Archive for September 11, 2018

Gaithersburg Book Festival

After several years of participating in the Gaithersburg Book Festival, working with teen writers and as a panel moderator, I am excited to share that I will be expanding my involvement this year and will be helping to put together poetry programming–including panels, workshops, and more.  This is GBF’s 10th year and promises to be better than ever. Please plan to join us on May 18th, 2019 and if you are an author who would like to be a presenter, applications are due November 2!

New Poem: Playing Bang Bang With A Shiny Pistol That Wasn’t A Toy

Many thanks to The Rising Phoenix Review for including my poem, “Playing Bang Bang With A Shiny Pistol That Wasn’t A Toy (He Was Only Three Years Old)” in their Disarm collection of poems.  The poem is about a little boy named Tmorej Smith who killed himself with his grandmother’s pink handgun in Greenville, SC in 2013.

Disarm is,

A themed issue addressing mass shootings in America. An issue that memorializes those who have lost their lives in mass shooting. An issue that attempts to put into words what it is like to be a survivor. An issue that depicts how people are advocating to change gun laws and gun culture in America. An issue that proclaims that we want a world where the lives of our friends and loved ones are not cut short by the finality of a bullet. We want our children to grow old and live to build beautiful things. Melt down guns and ammunition. Disarm the tools of violence.

It is an honor to be a part of this fine collection!