Tonight, as of a few hours ago, I headlined a poetry reading at Nowhere Coffee Shop in Allentown, PA. It was a joyous occasion, with so much diversity and variety of written talent—from a teacher of creative writing to a proud working-class member (Andrew Vuono) to a student of said creative writing teacher reading—. I’m grateful for Poetry As Promised, especially Florence, for publishing my work and inviting me to the reading to headline. I feel that this is a moment in my “career” that I won’t forget for a long time
Writing events like these remind me about community. We are often solitary creatures, writing in our abodes/alone/in a coffee shop surrounded by books in one table. But we write for people we may never know, even when we write by ourselves. We try to find communities to share writing with like-minded folks and even form communities. Poetry as Promised is one: a local magazine founded by Florence and Daulton to create a local magazine in the Lehigh Valley. Seeing the number of people and hearing the praise for my fellow poets and myself heartened me. Will keep me writing.
And now time to hibernate with my sharkies lol