Happy Diwali, folks! I’m thrilled to share that my poem “Moondrunk on Diwali” is up at Rattle today—my first published poem.
Huge thanks to Tim Green, Rattle’s editor, for the care he brings to the magazine and the countless hours he gives to poetry. Editing is tough, generous work—making space for others to shine—and from everything I’ve seen these past months, Tim does it in service of poetry.
If you’re new to Rattle: it’s a reader-friendly poetry journal with a subscription base of around 12,000, they read 250,000 poems and publish 300 every year, and their mission is—to promote the practice of poetry. Learn more about Rattle and while you’re visiting, here are three recent poems I loved:
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"Weathering the Storm" - Colleen Farrelly — a science poem, that becomes personal.
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“Vacating” by Michael Brosnan — a thoughtful inventory of work, art, and what we keep.
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“Empathy” by Chelsea McClellan — a devastating and moving poem about pain.
I’ve been learning my way through contemporary poetry for about a decade, but only started submitting to journals last month (mid-September). Four more poems are slated to appear in other magazines soon—more on that when they land. I am having some beginner's luck.
But its not all luck. I wanted to thank to a few friends & teachers who shaped my work: Robert Hass (initial direction), the late Tony Hoagland (encouragement), Billy Collins (his advice on flow, titles, and wonder), Kristen Mears (for editing some of my poetry over the past 2 years), Jane Hirshfield (for her essays, poetry readings and receptivity), Tess Taylor (for her poetry submissions class), Maya Popa (for her class on how to review poems), and Hannah Yerrington (to firm my believe in the poetry of joy/praise). Also to the Seekers and Seers group who get to bear some of the raw poetry I am writing.
Singing oneness!
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