Ahhhh!!!!  I haven't posted in what seems like forever.  My apologies.  I seem to be drowning in work, graduate school, and family responsibilities.  Not that I'm complaining.  I actually love having a job.  And my grad school is one of the best things to ever happen to me in terms of being around the most caring and creative people in the whole world.  And as per the family side...well, I had no idea that having a brand new baby girl would be so enjoyable.  Looks like there will be tea parties and dresses in my future...and I'm thinking that's not such a bad thing at all!  

I figured I'd also post a video of my son's first official wrestling season.  We had a blast, and most importantly we learned how to be good winners and good losers, which, in my opinion, is the most important thing you can take away from competing in sports.  Here's a vid:

I had some great news the past few days.  One:  I found out I won the national veteran writing contest in the poetry category and Brian Turner gave my winning poem a great review.  Two:  I was accepted to be a part of Ninth Letter's Online Feature for graduate students.  Three:  My wife and I finally came up with a name for our soon-to-arrive unborn daughter that is due in six weeks.

 

I have a lot to be excited about.  I think I'll celebrate.

A couple new updates that I think are amazing.

1.)  The new school district that I'll be teaching in is amazing.  I have never been greeted and treated so warmly and positively by an entire group of people in my life.  I can't wait to be a part of this great tradition.

2.)  Ten minutes ago I was named as a finalist in a large lit journal's writing contest.  One in a million and all that jazz...but it still feels great to be chosen as a finalist.

3.)  I've been writing up a storm.  Thank goodness.  Sometimes I get scared that I've lost my creative muse, and then I realize that it's actually just that life has been kicking me in the teeth, and then I get five minutes to myself and create something, and then I feel better, because I still feel like a creative person  :)

My first Master of Fine Arts week-long residency in Port Townsend is finally winding down. It'll be nice to come home, but wow, for the first time in a long time, I'm surrounded by other addicts to language and stories. It's comforting to not have to explain to people "why do you write so much" because we all share this same need and/or calling to create. 

I highly recommend finding an opportunity to surround yourself with people that are passionate, motivated, and a little bit crazy, not just so that you achieve your dreams, but also because there is a strength in numbers and a collective motivation. The realization that there are others out there just like me is comforting.

Now the hard work begins. Next residency in six months. It's time to put on the blinders and turn up the awesomeness.

Holy Moly!!!  I just got accepted into Goddard's amazing Master of Fine Arts program for poetry and I was offered a high school teaching job.  What an honor.   Looks like all those years of hard work and very little sleep are finally paying off.  

So I was a part of that national DOD think tank for streamlining combat medicine the past few days. Being in a room full of nationally famous trauma surgeons was quite a different experience. It was very humbling when they all looked me in the eye and asked me my honest opinion on certain procedures. Once we all learned how to work as a team (on day 2), the meetings went smooth. I love being able to give back to a great cause.

Also, I found out I'm a finalist for a huge national book contest.  I'm not allowed to say which contest or publishing house yet, but uhhhh...it's big.  Fingers crossed.

So I was walking around Barnes and Noble the other day and found a copy of Best New Poets 2011 in the poetry section. I read through it, even though I've done it a hundred times by now, and found my poem. And then it hit me, "Holy cow! My words are in Barnes and Noble!!!!" Granted, it's not "my book" or anything, but I still picked up a book and found my name in it. It was a weird feeling of accomplishment.

Wow.  Just found out that I was a finalist for the "2011 Best of the Net" award, and that I received second place in the "Gemini Magazine Poetry Competition."  So blessed.

Holy cow it's been a while since I posted.  My apologies.  I'm neck deep in grading 9th grade essays as I'm currently doing my high school student teaching semester.  I'm still involved in the poetry scene, having just done a reading at Orr Street Studios for their Hearing Voices series, which was a BLAST!  That was the warmest (and largest) reception I've received for a reading.  What a great time with great people.

 

Also, I just received news in the last few days that I'm a finalist for the Andres Montoya Poetry Prize for my war poetry manuscript, had a poem accepted by Louisiana Review, and had a poem accepted by Cream City Review.  Wow, after several months of silence, to have such a flurry of success is a great feeling. 

 

Now....those essays aren't going to grade themselves.  Back to the grind. 

 

 

Keep on rockin' in the free world.

A Pushcart Nomination!!!!!  Holy cow...what an honor.  My first one.  Many thanks to Jennifer Bowles and all the other cool cats at the Medulla Review for believing in my work enough for the nom.  You guys are so awesome.

Great news!  Last week I received an acceptance from the Raleigh Review!  I had a great time recording my poem for their online site.

Then, today... I received an e-mail saying that I was accepted into Prairie Schooner's Digital Online project for a multi-media project I created a while back.  I love the fact that they're creating an online page dedicated to multi-media poetry, which is possibly the future (and maybe savior?) of poetry.  While holding a book of print poetry is nice, if you want to capture the attention of today's youth, or those with attention-span problems (like myself), multi-media is definitely the way to go.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

A couple of interesting updates:

1.)  One of my poems was accepted by Permafrost, a magazine in Alaska, so it looks like my poem will be freezing its hind-end off.  I'm very happy to be a part of the Permafrost family, they seem like really nice people, and obviously they love literature, so they're definitely "my kind of people."

2.)  I was invited to read at the Mid-Missouri Author's Gala today.  I'm really excited to be a part of this cool event and to help promote Missouri writers and literature.  I'll be handing out free CD's of my acoustic music + a few tracks of my poetry.  It's going to be a good time.

3.)  So, lastly, the other day I received an e-mail from an old high school buddy that's in the Navy, and he was tasked to assemble a color guard for a veteran reading event at Union Station in Kansas City.  He went on to say he met with the event coordinators, and then made them read "So I Was a Coffin" and now they want me to be a part of the event.

So, this all goes to show that I am worthless without all the support of my friends and family.  And, in response, here's a video of what I do when I'm not writing:

My poem in Barely South Review went up this morning.  It's up on the Publications page and looks really nice.  Plus, I'm surrounded by some very talented poets, so...lots of thanks to the great editors from Old Dominion University that run that cool journal. 

 

The other thing I wanted to mention on here is that I had a great time at the U.S. Bank Scholarship Banquet the other night.  I was so inspired by the other recipients who have done so much for Columbia, MO.  It's refreshing to see young adults spend so much of their time trying to better their community. 

 

That's all folks!

I got to be involved in a nice news piece for the 10th anniversary of September 11th, (http://www.komu.com/news/remembering-9-11-the-military-in-mid-missouri/) for KOMU News that aired this past weekend.  It was definitely nice to be considered and to contribute for a great cause and remembrance.  Also, the amazingly kind editors at Winningwriters.com nominated a poem for a "Best of the Net 2011" award.  The contest results won't come out for quite a few months, but always nice to be thought of and nominated. 

I was just notified that D.A. Powell chose my poem "So I Was a Coffin" to be included in this year's "Best New Poets 2011" anthology series due out sometime this fall.  I wasn't really expecting this because I entered myself into the "Open" category and I didn't think that I was going to be taken seriously.  Quite a blessing, especially after so many months of silence and rejections from journals.  Nature of the "biz" I guess.  I hope I can use this achievement to motivate more and more people to keep writing and reading.  Not much else to report in other news...a lot of contest results should be posting in the next few months, so maybe my luck streak will continue and I'll get this war poetry book off the ground. 

 

Tenacity trumps talent and all that jazz.