Saying Goodbye to 2024 & What’s Next

Writing, Workshops, and Getting Back in the Swing

Through most of 2020 through 2023, I was taking a long break. Immersion in a creative field leads you to new ideas, new projects, and hopefully breakthroughs to new levels of craft.

It can also feel like being hitched up to a car battery in an ever-shrinking world.

Towards the end of 2023, a number of opportunities came through including performing for the Buffalo Teacher’s Association, along with leading the Williamsville East Annual Fall Poetry Workshop.

After a long pause, it was a pleasure being asked to jump on a number of projects early in 2024.

Buffalo Futures, Purple Poetry, and the Just Buffalo Writing Center

Early in the 2024, I was asked to step onto Buffalo Future’s Poetry fundraiser at Iron Works. Reuniting with long time collaborators Team Finks and Brandon Williamson, it was energizing to help bring a show to life for a good cause.

Following up the next month with Purple Poetry at Torn Space, I was grateful to open with another Buffalo spoken word legend, Ten Thousand, for Archie The Messenger.

Rounding out the beginning of the year, I was lucky to get back into workshopping mode at St. Amelia’s and the Just Buffalo Writing Center, leading Speak, Poet: Cool, But How?, an intro to spoken word workshop.

Eat Off Art

I have been lucky enough to be working with the Just Buffalo Writing Center as a volunteer and Teaching Artist since 2015. To have one organization that provides opportunities to artists to share and hone their craft in your city is a lot to ask for.

This summer, I connected with Eat Off Art and collaborated on their summer workshop series at Art Park. Providing a writing workshop hidden under the guise of a zine-making station, it was a blast to work with so many middle schoolers against the serene backdrop of one of Western New York’s best parks.

Eat Off Art recently launched their new website and I’ve been incredibly grateful to be welcomed into the Coolective. I’m excited to see what kind of work springs from this connection in the future.

Publishing

Publishing my first collaborative poem, working with Heather Rae Ackerman (author of Little Apartment), was a pleasure. It was a new experience sharing the page with another poet. While I’ve had a lot of experience sharing the stage in group pieces with other spoken word artist’s, this was the first time working with someone else to create a more traditional work. Find ‘Tag Yourself’ in Coffin Bell.

Later in the year, I was lucky to have There Was a Killing in It and two poems picked up by Peatsmoke Journal, and the Just Buffalo Literary Center’s Poem of the Week. You can find all these works on the Select Works page.

Looking into 2025, The Hooghly Review will be publishing White Elephant as part of their Weekly Features Section on January 12th. Join in an extended’s family’s White Elephant Christmas gift exchange and see what happens when a mysterious gift is found among the discarded wrapping paper and repurposed Target gift cards.

Happy Holidays!