Spring is here, and that means many things. It means the world is awakening from its winter slumber, allergy season is in full swing, and The Crowder Quill awards ceremony and poetry reading will soon take place on the campus of Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri.
This is my third year of submitting work to The Crowder Quill. I’m happy to say that the literary arts journal has honored me by choosing my work for competition placement and publication all three years. It’s a beautiful journal featuring wonderful writers and fabulous artists. I’m proud to be counted among such talent.
The Crowder Quill will be publishing my nonfiction narrative, “A Creek, My Dad, and Me,” next month. I will find out where my story placed in the nonfiction competition during the awards ceremony and poetry reading in May.
This year is special because my mom has decided to attend the event. She declined joining me the past two years for various reasons. Since she’s attending this year, I signed up to read one of my poems during the poetry reading that evening. Mom’s never seen me read at an event other than family funerals. I figured I should make the most of the opportunity to show her that I really can read publicly without my voice hitching in emotion.
“A Creek, My Dad, and Me” is about the last time my dad and I went hiking before he passed away. He was recovering from open heart surgery, needed to exercise, and wanted to get out of the house. So, we went on a short, yet eventful, hike in the woods. That’s all I’m going to say about it at this time. I hope you will all read my story once The Crowder Quill is released on May 10, 2018.
Be sure to check out my Ozarks Maven post on Saturday, April 21, 2018. As a thank you to my amazing readers for continuing to support me and read my blog and to celebrate my upcoming publication, I plan to share one of my stories that The Crowder Quill has previously published.
If you are interested in reading past issues of The Crowder Quill, you can download free copies here: https://crowderquill.com/. Literary journals offer hidden gems in creative writing that you just can’t find anywhere else.
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