We drove to Manchester airport to pick up Mom and Dad for Christmas. We drove northwest through the White Mountains in the thick snow and ice. 2 interstates were closed nearby but we continued slowly onward. Nonetheless, we took the road less traveled to Franconia and the snowy path led uphill to Robert Frost’s home.
Robert Frost is considered the quintessential American bard or poet. He lived from 1874 to 1963. Right before his passing in Boston, he delivered the inaugural poem for JFK.
Robert Frost won 4 Pulitizer Prizes and the Congressional Gold Medal. He was born in San Francisco but moved alot. He lived primarily in New Hampshire and England where he was influenced by Ezra Pound, Edward Thomas, Rupert Brooke, and Robert Graves. Frost went to Dartmouth and Harvard. He first published in 1915. He published 2 books called North of Boston and A Boy’s Will. His poetry quickly amassed a great following and by 1920, he was known all over America and beyond.
I’ve found a great place to submit your work! It is a little newspaper called The Webb City Sentinel located in southwest Missouri in the Joplin area. The submission process is simple and free. If your work is approved by the poetry editor, it will be shown on the online portion of The Webb City Sentinel. Here is the announcement on their site. I love this. I love what they wrote:
“I’m a great believer in poetry out of the classroom, in public places, on subways, trains, on cocktail napkins. I’d rather have my poems on the subway than around the seminar table at an MFA program.”
Billy Collins, 2001-2003 United States Poet Laureate
We want your poetry. We want poetry from your children and your grandparents.We want poetry from seasoned poetry veterans and those just putting ink to paper (or, finger to keyboard).
We want to feature them here in Webb City’s “newspaper.” Then, we want you to print them out and slap them on your refrigerator, carry them in your pocket, give them to someone special. We want your poetry on the school bus to Mark Twain and Eugene Field, while you’re waiting in line at Crazy Llama and the Sub Shop, and while you’re walking around King Jack and the Frisco Greenway Trail.
I was super fortunate to be listed on their site recently. Here is the poem I submitted:
Little Pawn
by Janea Speer
My whole life, I admired the King and Queen. Serene, graceful, and applauded. Powerful and strong….aggressive.
Yet hiding behind the defenses of the lesser pieces. As I became older, I pondered the knight or the bishop, how they could think outside the box and level the playing field.
But, in my older years, I admire the pawn. The one to first enter the fray with honest courage. Who risks much although so little….. One by one, swiped from the board unceremoniously and yet… Relentless, undeterred, defiant against odds so stacked heavily against.
Yes, some days even the little pawn sees glory when faced with such intimidating adversaries.
With this blog, I also wanted to do a shout-out to the poetry editor there. I met him in Fall 2019 at the Joplin Writers’ Fair at the Joplin Public Library. There were many great local authors there showing their books. He was at a table across from mine and was nice and friendly. We talked about publishing books and Ray Bradbury and joining writing clubs. It was fantastic to meet someone with an avid interest in reading and writing and helping other authors. He recently published a new work to help authors too.
His name is F.C. Schultz and here are a few links to some of his books. Type in his name on Amazon and you will find, on his author page, a large group of books he has written or co-written.
My daughter read the book titled The Rose Weapon and she did think it was quite good. It is a Viking story about fire-breathing dragons. There is a sequel to this book as well called When Embers End.
Hi folks, just wanted to let you know I self-published a book of poetry called Moment of Magic. It is selling just as an eBook for $2.99 on Amazon. The book is various poems I have written over the years. Many of the poems are meant to be inspiring and uplifting. Some are poems about raising children, or being a working mom, or time spent with the military. Some are poems I wrote for my children. Others are poems about love or just reflections on life. The first and last poem in the collection are my favorites and tie in together nicely. The collection is less than a 100 pages and a good quick read for anyone that likes poetry. Thanks and God bless. Be safe everybody.
Here is the link to the book and if you press the look inside portion about the book, you can read the first three poems. Thanks again!
Along with the poetry collection called Moment of Magic that I self-published to Amazon, I created a book called The Curse of the Sapphire Jewel & Other Short Stories. It is a small collection of brief fictional stories, each one unique in storytelling. The first story is about a stolen jewel and the consequence of theft. The second story is about a college student named Amara and a decision she makes to forgive her father. The third story is a funny and interesting first chapter. It is a work of alliteration about a Medieval monastery of Moldavia. The next story is a Medieval comparison story to France during World War II. Finally, the last story is titled Black Sheep. It is a story where I took a typical antagonist, a supreme villain, and tried to show a more sympathetic and compassionate almost positive side to the character. This short book is about 65 pages long and is selling for just $2.99 as an eBook or can be found for free reading on Kindle Unlimited. Thank you and I would love to hear your feedback on any of the stories. Have a wonderful day!
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