Today, I finally get to share a piece of news that I've been holding onto for months! My poem, Firewoman, has been chosen to be featured as part of the 30th Edition of the Syracuse Cultural Workers' Women Artists Datebook!
There are several things that make this announcement so special for me. Firewoman was written in 2020 during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was written about my mother. At the time, my mother was pouring so much of herself out to keep the people in her life happy. I was awed by how much time and energy she spent holding everyone else together and refusing to let her own cracks show. She was my rock during the turmoil and isolation of the pandemic, so this poem honors her and everything she gave.
As some of you know, the COVID-19 pandemic was also the beginning of my poetry career, (as it provided an excellent coping mechanism in a time of so much uncertainty). So Firewoman is actually one of my earliest poems. Additionally, it was probably the first poem I felt proud of, and the first poem I attempted to submit to a literary magazine. Two years later, it feels like a beautiful full circle moment to see that first poem finally find a good home.
I'm so happy that this poem is part of a collection that celebrates Women Artists, and the Syracuse Cultural Workers have a lot of values that I wholeheartedly stand by and support. If you are interested in checking them out or reading Firewoman, you can purchase a copy of the datebook here (find me in December!)
Cover art of the 2023 Women Artist Datebook created by Leslie A. Aguillard