In the photo below, you will see a young version of your poet laureate with two of the most important things in her life at that point: writing and cats. The very first publication I ever had was at 12 years old, when a poem I wrote about a kitten (perhaps this very kitten) was published in the Kids’ Corner section of Cat Fancy. I have written and loved poetry a very long time, and it is a pleasure and an honor to be the Poet Laureate of Silver City and Grant County.
I grew up in the Midwest, the land of lightning bugs and long winters, and I have lived in many landscapes since then from my Peace Corps service in Peru and Panama to the Pacific Northwest. In the United States, the place I have lived the longest as an adult is New Mexico. I went to graduate school for both public health and poetry at NMSU in Las Cruces and lived there for five years. Then later I lived in Santa Fe and worked in public health for almost two years. Now, I have been in Silver City for five years, working as a professor at WNMU.
Some poetry highlights from this time include creating/organizing the Sin Fronteras Creative Writing Project for undergraduate students, being on the Southwest Word Fiesta board, co-organizing Banned Book and National Poetry Events with Miller Library, working with community partners to co-organize poetry readings and writing workshops, and finding other ways to support and encourage writers of all kinds.
So, in the spirit of poetry community—join me in the Sealey Challenge for this August. The Sealey Challenge is a poetry reading challenge where participants commit to reading a poetry book or poetry chapbook (a small poetry book) for each day of August. The poet, Nicole Sealey, began this challenge in 2017, and since then—it has grown. A friend and fellow poet, Deborah Leipziger, inspired me to join. I hope I inspire you to join. To learn more about the Sealey Challenge: https://www.thesealeychallenge.com/faq
Follow my progress on the Facebook page of the Silver City and Grant County Poet Laureate where I will have a post the end of each week of August. https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561360295015 Report your progress. Join the network of support through the Sealey Challenge’s social media. You can even celebrate your success with a certificate made by The University of Arizona’s Poetry Center, available on the Sealey Challenge Website.
Here is my stack of books. Show me yours.
