Some days, it feels like I'm letting Stone Soup die.
Other days, I'm glad it exists in its current online form.
Trekking across the city to stand in front of five people or less was getting to me.
At least I'm sure I had more features on than last year.
Actually, I'm not sure of that, but I did make a greater effort.
I hope I'm a better organizer next year.
I hope Stone Soup still goes on next year.
I had an opportunity to bring it back to a live audience but missed my cue.
Another invite is on the table, but it's not the best offer.
I'd love to host in front of a live audience again, but I'm not sure what that will look like.
It won't be weekly. That I'm sure of. We'll see what happens.
Year 60 is just around the corner after all.
Below is my most seen TikTok post of 2024 and...ever. over one million views. It's a post of replying to a comment on a post I made on Thanksgiving where people were telling me to kill myself. The commenter talked about a family Thanksgiving she was going to ruin by exposing a hypocrite minister uncle. Of course the show was stolen.
That reply video keeps getting views no matter what else I've posted after it. My most well known post, and it has nothing to do with me, and the compliments are all going to the person making the comment.
All this for an app that might not even exist after January.
This experience really made me want to get the "Unalive the Algorithm" issue of Stone's Throw out.
@chadpoetforhire Replying to @Desiforlife23 it’s a people with private accounts you have to watch. But you can’t. ##fy##foryou##fyp##foryoupage ♬ original sound - Chad Poet for Hire
My poem "Made It" was published in October. I'd been trying to get into John Patrick Robbins' other journal for a while. I'm glad this is the poem that made it in.
"Made It" encapsulated a lot of what I'd been feeling for years towards certain people. It exorcised some demons much in the way I hope my Tuesday Poem series on Patreon will.
Toni has never been anything but good to me. I loved our reading back in March.
My follow through, however, has been piss poor.
I missed her birthday when I took too much medicine to deal with a case of TMJ.
She understood (and laughed), but it was a day with her I'll never get back.
The rest of the year has been a lot of planned and failed get-togethers.
I really tried, but I also really failed.
We spoke on the phone when we could, but she deserved more of my time.
I swear to be a better friend this coming year.
In late August, I had twelve hours of uninterrupted time to write and submit work. Inspired by my dabbling in AI, I wrote "Trump AI Generates His Second Inauguration" and submitted it to The New Verse News with AI art I created tongue in cheek. It was published the following morning.
That same morning, I started getting sick with a non-COVID cough (possibly the same illness my girlfriend had) that essentially lasted until October and really slowed down my output.
It's as if writing the poem took nearly everything out of me. Still, I read that poem and think, Worth it. Especially since it may be my only contribution for The New Verse News this year.
My only regret is that it seems to have inspired more online poetry journals using AI for their posts. I only used it in this instance to make a point.
Earlier this year, I submitted work to a poetry publication. As they did last year, when my work was seemingly passed over without them ever commenting, the requested a donation.
This time, I gave the donation. They published my piece hours afterwards.
This month, I submitted again. My piece (timely) was again seemingly passed over with no comment.
It's sad because a colleague I respect is pretty synonymous with this publication.
I will likely never submit again. And I won't link their page regardless of who's on it.
Oddball Magazine's Publisher and Oddball Foundation's President has been getting help this last part of the year. You know that if you've been reading any of his recent Jagged Thought poem columns.
I am still in touch with Jason and hope he pulls through for the coming year.
If this costs us Oddball Magazine or the Oddball Foundation, I'll have to be okay with that, and I hope he will be too.
Robert Fleming, a self-proclaimed visual poet from Delaware, really asserted his place as a Stone Soup stalwart over the last two years, promoting his own work as well as those he helped to publish at Old Scratch Press. This year, with Oddball Magazine in such disarray, I am so glad he stepped up without me asking to provide banner art for this year's Horrorthon and Christmas Wars events. He came through during a dark time in Oddball's history (that post is coming). Robert is a real mensch and truly gives back to any poetry scene that welcomes him. His loyalty and giving nature is inspiring.
In a year where most writers and artists all but sat out the election year (most, it seemed, out of sheer exhaustion), Richard Spisak stood out as a poet, artist, activist, promoter and personality. It was his efforts that helped to revitalize Oddball Magazine's political focus as well as my own independent work. For as little I feel I did this year, I couldn't have achieved many of my accomplishments without Richard. Talk about a creator who deserves wider recognition. I hope we can both stick around in 2025.
Many journals turned their back on me in 2024.
Editors I could count on to at least give my work a look seemingly wanted nothing to do with me.
It made me more grateful for the editors who kept me around.
Twelve pieces by me were published by Petro c.k. in dadakuku this year.
That kept me going. More than he realized.
Thanks to Petro c.k. and dadakuku's audience
I can't wait for this year's anthology.
