Sequel Already?

Took this photo while on my way to Nubian square.

Dear 2022

Well, you did it.

You found new ways to hurt me.

Good job.

To Sum Up:

Collaborators I'm Grateful for in 2022: Eric N. Peterson

While Oddball Magazine hasn't had the same output it had in 2020, we have been keeping Eric N. Peterson busy. 

My collaboration with Eric this year was urged by the Club Q shooting in November. Just over a week after the tragedy, I wrote a poem and asked Eric for art to compliment the piece. Our work went up on Oddball that same day. 

If it wasn't for Eric, some of our best moments at Oddball wouldn't have ever happened. Everyone in our writing community is lucky to have him as an ally. In the new year, we may need his skills more than ever. Let's hope they'll be used to lampoon false idols instead of mourning innocent victims.

Events I Attended in 2022: Toni and Dexter's Wedding

 

 

I was so happy and honored to photograph Toni Bee and Dexter Roberts on their wedding day this past summer. My only regret is only being able to post this picture before most of my photos from the past three years got lost in the limbo that is still my old phone. If I am lucky, I can extract them in the new year and finally share them with you. 

Revelation

2022 was just 2020 with fake nose glasses.

Publications I'm Grateful for in 2022: The Ugly Monster

I only know my editor as Oscar. Last December, he invited me to contribute my Comic Book Haiku to his online magazine The Ugly Monster. Since writing about the first issue of 2021's Hulk, I have contributed on a near-weekly basis (until this crazy month, at any rate). I can't thank him enough for his editing acumen and his willingness to accept every crazy idea I put forward.

I hope I can end strong and put out my final pieces for the year later today. It's the least I can do.

Things That Almost Killed Me in 2022: COVID

On Sunday January 9, my nose started to run. I felt fine otherwise. I thought I must be shaking off some kind of flu before I even knew I had it. 

Prior to that day, I only went out to go to work with a mask and buy groceries.

Publications I'm Proud of in 2022: Tell-Tale Inklings

Penned in 2021, "Saint Leon"is one of the most personal poems I've written in a long time. Not everyone gets it when I read it. Too many taboos broken. I'm thankful that Mignon Ariel King got it and wanted it right away for Tell-Tale Inklings #6, which you can still order here. It might be a while before I write a poem that raw again.

People I'm Grateful for in 2022: Julianne Powers

Julianne Powers joined Stone Soup Poetry's online open mic in March of this year. The niece of Jack Powers, she knows quite a bit of Stone Soup's history. Even better, she gets Stone Soup. Such a rare combination today. 

She's been a stalwart regular at the Zoom gatherings ever since. She's contributed her work to Oddball Magazine and will hopefully have a piece in Stone's Throw if I ever get around to putting another issue out. She's come a long way in just a few months.

Julianne and I haven't met yet. I hope to do so in the very near future. Better still, I hope to feature her at Stone Soup Poetry the month of Stone Soup's fifty-second anniversary. 

Good things will happen in 2023 for both Stone Soup and Julianne. I will make sure of it.

Best Online Stone Soup Features of 2022: Mary Jennings

She spat fire from the first poem on her setlist. Should have featured her years ago. Hope she can come back and do it live someday. 

Collaborators I'm Grateful for in 2022: Bonnie Matthews Brock

For the first time in a very long time, someone asked me to collaborate with them this year.

Regular Oddball Magazine contributor Bonnie Matthews Brock took this impressive photo of Riley “The Eagle” Jaspers in action and asked if I could write a poem based on it for National Poetry Month when Oddball normally feature visual artists writing pieces inspired by their own work. 

The result was "Lift," written on the same day it was published. I hope I did well enough that I can repeat the process next April with another of Bonnie's photos (though hopefully I can give myself a little more time).

My Best Poet Moments of 2022: My Garage Poets Co-Feature with John Wesick

Jon Wesick is on a whole other level compared to me, but I think I held my own. First time seeing this video by the way. Thanks to Jeff Taylor once again.

 

Publications I'm Proud of in 2022: Molecule

 

 

To write a poem about a difficult part of your life as it's happening is a gift. To have it published in a timely fashion is a blessing. Molecule published "Composure" back in March. It helped provide closure to 2021, a year I've only alluded to here and there as to why it was so difficult. I written a lot of poems about that year. Most will have to be published years from now. I'm glad this one got out there first. Thanks again to Kevin Carey and M.P. Carver, two editors who have had my back for a long time.

Best Online Stone Soup Features of 2022: Megha Sood

Didn't have time to book many online features this year, so I'm grateful for the ones we had. Really hope Megha returns to Stone Soup soon. Being an old man, I'm proud that I hosted her feature in the middle of being sick with Covid.

 

My Worst Stone Soup Moment of 2022: The Garage Poets

The performance was great. I was a bad host, way out of my element. I didn't know how to do a hybrid show of my own, so I just winged it. Not a good idea. The recording came out terrible. If it wasn't for Jeff Taylor's own recording of their set, it would have been a complete disaster.

 

 

My Best Poet Moments of 2022: My Open Mic Spot in Paris

I've already written about this ad nauseam. It was my summer highlight, and now it's my 2022 highlight. 

Just a stranger in another country's open mic. I did what I had to do.

It felt awesome.

Maybe someday I can read at Culture Rapide as a feature. That would be amazing.

I'm surprised I haven't added "read in Paris" to my bio yet. 

New Practices in 2022: My Patreon Projects

In January, I kicked off my Patreon page. As of this writing, I have only one patron. Maybe next year I'll double that number.

If anything, it was an excuse to feature The Tuesday Poems, a project I started in late 2021. I also continued my From Picture to Page series, which I had stopped the year prior. 

The Tuesday Poems project is the one that took off the most. I might be up to twenty-five pieces by year's end. 

From Picture to Page didn't fare as well. I attribute that to not doing as much outdoor photography this year. Being a shut in for most of the year did me no favors. 

I've been teasing a third project for a while. That may finally happen in 2023.

I appreciate my one patron in light of these troubled times. I also appreciate any motivation to keep writing and won't be stopping either project any time soon.

People Who Came Back in 2022: Deborah Priestly

After two years of trying to reunite with Stone Soup alum via Zoom, I''m glad I was finally able to do that locally. Deb Priestly had not been seen by most of the poetry community for nearly five years. It was worth all the effort to get her to the Assemblage Gallery for Stone Soup's last in-person show of 2022. I hope we see more of her somehow in 2023.

Things I Wanted in 2022: Peace and Quiet

I didn't get it.