continue reading Just a Crack
This last weekend I went to a local writing conference with my brother. The community college we both attended hosts an annual writer's conference and last month, they mailed out cards to promote it. My brother saw the card I was sent and asked me if I wanted to go. It had been years since … Continue reading Writing Conferences and Sequential Poems
I consider myself lucky that I can call myself a traditionally published poet, but it has not come without its challenges. My debut poetry book, Even the Air, Too Heavy, was published in 2022 and since then, I have been working on other poetry manuscripts. My second, a collection of sonnets chronicling the year after … Continue reading Publishing and Its Challenges
Yesterday I met up with my best friend for dinner. It had been a while since she and I had seen each other, and it was a much needed couple of hours. One thing that stood out to me afterwards was the ways in which we are always evolving into, out of, and around vulnerability. … Continue reading The Vulnerability Conversation
Sometimes our writing journey/process has to evolve. As individuals we're always changing, always evolving, always adapting. New jobs, new college, new homes, new relationships, etc. all impact our daily routines and, as a result, our writing practices have to change, too. In my M.F.A. program, one of our faculty mentors talked about what it means … Continue reading Writing Journey Evolution
Well, it's official: I am completely done with my college education. I received a HIGH PASS on my thesis, which I truly didn't think I'd get. Not because I thought there was something wrong with my writing, but because I've never written a scientific thesis before. It was an original, traditional research thesis with not … Continue reading High Pass and the Exhilarate
It's May 4 (Happy Star Wars Day!) and I am in a bit of shock. Not because anything horrible has happened, but because 1) we are almost halfway through 2026 and that's more than a little unbelievable, and 2) so much has happened already this year, it feels like my life will be unrecognizable by … Continue reading May and the Almost Half-Year Mark
It's official: I have completed the last assignments of my third master's degree! There's a chance that I may have to do some revisions on my thesis; NYU's process is, once students submit their theses, the class professor and one other anonymous faculty member read the thesis and give a grade of high pass, pass, … Continue reading Nothing Quite Like It
It’s been a LONG time, ya’ll. I’m not even sure when my last post was, but there’s a lot that needs to be updated. Books that have been published, milestones accomplished, degrees that have been completed. So buckle in…this might be a long one. My last post, it seems, was posted in December of 2024. … Continue reading Update After Long Absence
I didn't anticipate that I would start this book of poetry quite so soon, but while I was on break one day at work, an idea came to me and I started to write. Before I knew it, I had the makings of a poem. Since that day I've written three or four other poems … Continue reading Starting My Second Book of Poetry
Tomorrow is PUBLISHING DAY for my debut book of poetry, Even the Air, Too Heavy! I can't even believe this, ya'll. I don't know how much more I can say that I haven't already, but I keep thinking back to the young woman I was in the aftermath of my second miscarriage, and I never … Continue reading Tomorrow Is The Day!
Less than one week: 6 days, to be precise. What even is my life? It's been my lifelong dream to write and publish a book-length work of some kind. Before my M.F.A., I thought that would be fiction or nonfiction, since the bulk of my writing has been in those two genres. But then grad … Continue reading One Week Until Publishing Day!