Go, little book, go!

I learned late last week that The Grief Committee Minutes was named a poetry category finalist in the 2025 Eric Hoffer Award competition. While it’s always a thrill to have one’s work acknowledged, this is the first official recognition of my debut full-length collection, and for that reason, the news is especially sweet.

Before TGCM, I had published two chapbooks, The Heart Contracts and Accommodations, and entered both in a few competitions, including the Hoffer Awards.  Neither won anything, but I had no expectations. Certainly I had none for my debut full-length — although I felt obligated to at least try to put it forward. Perhaps it’s my competitive nature, or a genuine desire to know if my work is reaching a certain level of critical excellence. Maybe it’s both. We all know awards are subjective, so it’s ego-indulgent to make too much of them, at least in my opinion. But the best thing about an external acknowledgement such as this is that it validates my own belief in the work at the same time it makes me even more committed to keep growing.

I haven’t written many new poems at all in the past year, and my efforts have been focused on launching TGCM as well as preparing to submit my second book, Bloodstream, in its final-final form along with related materials to Mercer University Press by June 1. Finalizing the manuscript, completing the author information form and procuring the needed blurbs has sucked up a lot of my creative energy in the past six months, and I’m not complaining…..nooooo, this a good problem to have. But with retirement looming, only a few short days away, I feel like in the weeks that follow, I’ll begin to start articulating to myself better where I might next want to go in my poetry journey. More retreats and more study of  various poetic forms are on my list so far, because I do want to keep growing and learning in my craft, and having a full-time job won’t be an excuse anymore!

In the meantime, I’ll savor all the good news I get. At this time in my life, I don’t feel I could be any luckier.