Poem Nominated for a Pushcart Prize

I’m pleased to announce that Porcupine Literary nominated my poem “an open letter to the secretary who asked how i haven’t taken to drink or schedule 1 narcotics like so many of our colleagues” for the Pushcart Prize.

Maybe this is the time the powers that be will move me from a nominate to a recipient. But I’m honored nonetheless.

Two (Dysfunctional) School Poems at Porcupine Literary

“an open letter to the secretary who asked how i haven’t taken to drink or schedule 1 narcotics like so many of our colleagues”

and

“an open letter to the white girls caught chanting “NIGGER” on Snapchat, again”

have just been published at Porcupine Literary: A journal by and for teachers and can be read here.

Both of these poems have one important thing in common: they are about events after which people said, “you CAN’T write about that,” while others said, “how have you NOT written about that yet?!”

Well here they are. And I’m breaking my own rule: these are 100% accurate to events in schools I’ve worked in over the years. If you know, you know.

#NoChill