AFA-OK (YAY!)

Alright, the letter arrived. My secret unofficial good news is now officially unsecret-- I have been awarded an AFA Grant to complete the first draft of my poetry MS St. Ampede, Cowboy Poetry and the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth!

I feel so happy, relieved, validated, excited to write! I know a lot of you reading this can relate to the constant feeling of tension and the frequent rejections that comprise the bread and butter of the writing life. I've applied for a few writerly positions in the last two years, and submitted my Booty MS only to have all my wide-eyed hopes (and sometimes my self-esteem) crushed. I've asked a lot of people to write me letters of support, too, and when I get rejected for a grant, or a Writer-in-Residence position, or have my MS rejected, I feel like I've let those people down too. Sort of like they backed a losing horse. Which is silly, because I don't feel like that when I lend my support to other writers, but there it is.

Thanks especially to Jon Paul Fiorentino, who wrote me a terrific letter of support specifically for the Stampede project, and to Paul Pearson at the AFA for being such a helpful, accessible contact. And-- I get to say this now for the first time in my life-- thank you to the AFA for their generous support! (although it doesn't kick in until the new year... gives me time to solve my problem with uploading images to this blog-- so I can paste the AFA logo here! Santa is bringing me more memory.)