BECAUSE POETRY IS A PUZZLE

Last week I had the most marvelous school visit with creative writing students at Shades Valley High School/JCIB. We talked about the writing life, and the students told me about their works-in-progress. We did some writing exercises and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves -- thanks largely to dedicated librarians Carolyn Starkey and Carla Crews, and to teacher Becky Dobelstein. Thank you!

One of the students said she loved poetry because "it's a puzzle."

Isn't it?!

Thank you, students, for your brilliant words, and for sharing your stories with me and the world. Hope to see you submissions at Birmingham Arts Journal!

Here's some pictures from the event.

Carla, me & Carolyn

yes, I do the writing exercises, too!

chatting with students over pizza

students writing brilliant pieces

Poets: Sarah, me & Maria