Publication Announcement: PSH Yom HaShoah Issue

My poem "Das Tagebuch" has been accepted for inclusion in the Poetry Super Highway's special Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) Issue. I am especially honored to be included as I often feel like an outsider looking in when it comes to the Holocaust -- extremely sympathetic but not Jewish. :)

This online issue will but up during the dates of April 28 - May 4 and then "forever thereafter" in the Past Poets of the Week Archive. You can find it at: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/

To read "Das Tagebuch" specifically, go to: http://poetrysuperhighway.com/psh/2014/04/april-28-may-5-16th-annual-yom-hashoah-issue/#fp29

Thanks to Rick Lupert for the opportunity to remember the Holocaust through poetry and for his tireless efforts "to expose as many people to as many other people's poetry as possible".

shalom

Update: Monday Musings 2/24/24 Poem Featured at Poets Online!

"Winter Ronka" was chosen by Poets Online as one of the featured poems for the February 2014 Ronka prompt. It can be viewed at poetsonline.org under Archives, ronka / Ken Ronkowitz.

You just never know what will happen if you dare to put yourself out there... ;)

Back in Black (Print that is...)

I am very happy to announce that my poem, "A Memory of Madrid" has been selected to be one of the works included in the newly released anthology Ekphrastia Gone Wild: Poems Inspired by Art (Ain't Got No Press, 2013). The collection features 87 poets from around the globe, including the Nobel Prize winning poet Wislawa Szymborska (click here for the complete list of contributors).

To make an already exciting celebration that much more thrilling, there is (dare I say it) a "movement" to bring Ekphrastia Gone Wild to the attention of every 9th and 10th Grade English teacher in the United States. With the new Common Core Educational Standard being adopted by schools all over the country, there is one requiring 9th and 10th graders to examine a poem alongside a work of art that inspired it and I personally feel (no bias here, mind you) Ekphrastia Gone Wild: Poems Inspired by Art would fit the bill quite nicely (see: English Language Arts Standards » Grade 9-10 » 7 ).The idea that these poems could be included as part of regular course study boggles my mind (in a good way).

If you have any connections to 9th and 10th grade English teachers, English department chairs and/or curriculum developers in your community and would like to help make this anthology an essential resource for their classes, please contact Rick Lupert at Ain't Got No Press (or me, if that is more comfortable for you).

I am honored to be a part of Ekphrastia Gone Wild: Poems Inspired by Art and humbly thank Rick in appreciation of his poetic efforts and vision. Please visit Poetry Superhighway as well as Lupert: It's The Website for more on this extremely talented and hilariously unique poet and editor.

To get your copy of Ekphrastia Gone Wild: Poems Inspired by Art, order directly through the Ain't Got No Press website or from Amazon.com.

And... thank you for all of your support. Without those of you who have believed in me (for quite a few years now), I wouldn't have the confidence to "put it all out there" (and here) in the first place. :)

On the Great Road Trip of Life

I've added two pages in an attempt to round out the blog. One is the history and acknowledgment page "What brought me to this and people who matter..." and the other is "Work in Print" which lists my published portfolio. The tabs are at the top of the page if you are interested in knowing some of where I come from as a writer.

Please let me say that although I believe past accomplishments are important, I don't think it's wise to "lean" on them. I don't want to miss the life before me by looking too much in my rear-view mirror. I've included these pages to honor and bless where I've been and now look forward to the road ahead.

Just so you know, I have plenty of room left in this land yacht of life experience so feel free to hitch a ride for a while... everyone's welcome and I ALWAYS have something to talk about. ;)