Like many artists, I have a fraught relationship with accolades. Or, as one of my brilliant mentors, Alan Shapiro, once called them: “cotton candy…they disappear almost as quickly as you taste the sweetness.”
That being said, I’m extremely humbled by the news that “Fractures” is the winner of the 2023 Rubery International Book Award for Poetry. This is the 6th book award for “Fractures,” which is absolutely mind-blowing to wrap my head around.
To even get published at all is a Herculean task, so to find out my book was picked from hundreds of entries across the world is a tremendous honor. I am so grateful to the judges, Paul McDonald and Clare Morrall, for their care and this recognition of my work.
And—I would be remiss to not say—a moment like this makes me think about all of the groundbreaking art that gets chronically overlooked and goes unacknowledged, whether because it challenges the status quo, subverts the dominant canon, perhaps is far beyond its time.
Many of the best artists I’ve encountered are relatively unknown or wildly less celebrated than they should be. I know what it feels like to not know if something you’ve given years of your life to (I spent 5 years on “Fractures”) will find a venue worthy of the time and effort you gave it.
The manuscripts for “Fractures” and “Hijito” received more than 60 rejections over the three years I submitted them. Since being published, they’ve gone on to win 10 book awards (2 international book awards between them) and have gone through several (3+) print runs each.
Let me be clear though: neither the accolades nor the book sales are what give them their credibility. However, on this winding, often ruthless, artistic path where everything feels so hard-won, any kind of celebration of your work is something worthy of celebration. Every time.
Which is all a long and winding way of me saying: believe in the work that most compels you, even when few believers see your vision. Most of my rejections were from emails addressed to “Dear Submitter…” There were many days that a publishing deal felt out of reach.
Ultimately, as my dear mentor, C. Dale Young says, “It begins and ends with the work.” So back to sweeping the temple stairs and walking out to the field.
This next book needs to get finished. Only two years in, but more to be done.
Back to work.
#NextBookOnDeck
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