Strawberry Season
While Vermonters and Iowans are still shoveling their driveways, Floridians are planning desserts made with fresh strawberries. Spring comes early in Florida, and we have an issue full of fresh features and delicious stories to help you enjoy it. — Editors
Featured Stories
Chucks’s Barber Shop
— Doug Guido
“That fall, I entered the ninth grade, attending the new high school on the hill. My new life was going pretty well until Dad interrupted my happiness.”
What a Character!
— Marilyn Myerson
“I’ve been accused of having multiple personalities. The truth, however, is that I have a wardrobe of selves; I take them out and wear them as the whim takes me.”
Night Fever and Absences
— Cath Mason
“What do you miss most?
You miss family, friends
fish ‘n’ chips, then sheep.
Or maybe pubs. Yes pubs.”
Our Editorial Page.
And Letters to the Editor page.
Your feedback makes every future issue better.
The Second Coming — January 20, 2025
— Don Menzel
“Oh no, this essay is not about Jesus—so, if that’s your expectation, read no further. But, if you watched Donald Trump deliver his Second Inaugural Address or read it online, keep reading.“
Canada Responds to Statehood Offer
— OLLIver and OLLIvia
Our two newest staff members are Artificial Intelligence Agents, and we’ve asked them to articulate a Canadian’s response to President Trump’s “offer” to make Canada the 51st State.
A Cartoon by
Art Henrikson
The Daily Herald cartoon on January 21, 1981, reflected tension and relief after the release of the American hostages taken by Iran on November 4, 1979. The Iranians deliberately waited to release the hostages until Presidential power was transferred from President Carter to President Reagan on January 20, 1981. In the cartoon, the two American Presidents, Carter and Reagan, are saying, “Phew,” along with the Ayatollah Khomeini. A similar situation occurred a few hours before President Trump was inaugurated again on January 20, 2025. Both Presidents Biden and Trump were sweating it out before three Israeli hostages were released. Netanyahu was relieved to say, “Phew,” as well. The cartoon is timeless – only the political leaders have changed in 44 years. — Diane Henrikson Russell
For National Poetry Month our April 15th issue will focus primarily on poetry written by our talented members. We look forward to including your submitted poems and would appreciate receiving them by the end of March. Please send them to us at connectsolli25@gmail.com. And since poets work year-round, you can find some exciting ways to enjoy their creativity in the events listed below. — Editors
Poetry Events and Classes
Paul Hlava Ceballos is the winner of the AWP Donald Hall Prize for Poetry and the Poetry Society of America’s Norma Farber First Book Award, and a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Kate Tufts Discovery Award. He is the Poetry Editor of the Seattle Met and practices echocardiography. — Feb. 18 at 6 pm Marshall Center MSC 3707
Dana Levin is the author of five collections of poetry. Her first book, In the Surgical Theatre, was chosen by Louise Glück for the 1999 American Poetry Review/ Honickman First Book Prize and went on to receive numerous honors, including the 2003 PEN/Osterweil Award. Levin currently serves as Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Maryville University in St. Louis. — April 3 at 6 pm C. W. Bill Young Hall CWY 206
Join Victoria Dym as she hosts featured reader, Lennie Hay, for an afternoon of poetry. Sign up to read your original work at the Open Mic which follows. Lennie will read from her most recent published work, Lost In America: A Collection of Poems, and Victoria will read some recently published poems from two manuscripts that are in development. Participate as either a listener or as a listener/ reader. Email vicdympoet@gmail.com to sign up to read. February 21 at 1-3 p.m. — 1 mtg $5 — Charles J. Fendig Public Library. Spots are limited. Register here.
Discovering the Joy of Poetry, Phil Coates. Wordsworth called poetry “emotion recollected in tranquility,” but emotion can take many forms. Major poets from Sappho to Tennyson, from Shakespeare to both Brownings, from Longfellow and Poe to Sandburg have stood the test of time, exploring types of poetry as diverse as lyrical, dramatic, epic and narrative. We will dive in and savor several of these poems. March 4 at 10 am-noon — Concordia Village Register here.
Best of Ireland: Seamus Heany Poems. Instructors: Joyce Carpenter, Kevin Chittim, Cath Mason. Two-thirds of the poetry collections sold in the UK in 2008 were by Seamus Heaney. His poems combine aural beauty, carefully crafted textures and muscular language “rich with the tones and smell of earth.” Heaney created poetry from his native background: Modern Northern Ireland, its farms and cities beset with civil strife, its natural culture and language infested by English rule. We’ll discuss the power and popularity of Heaney’s poetry through a selection of his poems, supplied by the instructors. 4/14-4/28 — Lake Magdalene Church. Register here
Jack Kerouac House of St. Petersburg
Coffee and Poetry at Jack’s House
Victoria Dym, Featured Reader, Sunday, February 23
The Jack Kerouac House of St. Petersburg sponsors events to promote arts and culture in the local community.
YellowJacket Press is accepting submissions for the annual YellowJacket Press Chapbook Competition for an unpublished chapbook of poems. Submissions should be no more than 20 pages in length, not including front and back matter (table of contents, title page, etc.). The contest is open to new, emerging, and established writers who are residents of Florida. The winner will receive book publication, a $250 cash award, and twenty-five copies of the book. The reading period is from April 1 – May 15, 2025. For details click here.
