Her View Friday
Yellow Arrow Publishing supports women-identifying writers from a wide variety of backgrounds, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it makes us stronger. Women’s voices have historically been underrepresented in literature, and we aim to elevate those voices and stories through our programs, publications, and support.
Part of our mission in supporting and uplifting women writers is to promote the Yellow Arrow community’s individual accomplishments. We’d like to further expand that support and promotion outside of our Yellow Arrow publications. Twice a month, we’d like to give a shout out to those within the Yellow Arrow community who recently published:
single-author publications
single pieces in journals, anthologies, etc.
You can support our authors by reading this blog and their work, sharing their news, and commenting below or on the blog. Congratulations to all the included authors. We are so proud of you!
Every writer has a story to tell and every story is worth telling.
Author: Joanne Durham
Tell us about yourself: I am a retired educator living on the North Carolina coast. My poem, "BABY!," was published in the RENASCENCE issue of Yellow Arrow Journal (Spring 2021). Since then, about 40 of my poems have been published in various journals, and many of them are found in my latest book and a forthcoming chapbook, On Shifting Shoals (Kelsay Books).
Where are you from: Prince George’s County, Maryland
What three words describe your main writing space:
ocean energy openness
What did you just publish: To Drink from a Wider Bowl, which won the 2021 Sinclair Poetry Prize and was published by Evening Street Press in April 2022. Find it at eveningstreetpress.com/book-author/joanne-durham.
Tell us about your publication: It is a celebration of many stages of a woman’s life—from ancestors to grandchildren, and the connections between my personal life and the larger world around me. It’s a book of discovery, gratitude, and commitment to working for a better world.
Why this book? Why now? How did it happen for you: I have written poetry all my life, but except for some poems about teaching in teaching journals, never pursued publication until after I retired. Then I went back to the many notebooks I had kept and started revising, taking workshops, joining critique groups. After about a year of writing and publishing in literary journals, I realized I had the makings of memoir in poetry. When I wrote what wound up as the first poem in my book, “Old Folks,” which ends “we are thirsty still / but drink from a wider bowl,” I knew I had the title and the overall theme for the book.
What is your writing goal for the year: To deepen the texture of my poetry and just keep writing and learning and see where it takes me.
What advice do you have for other writers: Write as much as you can, even if it’s just notes you jot down for later. Participate in critique groups, with other poets who will support you but also give you truthful feedback on how your poems land with them. Listen, revise, submit to journals that you like to read.
What else are you working on/doing that you’d like to share: I am a bit obsessed with getting my book out into the world! That has also made me more interested in supporting other poets. So I’m writing a blurb for an anthology, helping a fellow poet figure out the order of poems in her book, buying poetry books and writing Goodreads reviews. I’ve made friends with poets not only across the U.S., but in India, Zimbabwe, New Zealand, and Canada. All of it enriches my life.
You can find Joanne on Twitter @DurhamJoanne and Instagram @poetryjoanne or at joannedurham.com.
Yellow Arrow (past and present) board, staff, interns, authors, residents, and instructors alike! Got a publication coming out? Let us help celebrate for you in Her View Friday.
Single-author publications: here.
Single pieces: here.
Please read the instructions on each form carefully.
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Yellow Arrow Publishing is a nonprofit supporting women writers through publication and access to the literary arts.
You can support us as we AWAKEN in a variety of ways: purchase one of our publications from the Yellow Arrow bookstore, join our newsletter, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter or subscribe to our YouTube channel. Donations are appreciated via PayPal (staff@yellowarrowpublishing.com), Venmo (@yellowarrowpublishing), or US mail (PO Box 102, Glen Arm, MD 21057). More than anything, messages of support through any one of our channels are greatly appreciated.