The world is a weird place right now. I've found myself swinging wildly from heartbroken anger, to creative excitement, and the artists in my life keep reminding me that both are important, that we need the art to remind us about what we're fighting for.
So I'm sharing about this project that will be taking up a large portion of my time in 2025.
40 Over 40: A Poetry Anthology
I'm going to publish an anthology of local poets, in Summit and surrounding counties, who are over 40 years old.
The idea came to me a few years ago when I was scanning submission listings for various prizes, awards, and fellowships, many of which were targeted at young writers, and thinking about those lists that have titles like, "30 writers under 30 to watch!" I realized that I was aging out of those kinds of recognitions. I started wondering about people who don't come to their craft until later in life. I started thinking about people who don't have the name recognition, but have put in the time to learn their craft. Life doesn't stop at 30. Some of us are just finding our feet under us in our 40s or even later.
When you want to see something happen, sometimes you need to do it yourself.
I put the idea out into the world and applied for an ArtsForward grant, and in a head-snapping who-what-me way, ArtsNow gave me the money to do it!
So I'm thrilled that I have the opportunity to make this anthology happen, in the WAY I want to make it happen. I wanted to recognize poets over 40 (we're not asking how MUCH over 40!) writing exciting work, and to pay those who are accepted into the anthology (more on that in the follow ups about submission details). I wanted to make sure that I had the ability to compensate everyone who was involved for their time--not just in copies, but in a way that says your work and expertise is valued.
If I was going to do this, I wanted to do it the right way. And ArtsNow is giving me that opportunity.
A few dates to note right now:
March 1-April 30 - Submissions will be open! Submissions are free! I will be posting the link everywhere, but it will also be on this page!
March 15 and April 26 at 2pm, we will be hosting two FREE community poetry workshops at Summit Artspace! If you need inspiration, or just want to create some work, we'll have two guest teachers leading you through some exercises to help you create new poems. These classes will be just one more way to support writers (and anyone curious about learning more about writing poetry) in the community. Diane Kendig will be teaching on 3/15, and Barbara Sabol will be teaching on 4/26!
I'll be sharing more exciting details soon, so stay tuned to this page here. But start looking for the poems you want to submit to the anthology.
Life, Love, and Light.
T
