Wrapping up 2022

For the holidays, I’m sharing the November recording of my reading with the fabulous Carine Topal and Cecilia Woloch. This was my first reading in nearly two years and features work from the forthcoming Wonder & Wreckage. Thank you again to VCP SoCal Poets for hosting us!

Speaking of W & W, the manuscript sequencing is complete and I'm just tinkering with a few of the '"new" poems for this new & selected collection. Early in the new year, I'll be sitting down with my friend and go-to book designer to work out the final cover. I'm pleased with the selection of work I've chosen for this book, although quite a few favorites had to come out to keep the flow. Still killing darlings after all these years. However, I do have a plan in mind to compile the "discards" into a special, very limited chapbook. More details as I hatch this plan.

On Feb. 2, I plan to put in my first live appearance in over two years at the launch of Let Me Say This: A Dolly Parton Poetry Anthology at the Decatur Library. My poem "Roosters & Hens" is in there. Co-editors Dustin Brookshire and Julie Bloemeke along with Madvillle Publishing have done a tremendous job and I'm in fabulous company.

This is my usual Christmas Eve blog post where I recount the year and look ahead. I'm not going to lie and say I've had a pleasant 2022. The after-effects of cancer linger and I'm having another small cosmetic surgery procedure in the spring to hopefully fix my sagging face. The nerve graft was a failure, but my doctor has a new procedure that should help restore a little symmetry. It's an outpatient job, so hopefully, I'll be fully recovered and not so saggy in time to see Joni Mitchell. Yes, thanks to the generosity of our friend Kevin, BFF Donna and I are winging our way to Washington state for Joni's concert next June. I still can't believe we've got tickets and that I'm going to see Joni live. She had moved to the top of my bucket list and I thought the chances of ever seeing her were long gone, but after her brilliant appearance with Brandi Carlisle at the Newport Folk Festival it's suddenly real. The only artist left to see on my list is Sade. Rumors are swirling that a new album is imminent, so fingers crossed. I also managed to bag some nose-bleed seats for Taylor Swift after the Ticketmaster debacle.

I was named "executive editor" of all the Springs Publishing titles – Atlanta Intown, Reporter Newspapers, and Atlanta Senior Life – and it's been a lot of hard work, but I'm still doing what I love to do. I can hardly believe that I've been a print journalist for 36 years. It's mind-boggling, actually.

I've had a long holiday tradition of cleaning up this blog (which is turning 20 next year?!?!?!) and various links. I hid that page earlier this year because most of the links were dead as more and more writers have given up their blogs. I also left Twitter in the fall. The site was already toxic but is now just off the scales. For my own mental health, I had to get off that crazy train. So, I'm still here at Modern Confessional, Instagram, and Facebook (all linked in the sidebar) if you want to find me there.

Once again, for those still reading along here, I appreciate your interest and support. Happy Holidays and may we have a better 2023.