Philadelphia Stories celebrates its tenth anniversary with a live auction, art exhibit, and book release 

The skinny little cool poem below was selected to appear in the 10th Anniversary Anthology. It was published in the FIRST 2004 literary issue.

Am I humbled? Yes.

Am I hyped? Of course.

Why does it matter?

Well, because they had a plethora of poems to select from; they chose to include mine. In a decade, my writing voice has exponentially changed, but a coming of age poem stands the test of time. Not for nothing, they “googled my name” and found me to request a signature of release.

The other reason is that a small faction of  nameless folks had me believing I didn’t belong in the world of poetics.

I emphatically do.

My thesis mentor and director of the Lesley University Creative Writing Program, Steven Cramer, actually helped me revise this poem from a much longer, stanzaic version titled, “Era of Eccentric Cool.” I distinctly remember him saying:

“It sounds like an aerial view of the 70’s. Revise it”  (revise it, revise it, revise it).

Boy have I learned that lesson.

It’s an honor to be both remembered by Philadelphia Stories and to have an EARLY literary work anthologized.

What a difference a decade makes…but I’m finally grown…and that                                       About the Author bio below: I’ve come a long way “Baby!”

Thank you immensely Philadelphia Stories! (I miss you guys, and the Kelley Writer’s House too!)