Happy new year! Though it may be a little bit late, I still think it’s worth reflecting on 2015, which was a momentous year for me, personally, professionally and creatively. I got to feature at the Art Bar, the longest running poetry series in Canada. An anthology that accepted one of my poems was published in the U.S., released in August. I did lots of teaching. Lots and lots of it. I volunteered. Started getting a bit more disciplined again with my writing. And best of all, my poem “Where the Old Road Begins” was longlisted for the CBC Poetry Prize. Though it didn’t make the shortlist, I am still honoured and humbled by the fact that I made it as far as I did, the first time I ever entered the contest.
These days, I’m getting greedy with poetry. This month alone, I’ve subscribed to The New Quarterly (one the country’s finest literary journals), my holds at the library are overflowing with books on craft as well as poets I’m excited about reading (Patricia Young, Kim Addonizio, Spencer Reece, Cassidy McFadzean, to name a few). I’m going to be working with a writing coach this year, and am also excited to be starting with a new workshop group of talented writers shortly. It would appear 2016 is off to a good start.