2010: A Year for Gratitude

2010: A Year for Gratitude

One year ends; another begins. Convenient divisions for review, evaluation, resolution, and gratitude. 2010 was a great year for me in many ways. In regards to poetry, I wrote my 1000th poem and published my 800th. It was, in fact, my most productive year in regards to both writing and publishing. I wrote 240 poems and had 210 accepted for publication. I also had two books released from Main Street Rag: Paternity in February, and my collaboration with Pris Campbell, The Nature of Attraction, in July. I received 4 Pushcart nominations and 6 Best of the Net nominations, and I gave 35 public readings of my work. None of this would have been possible without the help of family, friends, editors, and colleagues, and I want to take a moment as the new year begins to publicly thank all of those who have been so helpful and supportive this year. For anyone I overlook, please know that I am nonetheless grateful and regret that the only thing more faulty than my memory is my record-keeping.

So, a sincere thank you and a robust best wishes for the coming year to all those listed below.

• Julie Owens, my wife.
• Damian Blankenship, Keegan Blankenship, and Sawyer Owens, my children.
• Phillip Fracaro, my father-in-law and one of my most devoted readers.
• Tim Peeler, friend and colleague.
• Pris Campbell, friend, collaborator, and reviewer of Paternity.
• Helen Losse, Nancy Posey, John Womack, Ann Chandonnet, Bobbi Ackley, Jessie Carty, Bud Caywood, Dennis Lovelace, and Tony Ricciardelli, faithful participants in Writers’ Night Out.
• Edgar Nucamendi and D.W. Bentley, friends, owners of Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse, and hosts of Poetry Hickory.
• M. Scott Douglass, my publisher at Main Street Rag.
• Clayton Joe Young for the cover of Paternity and being a constant source of inspiration.
• Jerry Sain, Donna Ross, Teresa Sumner, Amy Bechtol, and Kevin Rouse, supportive colleagues at CVCC.
• Barbara Burns, editor of Outlook and publisher of “Musings”
• Helen Losse, again, poetry editor of Dead Mule and reviewer of Paternity
• Jessie Carty, again, editor of Referential Magazine and reviewer of Paternity
• Ann Chandonnet, again, reviewer of Paternity
• Bud Caywood, again, poetry activist and reviewer of Paternity
• Ami Kaye, editor of Pirene’s Fountain and reviewer of Paternity
• Glenda Beall, poetry activist and interviewer
• Joe and Chenelle Milford, editors of Scythe and hosts of the Joe Milford Poetry Show.
• Jeff Davis, host of Wordplay.
• Jane Crown, host of the Jane Crown Poetry Show and editor of Heavy Bear.
• Jonathan K. Rice, editor of Iodine Poetry Journal and poetry activist.
• Janice Moore-Fuller, poetry activist.
• Bill Diskin, poetry columnist for the Independent Tribune
• Sandy Benitez, editor of Flutter and interviewer
• Karla Merrifield, reviewer of Paternity.
• Felicia Mitchell, reviewer of Paternity.
• Jackie Regales, reviewer of Paternity.
• Janelle Adsit, reviewer of Paternity.
• Joanna Catherine Scott, Tony Abbott, and Al Maginnes for their comments on Paternity.
• Antoine de Villiers for the cover of The Nature of Attraction.
• Tammy Foster Brewer and Carter Monroe for their comments on The Nature of Attraction.
• Caleb Pletcher, reviewer of The Nature of Attraction.
• Sara Claytor, reviewer of The Nature of Attraction.
• Ed Cockrell, poetry activist.
• Ed Southern, poetry activist.
• Nolan Belk, poetry activist.
• Steven Smith, poetry activist.
• Ron Bayes, poetry activist.
• Jim Clark, poetry activist.
• Devona Wyant and Shane Manier, poetry activists.
• Roxanne Newton, poetry activist.
• Susan Meyers, poetry activist.
• Margaret Boothe Baddour, poetry activist.
• Carol Rinehart, poetry activist.
• Mindy Evans, poetry activist.
• Viranya Filipiak, poetry activist.
• Sarah Greene, poetry activist.
• Eliot Lytle, poetry activist.
• Maureen Sherbondy, poetry activist.
• Jan Knotts, poetry activist.
• Ron Moran, poetry supporter.
• Tracy Mancini, poetry activist.
• Patricia Bostian, poetry supporter.
• North Carolina Writers’ Network, poetry supporters.
• North Carolina Poetry Society, poetry supporters.
• Poetry Council of North Carolina, poetry supporters.
• Poetry Council of North Carolina, poetry supporters.
• Malaprop’s Bookstore, poetry supporters.
• Quail Ridge Books, poetry supporters.
• McIntyres Fine Books, poetry supporters.
• Phillips & Lloyd Bookstore, poetry supporters.
• The Literary Bookpost, poetry supporters.
• Rosa Martha Villareal, editor of Tertulia.
• Malaika King Albrecht, editor of Red-Headed Stepchild.
• Jayne Jauden Ferrer, editor of Your Daily Poem.
• John Amen, editor of The Pedestal Magazine.
• Margaret Bauer, editor of North Carolina Literary Review.
• Eve Hanninen, editor of Centrifugal Eye.
• Alice Frampton, editor of Heron’s Nest.
• Vince Gotera, editor of North American Review.
• Zinta Aistars, editor of The Smoking Poet.
• Jen Michalski, editor of JMWW.
• Richard Krawiec, editor of The Sound of Poets Cooking.
• Harry Calhoun, editor of Pig in a Poke.
• Rob Greene, editor of Raleigh Review.
• Sam Rasnake, editor of Blue Fifth Review.
• Bruce Wheelton, editor of Word Salad.
• Scot Young, editor of Rusty Truck and Deuce Coupe.
• Scot Siegel, editor of Untitled Country.
• Dan Albergotti, editor of Waccamaw.
• Molly Gaudry and Troy Urquhart, editors of Willows Wept Review.
• Annmarie Lockhart, editor of Vox Poetica.
• Greg McBride, editor of Innisfree Poetry Journal.
• John DeLin, editor of ken*again.
• Aurora Antonovic, editor of Magnapoets.
• Christine Swint, editor of Ouroboros Review.
• Dave Bonta, editor of qarrtsiluni.
• Miriam Barr, editor of Side Stream.
• Fawn Neun, editor of Battered Suitcase.
• Lorin Ford, editor of Notes from the Gean.
• Jack Marlowe, editor of Gutter Eloquence Magazine.
• Anthony Kudryavitsky, editor of Shamrock.
• Ross Vassilev, editor of Opium Poetry and Asphodel Madness.
• James Clinton Howell, editor of Town Creek Poetry.
• Valerie Nieman, editor of Prime Decimals.
• Dale Wisely, editor of Right Hand Pointing.
• Dawn Albright, editor of Polu Texni.
• Heather Lenz, editor of Stepping Stones Magazine and Crimson Rivers Review.
• John Hartness, editor of Red Dirt Review.
• Linda Matney, editor of Imagining Heaven.
• Serena Tome, editor of Leaf Garden.
• Travis Hedge Coke, editor of Future Earth Magazine.
• Richard Pierce-Saunderson, editor of protestpoems.org.
• Karen Bowles, editor of Luciole Press.
• Dan Cuddy, editor of Loch Raven Review.
• Zvi Sesling, editor of Muddy River Poetry Review.
• Valerie Polichar, editor of Grasslimb Journal.
• Barbara Fisher, editor of Waterways.
• Ivan Brkaric, editor of Callused Hands.

And, of course, a thank you to everyone who bought a copy of any of my books or any of the journals or anthologies in which my poems were published.