Clifford Brooks, Jr. is the editor of the Blue Mountain Review and founder of the Southern Collective Experience. He’s a pretty amazing guy. I got acquainted with him through email after I won 2nd place in the Women of Resilience Chapbook contest. The tone of his correspondence was the virtual equivalent of a warm smile and a huge hug from a person that really means it. So when he asked me if he could interview me for his other endeavor, an NPR radio show called Dante’s Old South, I couldn’t say no. And even though I was pretty nervous going into it, he put me at ease right out of the gates. You can hear the interview on the 18th episode of the show, at about the 17 minute mark or so. Anyway, cheers to Clifford Brooks for encouraging me and for giving me a place to tell about my journey as a writer. It felt great. Also interviewed are the third place winner, Angela Dribben, and the first place winner, Laura Ingram, both remarkable women with interesting stories. You can listen to all three of us here.
for the love of a good poem