The Wadadli Pen finalists (all but one) have re-submitted their edited pieces and these have gone off to the judges for final review and ranking.
Amidst the back and forth, and the boring behind the scenes stuff, two responses from finalists stand out.
Can I share them?
“Not gonna lie I still cannot believe you actually read my poem. Thank you so much for everything. I am beyond excited.”
&
“Thanks for selecting me! I’m so excited.”
Sometimes I run in to the parents, too; like the mom who shared how her daughter sat working on her poem, sharing bits of her work in progress with her, and who when she critiqued its lack of rhyme told her, “mom, poems don’t have to rhyme.” I loved this tale of a baby-poet claiming her voice.
Every time I begin to question why we do all this – seriously the work behind the scenes can make it seem like a full time job with sucky benefits and no relief from the tedium – the writers who have put their work, with trepidation, in our hands, and have had, for some, their first breakthrough on their writing journey, or find in the process some kind of affirmation, remind us why. Their joy is infectious.
For more on Wadadli Pen see links below:
Wadadli Pen 2017 Challenge Long List
Wadadli Pen 2017 Challenge Patrons
Wadadli Pen 2017
About Wadadli Pen
(Image at the top – moments of Joy from Wadadli Pen through the years).
As with all content on Wadadli Pen, except otherwise noted, this is written by Antiguan and Barbudan writer Joanne C. Hillhouse (author of The Boy from Willow Bend, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight, Oh Gad!, Fish Outta Water, Musical Youth, Dancing Nude in the Moonlight 10th Anniversary Edition and Other Writings, and With Grace; also a freelance writer, editor, writing coach and workshop facilitator). Excerpting, reblogging, linking etc. is fine, but PLEASE do not lift ANY content (images or text) wholesale from this site without asking first and crediting the creator of that work and/or copyright holder. All Rights Reserved. If you like the content here follow or recommend the blog, also, check out my page on Amazon, WordPress, and/or Facebook, and help spread the word about Wadadli Pen and my books. Thank you.
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