Thanks go to Tom Plante, editor and publisher of Exit 13, for the fabulous issue that arrived in my mailbox today. I am joined by 45 other writers in this issue including Kenneth Ronkowitz, Adele Kenny, Nancy Lubarsky, Denise La Neve, Susanna Rich, Bob Rosenbloom, Rogan Kelly, Phillipa Scott.

Thank you, Platform Review for publishing two of my poems in your online journal! Thrilled! Go to the link and read ALL the wonderful work! Including wonderful works by Cristina Querrer, Kelley White, and Tyson Ellis Berardo!

I love finding writing communities. I first met CMarie Fuhrman at Arts By the People 2 years ago in a writing workshop. She invited us to participate in IdaPost, Wish You Were Here, a pen pal project she conceived “investigating place through story – our place, this place, the place of the past and even of the future.” This was a collaboration between the Idaho Commission on the Arts and CMarie, the Idaho Writer in Residence, who recently completed her tenure. I was happy to jump in. I met two fantastic writers over 2 years, my pen pals–Peggy Larsen and Andrea Eldridge. All the pen pals contributed to a publication, as a culmination to our project based on our postcard prompts. Thank you CMarie, Peggy and Andrea for this creative adventure and welcoming me, a New Jersey resident, into your Idaho community.

Thanks to Local Gem Press for publishing my poem, The Writer’s Drawer, in the New Jersey Bards, 2023 edition. If interested, you can order copies on the publisher’s website (Local Gems Poetry Press) or on Amazon.

Thanks to founder, publisher and editor, Maria Gillan of the Paterson Literary Review for publishing “Hide my Heart,” in issue # 51. In addition, “Anguish” won an Honorable Mention in the 2023 Allen Ginsberg Poetry Contest. As always, I am honored to be part of an amazing publication.

I will be leading a workshop entitled, “Quiet the Mind so the Heart Can Write,” Sunday, July 23rd at the IWWG Conference in Philadelphia (Chestnut Hill College). Looking forward to it!

I was delighted to be one of the authors at the Passaic County Book Festival this year on June 10th.  Thanks to the organizers of the event and John J. Trause, who organized the poetry readings.  It was a beautiful day to read, listen and share all things poetry. Shout out to Raymond Turco who hosted my reading, and poets Diane Belinfanti, Paul Juszcyk, Denise La Neve, Paul Nash and. George Witte. It was great to see and catch up with novelist, Marina Antropow Cramer at the festival. https://seepassaiccounty.org/explore/passaic-county-libraries/passaic-county-book-festival-2023/

Last Saturday, I had the privelage of reading with some of the writers in the latest installment of Lips. There was an amazing energy in the air as poets gathered and read. The love for Laura Boss, the late founder of Lips, was palpable in the room. Thank you Jim Gwyn, Ken Ronkowitz, Maria Gillan, and Emily Rose (for always lending a hand) and the rest of the Laura Boss Foundation Board for making this event happen. Pick up a copy of this anthology. Submit your work. There is comfort and strength in poetry. 

Congratulations poets! Svea Barrett, Jan Beatty, Madeline Beckman, Gabriella M. Beckman, Howard Berelson, Charilie Brice, Diane DeCillis, Donna L. Emerson, K.P. Fen, Jeanne Fleming, Brian Flynn, Deborah Gerrish, Maria Mazziotti Gillan, Kiel M. Gregory, Andrey Gritsman, Mary Crockert Hill, Linda Hillringhouse, Fred Iucci, Erin Jamieson, Charles, H. Johnson, Tina Kelley, Christina Kelly, Adele Kenny, Francis Klein, Josh Lefkowitz, Michelle Lerner. Maria Lisella, Nancy Lubarsky, Dana Holley Maloney, Wayne L. Miller, Angie Minkin, Mercedes Mulligan, Frank L. Niccoletti, Lisa Coll Nicolauou, Gwenn Nusbaum, Jess L. Parker, Penny Perry, David J. S. Pickering, Wanda S. Praisner, Maude Carolan Pych, Richard Rauch, Susana Rich,Danny Romero,Kenneth Ronkowitz, Lee Rossi, Susan Rothbard, Lori Ruzich, Margaret R. Sáraco, Jeffrey Schiell, Mark Strohschein, Seema Tepper, Joe Weil, Colby Williams, Francine Witte, Warren Woessner and Edytta Wojnar. 

https://laurabosspoetryfoundation.org/news/lips-publication-reading

Thank you Steve Bloom for creating another Poetry of Protest and Struggle May 1, 2023, video. Steve selects the poems and assembles the video. The 9 featured readers are Louise Dessertine, Yahya Ashour, Margaret Sáraco, Aisha Mohammad, Zigi Lowenberg, Rixaru X, Raymond Nat Turner, Silvia Brandon-Peréz, Naomi Foyle, and Steve Bloom.

The reading at Great Weather for Media was wonderful. Thanks Jerry Johnson for the invitation–you are a wonderful host. Being back at the Parkside Lounge was a highlight. What’s next? I will be leading 2 workshops with the International Women’s Writing Guild in June and July, participating in the Passiac County Book Festival and reading for the latest Lips Anthology in Clifton, NJ. Maybe I’ll slow down in August!