My poem “Letter to Hamrick from the Century of the Invalidated” has been published in the inaugural issue of Book of Matches. Thank you, editors Kelli Allen and Nicholas Christian, for taking this piece. This is a fantastic new litmag, featuring such luminaries as Clare L. Martin, Eric Pankey, Jeff Santossuosso, Kelli Russell Agodon, Jack Bedell, Megan Wildhood, Lauren Camp and others. Try it, you’ll like it!
O at the Edges 
Congratulations, Robert!
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Thank you, Tre. I’m very pleased with this one. It’s always gratifying to have work alongside that of people I’ve been following for years.
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You’re most welcome and I understand the feeling.
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Congratulations!
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Thanks very much, Andrew.
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You’re welcome.
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I am so excited and honored by your poem! I’ve been reading Book of Matches and it does have wonderful poetry in its pages. How did this get by me? I’ll be watching for the next open sub period. Congrats, Bob!
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Thanks, Charlotte! I wrote it in fall of 2019, and then let it marinate for a year before submitting it. Book of Matches was the first place I sent it to. I happened to see a call for submissions, responded quickly, and voila. Boy, that doesn’t happen often!
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You don’t need a paycheck to validate your work, but unfortunately you do need it to pay the bills…congratulations! (K)
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Having more money coming in than going out seems like a noble goal, but not for a while. The bills keep coming…
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I know exactly what you mean.
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Congratulations – your poems are turning up everywhere!
I always enjoy your “letter to” poems … their stream of conscious feel, though I suspect you massage every phrase thoroughly.
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Thank you, Jazz. I keep sending them out, and occasionally they find homes. 🙂 I generally write these poems in fits and starts, bits and pieces, over the course of weeks/months. They’re fun, and the trick, for me, is to never rush them to completion. But that lesson also applies elsewhere. Ha.
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Marvelous journal, and I love the poem, RO. There’s many a day lately when I feel that taking care of the litter box is the apex of my achievements…
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Thank you, Sunshine. I’m impressed with the first issue. Can’t wait to see the second. Oh, those little chores!
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Wow, Congratulations Robert, and I read your poem, in this chaulk dust filled room, and now I’ll need a couple of glasses of ‘red’ to wash the powdery white crusted blend all down….
The ‘Book Of Matches’ Journal is a superb presentation …
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Thanks, Ivor. After the past week’s craziness, I may need to invest in a bottle or two of red!
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Yes, they have been surreal times.. 😊🤔
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