I’m pleased to share that “complatency” has been published in The Closed Eye Open, Issue X. I’m grateful to the editors who selected my work not only for this issue but also for their themed issue Ripples on the Pond: Meditation, published in the summer. (You can discover more of my published work here.)

I’m also grateful to my “2nd Mondays” peer review group. “complatency” was one of those poems that initially flowed out like some strange gift. When I brought it to my group, I’d run it through an edit cycle or two after letting it sit for some months. It was different from the poetry I’d been writing lately, and it felt … interesting, so I was curious what my group would think. With encouraging feedback like “immediately publishable,” I submitted; it was snatched up pretty quickly.

Progress and Peer Reviews

2022 was not a productive year for me. Maybe the pandemic caught up with me, or perhaps I just hit a dry spell and slumped into it. Whatever the reason, I struggled to produce any creative work, let alone submit. This year I committed to produce and submit work … and I’m doing it. While I’m not quite hitting my aspirational goals (I’ve got time left in the year, right?), the secret sauce this year has been critique groups. That peer pressure has made me more disciplined about setting aside writing and reading time. About once a week, I get to enjoy the work of several poets and share my own. These groups offer a support (and accountability) system as we walk through our work together. (Poetry Society of Tennessee has critique group openings if you’re looking for a poetry peer review group.)

About the Closed Eye Open

The Closed Eye Open is an art and literature website that is open to a broad range of poets, from established to new artists. Their About Us page is worth the read.