Not quite two years ago, I began an accident journey into poetry. Writing, reading and drawing were the activities that comprised most of my time as a child. But, as I grew older, my school curriculum provided no support for creative writing. We studied literature and poems but were only given latitude to write analytical essays about them. Under this method of instruction, poetry -- as a discipline to study along very strict parameters -- became something I grew to detest.
Two years ago, in my Studio MFA program at SAIC, I had the good fortune to begin developing a poetic voice under the tutelage of the incredible Pamela Sneed. In the span of one semester, she cracked that voice -- which I didn't even know existed -- wide open, and by the summer, I found some of my earliest poems in the process of publication.
It is with heartfelt gratitude and excitement that I announce another upcoming publication. The Spring 2018 issue of Parentheses Journal will feature a new poem that I wrote in December during my residency at the Vermont Studio Center. The poem is titled "Ages" and reflects on a thirteen-year-old family photograph, recently unearthed in my garage.
