And the word for January is…

Hi everyone,

Thanks to one and all who graced my blog in 2024 with your Word of the Month poems and comments. We had a stellar year with dozens of poems to illustrate the power of words taken at random and held up to the light. The words for 2024 were hug, spark, wish, gone, touch, pal, match, scale, teacher, pumpkin peace, and slush. You are good sports and talented good sports at that. Here’s to 2025 and all the promise it holds.

To get the year off to a great start, I’ve chosen a word provided by SU HUTCHENS. One of her suggestions is the word PLAY. It’s a word rich with meaning and packed with stories. Let’s see how many of them you can prise out and share with the rest of us. Happy 2025, everyone. Thank you Su!

Here’s my wrap-up column for the year

Hi everyone,

Here’s the link to 2024’s last edition of Poetry from Daily Life. https://www.news-leader.com/story/entertainment/2024/12/29/poetry-from-daily-life-thankful-for-wonderful-year-of-words/77077947007/

It has been my pleasure to host, and sometimes write, this weekly column. I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read my summary of how the year has gone. If I only had one word, I’d say, Fantastic! As always, I hope you will share the link with those you know who might find it interesting. See you next year on Poetry from Daily Life.

Last column for 2024

Hi everyone,

I said if I had anything to say during my break, I would say it. Today I have something to say.

It is my privilege to write this final edition of Poetry from Daily Life to wrap up 2024. The column appears today in Springfield News-Leader (print edition) and tomorrow in the e-edition. I’ll post a link to that as soon as I get it. My thanks to everyone who has been following the column. More about that in the column.

I’m going to take a break

Hi everyone,

This seems like a good time for me to take a hiatus from the daily blog post. Folks are busy and I can use a little rest. I’ll return on January 2. In the meantime, if something comes up that I want to say, I’ll say it.

Sandy and I hope you all have a safe holiday season with as much merriment as you can wish for. I’ve enjoyed another year of visiting with you here almost daily and thank you for your love and encouragement. I try to respond to let you know how much it means.

Happy New Year! See you in 2025.

Matt Hoisch featured on Poetry from Daily Life

Hi everyone,

It’s my pleasure to provide the link to MATT HOISCH’S guest column this week on Poetry from Daily Life. https://www.news-leader.com/story/entertainment/2024/12/22/poetry-from-daily-life-writing-love-letters-to-world-around-us/77077320007/

Thank you, Matt, for sharing your insights gaining from talks and interviews with state poets laureate across America. You are putting in an enormous amount of work but the results are wonderful. I’m also happy to say that a number of the poets you have recorded have agreed to add a column to Poetry from Daily Life.

A reminder to everyone to share this link with people you know who will also enjoy it. A lot of experience, knowledge, and effort go into each column.