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Sunday, November 25, 2007

Good News Department

Friday night I received the good news that my poem, "Temptation by Water," has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. The poem first appeared in the spring issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review. Editor Ed Byrne nominated six poems:

John Balaban: “Finishing Up the Novel After Some Delay”

Barbara Crooker: “Lemons”

W.D. Ehrhart: “Coaching Winter Track in Time of War”

Anne Haines: “Swallowed”

H. Palmer Hall: “Vietnam Roulette”

Diane Lockward: “Temptation by Water”

My poem is an ekphrastic one, based on "The Open Window" by Henri Matisse:

I wrote the poem while on a three-day women's poetry retreat in Spring Lake, New Jersey. Tomorrow I will return for the third year to this retreat, though it's now held in Ocean Grove. There will be six women poets. We will spend our mornings and afternoons giving each other writing prompts. We will have a few hours of free time in the late afternoon and then will go out to dinner together. I hope to return well nourished with at least a dozen new poems in draft form.

8 comments:

  1. Congratulations!

    That's wonderful news; Byrne is a sharp-eyed editor.

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  2. Thanks, Greg. I've got your book on my list of books to buy--and I'll get that order in very soon.

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  3. Great to hear this news. I think this is a strong group from Valparaiso, which is (as you've mentioned) a strong journal. Well done.

    I wish you fun and productivity at the retreat. And aren't you about due to run a workshop at WCPL? Hmm?

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  4. Congratulations! :) Your nomination is well-deserved. And your retreat sounds wonderful -- hope it's relaxing as well as productive.

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  5. Thanks, David. I'd love to do another workshop at the library. Call the library and put in a request!

    Anne--Thanks! I wish you were close enough to join us. We'll be half a block from the ocean.

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  6. Congratulations. A well-deserved nomination.

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