I’m not sure when I first started writing poetry. I recently found a book of poems – mostly about the apparently fascinating topic of unicorns! – which I had written when I was approximately 8 years old. They are horrible. For example:
MY UNICORN
My unicorn is so much fun. When I ride it I can hum.
Yeah, it’s truly terrible. Not only is the art awful, but the poetry (and spelling) are painful to read.
Nonetheless, I’ve continued writing, as I can’t seem to stop. It’s a great outlet for my thoughts and emotions, somewhere to put some of the phrases and ideas that swirl around in my head.
When I was living in Brooklyn last fall, I found an advertisment for a memoir writing workshop, offered by the New York Writers Workshop and taught by Karol Nielsen, author of Black Elephants and Walking A&P: A Vietnam War Memoir. The class lasted for six weeks and was wonderful–educational, inspiring, fun. My classmates were fun and interesting and Karol taught me so much.
When the class was finished, I came back to Colorado. It was Christmastime and I hadn’t been home for Christmas since beginning my travels in 2014! Also, I’d been having a lot of migraines and health problems and needed to get treatment. Because of my health issues, it was difficult for me to sit for long periods to write at a computer. It was natural for me then to return to poetry, as I could write in shorter stints or even on my phone while lying in bed.
Inspired after my writing class, I began submitting my writing for publication. Amazingly, the first poem I submitted was accepted for publication by Pomme Journal! They were planning to publish a book of gender neutral love poetry, to release in time for Valentine’s Day. My poem, “Beyond Walls,” was selected and published in their pocket poetry book, Put into Words, My Love, A Petite Pomme, by Pomme Journal in February 2020.
It is my first publication and I am clearly pretty excited about it. When I received my copy, my father – in an amazing show of support – immediately went online and ordered copies for my mom and siblings as Valentine’s Day gifts!
I was pleased and happy my poem was selected for publication. Fingers crossed that this isn’t a one-off!
