The new year has brought big changes for me. We’ve moved to Alaska, and it’s a permanent move that we’re excited to make.
In fact, my most popular reel EVER shows a surprise we had along the way. What crossed in front of us isn’t something we expected because you’d certainly never see it in the DMV! (The DC/MD/VA region, that is–not your local Department of Motor Vehicles…though it stands to reason you wouldn’t see it there, either!)
My IG account has a bunch of reels from our drive on the alcan (the Alaskan-Canadian Highway). It was breathtaking. Every time I thought “This is the most beautiful part of the drive,” we’d round a corner an hour later to find a new most beautiful part of the drive.
I just arrived last week but am seeking out my Arts community. I read non-competitively at the monthly slam competition at The Writer’s Block. I also joined both Alaska Writer’s Guild and 49 Writers. I’m excited to start attending events and workshops and meeting new writers. Like I always say, writing is such a lonely endeavor when we’re holed up in an office with our notebooks and laptops, but we need to feel the energy of other writers and collaborate, commiserate, and celebrate.
My poetry has received some more accolades. The Beaches of Normandie, which earned honorable mention in last year’s Writer’s Digest annual contest, also received honorable mention in the HoCoPoLitSo (Howard County Poetry & Literary Society) Ellen Conroy Kennedy Prize contest in 2024. I’m so happy that this poem, which I knew was special before I was halfway through the first draft, has been recognized. Here’s a post from HoCoPoLitSo, including an interview with yours truly and a video recording of the poem. Click to see which animal I identify with. If there’s one thing about interviewing me, it’s that you will never get a canned response! You’ll get what I’m thinking and feeling that day, in my interaction with you, personally.
Also, my poem Hoff Street II is in the final round of judging for the 2024 Joy Bale Boone poetry contest. The poem is about the Philadelphia street I lived on when I was little.
SPEAKING OF PHILLY, THE EAGLES WON THE SUPERBOWL! So…I might be excited about that. Also important: Kendrick Lamar’s halftime show will be written in history books. (Whether those history books will be allowed in classrooms remains to be seen…)
I’ve had a few articles in the paper since I last updated. My most recent fave is “Is Spam…Love?”
I was also able to advocate for mental health in the firefighting community with
and I was quoted talking about Maryland Writers’ Association in https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/arts_and_entertainment/cherrie-woods-educates-writers-on-how-to-market-their-books/article_1cfcc23d-d731-5448-89dc-9dbfc8379b96.html
Speaking of MWA, the most recent issue of Pen in Hand is out. I contributed the photo for the cover along with two poems, “The Color of Empathy” and “Trampot.” I wrote “The Color of Empathy” the day after the Inauguration and Trampot while in residency in France last year. The cover photo, I took while visiting Alaska a couple of years ago. This was taken inside a church vestibule (yes, inside! it’s an inner door!).
I’ll remain on the Board of MWA. For now, I’m still running the Frederick remotely, through June. I’m also still on the conference committee and will remain active in general.
Anyway, that’s what’s been happening for the past few months. At the beginning of the year, I made a reel showing my 2024 journey as a poet, which should catch you up on anything you missed!
And now, I go write…