As mentioned in a previous entry, I had a little surprise that ties in with National Poetry Month this month. (And only until now do I finally have time to post about it.)

Twenty-five years ago, I was in the 8th grade, about to graduate Junior High, and just remembering this really makes me feel old. Anyway, I remember writing a poem for classwork in my English class. Little did I know that when I gave my work to my teacher, it would also be considered for publication in a poetry book by the youths of the time. I don’t remember if it was mentioned that the poems us students wrote in class would be published somewhere. But it happened, and I ended up being one of the two students from my entire K-8 school that got their work published in that book you see above. I still have my copy, by the way!

Obviously, I won’t say which one is my poem as it’s under my real name. I’ll also say that this was not the first time my work has been published. The very first time happened in my local newspaper back in the spring of 1996; it was a prose piece I wrote in 6th grade. (Hot damn, now I really feel old.) Sadly, I don’t have a copy of that newspaper, but maybe it’s been digitally preserved by the newspaper. Since the release of this anthology, my work’s been published a few more times, the most recent being in an anthology of short stories written by women. I’d tell you more on that another day. One thing I’ll say right now is that I always get a little joy when my work gets published. (And speaking of, a project I’ve been working on for years is about to see the light of day soon. Stay tuned!)

Pic courtesy of an eBay listing; yes, you can also buy my work!