Barbara J. Hamby

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Back to the (Key)Board

This afternoon I managed to spend several hours sorting poems for possible contest entries. On the rare occasions when I get around to submitting poems, I usually get at least one or two honorable mentions. It’s been quite a few years since I earned a cash prize, but I live in hope.

Since I’ve been working on memoirs, my poetry writing has not been as prolific as previously, but I have several dozen recent ones to pick from. In addition to the contests, there are two upcoming anthologies for women poets that I can submit to. One is for Portland women specifically; the other is national. It’s always fun to be included in an anthology, especially if the other poets are good.

Tomorrow I hope to choose some personal essays and/or memoir stories for other contests. Writer’s Digest magazine has a group of contests every year and Willamette Writers also has an annual contest in connection with their conference.

I’m still working around the glasses that aren’t up to my current needs and make it difficult for my eyes to track together, but frequent naps help rest them. Today I didn’t run into furniture when I walked around these rooms, as I had the last few days. At times, I can work better without the glasses, but I still need to wear them for protection.

It’s really great to be back at the computer and working on writing tasks.