Some writers in the Memoir-writing classes I lead have had their memoirs published, but none has ever won an award (with a cash prize, no less!) for their writing…until now.
A poem Andrea Kelton wrote has been awarded a cash prize for Second-Place in the Magnets and Ladders poetry contest! Andrea’s poem What a Feeling will be published in the Magnets and Ladders Spring/Summer 2017 edition along with a memoir called Water Balloons that she wrote for class.
A visual artist, Andrea was running a pottery workshop for children in 2005 when she first enrolled in our “Me, Myself and I” class sponsored by the City of Chicago’s Department on Aging. I couldn’t see the low vision magnifying reading glasses she used to wear to read her essays in class. It wasn’t until she read an essay about losing a job after being diagnosed with an eye condition in her twenties that I realized she can’t see well: Andrea has uveitis.
In 2009, glaucoma started setting in as well, leaving Andrea unable to read print. Like so, so many other writers in the classes I lead, Andrea did not give up. She learned to use an audio and magnifying computer program called Zoom Text to write and edit her pieces at home, and when it’s her turn to read in class, she passes a print copy to Wanda, who is hard of hearing. Wanda reads the piece aloud: the deaf leading the blind.
Magnets and Ladders is an online magazine with a tag line that says it all: Active Voices of Writers with Disabilities. The submission guidelines make it clear the magazine “does not feature advocacy, activist, how-to, or what’s new articles regarding disabilities” and prefers poetry, memoir, fiction and non-fiction.
You can read the magazine or sign up for the Email edition by visiting the Magnets and Ladders website. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with a sneak preview of Andrea Kelton’s prize-winning poem here. Congratulations, Andrea.
What a Feeling!
By Andrea KeltonThe easel
Holds a painting
Featuring a free-form tree
Under an explosive yellow sun.The artist
Brush in hand
Stands back
Admiring her masterpiece.Satisfaction bubbles
Then
Glee gushes and rushes
Through her four-year-old body.Andrea glows with wonder
At this treasure she’s created.Emotions explode
As she discovers
That
Doing art
Creates bliss.
Go Andrea! This is a beautiful poem.
Thank you for beautiful “insight.”
Congrats to Andrea! Well deserved.
Andrea, a beautiful poem. Thank you for writing such inspiring words. Congratulations!!. Looking forward to seeing you in May.
Congratulations. I enjoyed your delightful poem & also find Beth’s articles provide such interesting insights. Thanks to you both for sharing your writing talents.
Congratulations! And what a stunning poem.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this and shared on Facebook. Thank you!
Thank you, Beth, for featuring my poem on your blog. It’s quite an honor. And a big thank you to all of Beth’s readers for your congratulations and kind words. What a feeling!
Lovely descriptive flow to accentuate a wonderful awareness of self! Great job Andrea! Bravo!
Andrea, you have made words visible. As an artist myself, your poem is a wonderful reminder of the time I first knew that was what I wanted to become. Beautifully done. Thank you.
gushes…rushes…glows…explodes! BLISS! — words with feeling!!!
gushes…rushes…glows…explodes…bliss!
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