Excitement built when the proof copies of my book arrived at
my daughter and son-in-love’s address in Washington, D.C. With Asila and David,
Judy, and friend Michelle as my first audience, I read aloud. I found a few
things I wanted to change during the proofreading phase—spacing, words to be
added or eliminated, and resizing the cover fonts.
Then I pressed the “Publish” button. In that exquisite
moment, my shoulders dropped from my ears and an audible breath released from
my lips. My book was on its way. Within 24 hours, Amazon notified me it was
live on their site. Just in time for the Writers of Kern Spring Conference and
National Poetry Month (aka April), my book is a reality.
You Can’t Have It All:
Poems is a collection of poems written over a number of years. It includes
poems of memories, feelings, reflections, and observations as well as poems
based on ideas and stories from conversations with others, and “poemoirs,”
memoirs in poetic form.
A collection like this doesn’t happen without help,
encouragement, and input from others, and I am so grateful to all who supported
my writing—Judy, my family, friends, Writers of Kern critique group, writing groups, and even
folks I’ve never met who commented on the poems I shared online.
From the overwhelming, positive response the book is
receiving, I am buoyed, appreciative, and humbled. And curious. I’m curious
about which poem(s) resonate with people, what strikes them and why. If you’d
like to share, I’d love to hear from you.
Hugs and thanks,
~ xoA ~
Annis, if I talked about all of the poems that especially touched me, I'd be writing a very long response. Your poetry captured so many aspects of life. Some of them are familiar to all of us, like "Visiting Hours," and lovely tributes to teachers and teaching. Several of them describe what it was life for you, growing up Black in America. I especially loved "The Gift," which shared your strong heritage from your four grandmothers in just the few right words. I cried at the powerful laments about current events: "I Am Sick of Revising This Poem, " "Homegrown," and "In This Century." I also enjoyed the little peaks into your life that were meaningful to you, that hinted at scenarios I could imagine, like "Games." Two of my very favorites were "When Did I Get Old?" and of course, the final one, "You Can't Have It All." Such a loving tribute to life! Thank you for the special gift of your insightful poetry. You are truly a remarkable woman!
ReplyDeleteJoan, I am humbled by your thoughts, feelings, and words. Thank you, my friend, for this gift. And, for being an important part in the birthing of this book. With love and admiration. xoA
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