Christmas Ghosts: Aren't We Wonderful

A brief introduction to my writing and some holiday poetry goodies

Friends! Hello!

Welcome to my first letter, and thank you for being here!!!!

Since some of you are new to my writing, I thought I should share my abbreviated writing history and the groundwork I’m building on today:

• Ghost of Christmas Past—I published my first poem in a UF literary magazine in 2007, joined the Toronto High Park Library writers group in 2009, and continued publishing poetry and short stories through 2013. I all but stopped publishing (never writing) when the kids were born, picking up again in April 2022 with a poem and story in Capsule Stories. And here we are!

• Ghost of Christmas Present—I’m currently working on a poetry project called “Letters to Dead People,” 40 poems and counting. I’ve never gotten so far on a project of this length! I’ll certainly be writing more about this in future letters. The #5amwritersclub is my morning scaffolding and keeps me going.

• Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come—I’m still working at Lattice (grateful every day!), so poetry is a better size for my current life. But I am thinking 2023 is the year I finish a novel. This feels like the right mid-life-crisis to have.

I do have some fantastic news and reflection coming but I’m going to leave that for the new year. Today, I bear gifts—five of my recently favorite poems, with all love to the authors who wrote them (David Baker, Carrie Shipers, Mary Oliver, Maggie Smith and Jane Greer—whose title poem inspired this titled post), and one newly published piece of my own.

Snuggle up with an egg nog coffee, cozy blanket, and enjoy these gems. I’d also love to hear which of these you liked. Hit reply, let me know. I love talking shop!

“Holiday Wish” by David Baker

“Mother Talks Back to the Monster” by Carrie Shipers

(shared by Frances Klein)

“The Uses of Sorrow” by Mary Oliver

Shared by @MaryCPopa

“Poem Beginning with a Retweet” by Maggie Smith

Shared by @mvalliant306

“On Nearing our Thirty-Fifth Anniversary” by Jane Greer

One more thing: My latest work

I’m really excited to break a long string of not-publishing with a new piece, “Toronto, Texas” in Cider Press Review, (alongside my uncomfortably large face). I wrote this one in the early days of living in Toronto about the frustration of feeling like an immigrant no matter how long I lived there.

That’s all for now.

A very happy holidays to you all, I hope your days are full of love and peace and some adventure, too. Stay safe during the storms that seem to be everywhere.

See you in 2023!