Power of the Pen!

I just wanted to give a random shout out to my peeps at Reading Jr/ Sr High School and the coaches of our Jr. High Power of the Pen team. For some reason, this came to mind today and I was filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude. As an awkward new kid in Cincinnati in 1997, that team gave me a place to belong and really set the foundation for the writer that I am today.

I just felt the need to say thank you, because I don't think I ever thanked these teachers and coaches properly. If you're in Ohio and know of any budding writers who just need that extra push, encourage them to join at their local Jr. High School!

I was a regional qualifier and, though I didn't move on to state, being part of that team taught me so much. It gave me the confidence to strive for that level of achievement in everything I do. It showed me that I could be excellent, if I only had the courage to try.

::gratitude::

Any other former Pen-ers out there?

Just For Fun: Nerd Link (thx @Geesu)

Ever wondered the breakdown of Twitter users? The number of nukes it would take to destroy the world? Or the timeline of global media scare stories? Or...how many people prefer coffee or tea. Well, wonder no more!!!


Information is Beautiful is a site that presents ideas, issues, knowledge, and data in a visually stimulating way. Charts, graphs, the whole nie yards. In essence, a nerd's paradise. Connect with your inner statistician:-)

Enjoy!

www.informationisbeautiful.net/

Rock Stars of the Contemporary Poetry World

To steal a page from the Intel playbook - "Your rock stars aren't like our rock stars" :-) Ours are of the nerdy, thoughtful, intellectual kind who have a way with words and energy that jumps off the page!

Enjoy the Poetry Foundations latest list of poetry best sellers.


Contemporary Best Sellers: Week of August 2, 2009

1 Evidence by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press)
2 Slamming Open the Door by Kathleen Sheeder Bonanno (Alice James Books)
3 Red Bird (paperback) by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press)
4 The Shadow of Sirius by W. S. Merwin (Copper Canyon Press)
5 New and Selected Poems: Volume Two (paperback) by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press)
6 Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press)
7 Thirst (paperback) by Mary Oliver (Beacon Press)
8 Endpoint and Other Poems by John Updike (Knopf)
9 The Trouble with Poetry and Other Poems (paperback) by Billy Collins (Random House)
10 Ballistics by Billy Collins (Random House)

Check out the full list

Nerd Poetry!

SCIENCE AND POETRY
by Tonya Maria Matthews

She is an algebra project with a haiku punchline.
Metaphysics is not a real science
but its mastery is the only thing
that keeps her from exploding all over you
like an atomic bomb
acid raining on your parade
fucking up your syllables

Been my best friend
for years
betrayed me more than once
so I feel no qualm
warning you

true. she has her moments

But you got to approach a sister that smooth
on a parabolic curve
and you, my friend, are a straight line
neither Pablo nor Pythagoras would approve

More