sub to Tahoma Literary Review now!

Today is the last day to submit to the forthcoming issue of Tahoma Literary Review.

While editors Joe and Kelly have been making their selections over the past few months, you might want to take a chance on squeaking in during these last few hours of open submission.

While you’re there, check out their great blog posts and discussions like:

On pulling the rejection trigger

You don’t have to apologize for not having an MFA

About those cover letters

You can also follow TLR updates on their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/TahomaLiteraryReview

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in with the new PQ

If we’re connected via social media, you may have noticed that I recently stepped down from my role at Poets’ Quarterly. First, I wish to offer thanks to those who have reached out to thank and congratulate me on my time at PQ. I started the journal five years ago and every single issue meant a great deal to me. Working with so many talented editors and contributors was a joy, day in and day out. I also want to acknowledge and thank Leslie Nielsen for stepping up as the new publisher and editor of PQ. Leslie has a long history with the journal and I am proud to have her take over the job.

Some have asked why I would step down from PQ, especially since the journal seems to be gaining more readers every month, adding to the already thousands of readers we know and love. It’s simple, really. I both want to see PQ grow beyond me—and hence it needs new blood for that to happen—and I also want to make sure I balance all of my lit community commitments. I happily have my hand in a lot of pots and in order to best serve each of those ventures, a shift in focus was required. I have given five years to PQ, hopefully five good years, and I know with Leslie in the captain’s chair the journal will continue to thrive and grow well into the future.

Thank you to all who have read, shared, and/or contributed to PQ in some way. Your enthusiasm has made it possible for PQ to shine on and I encourage you to keep up with the latest issue each quarter and lend a hand to Leslie in whatever way you can.

As for me, keep in touch. I have many exciting projects around the corner and it’s because of this incredible community of which I feel a part that I know there’s yet unidentified fun in the cards for me, too.

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keeping up with myself

photo credit: Doug Castanedo at Sunny.org

It’s a busy time of year. I say this just about every time of year and yet it always feels true, especially true, maybe truer than the last. What does that even mean? I have not a single complaint, but I am happily buoyant in a storm of to-dos I enjoy—and time just goes too darn fast.

It seems like it was just a few days ago I was lamenting how long winter dragged on and how it seemed spring would never get here. Now I feel like summer is going to pop in and out so fast, I’ll barely know it existed. My calendar runneth over.

It’s about to be summer. I am already anxious of how fast it will go—which is a great reminder to myself that I need to stop and smell the sunshine some time. Whether I am home or on the road, I want to pay more attention to the sun, the heat, and even the humidity. Goodness knows, it doesn’t last long. I swear I’m meant to live in the heat of the south. 

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new essay published in ‘1966 Journal’

I’m very pleased to share the link to the latest issue of 1966 - A Journal of Creative Nonfiction where you’ll find my stormy essay, “After the Winds Die Down.” This piece brings together my childhood memories of a rather stunning tornado (actually, several tornados) and a more recent, more local experience.

You can read my essay, and many other fine pieces in this issue, through the 1966 website. They have provided a free Issuu copy for all to see and share: http://issuu.com/1966journal/docs/1966_2_1_spring_2014

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where does silent talent go?

“Every now and then I search for signs of her writing on the Internet, but I don’t think she’s ever published anything. Breaks my heart because she was amazing.” – Junot Diaz, “MFA vs. POC” in The New Yorker

Junot Diaz is the author of This Is How You Lose Her and the co-founder of the Voices of Our Nation Workshop. In this New Yorker piece, Diaz talks about his MFA experience—and the experiences of many still today. The above quote is what spoke to me most; how many people have you come across in your life that displayed a talent/passion for something, only to disappear into another life or, perhaps, an unnoticed life?

Whatever your passion, whatever your dream…. Speak up. Be heard. Be seen. And, whenever possible, help someone else be heard. 

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