January (2025) Update from MEH

Jan 02, 2025

My third full-length collection, said the Frog to the Scorpion was published.
I had the good fortune of seeing twenty-three poems and five creative nonfiction pieces published, as well as having some acceptances for publication in 2025. I’m not going to depress myself counting the number of rejections (especially for fiction).
I was honored with two Best of the Net and three Pushcart Nominations, and was named a Finalist for two awards and longlisted for another.
I met and read with some amazing poets at some great venues and joined Porcupine Literary (a journal for teachers, by teachers) as the CNF Editor.
MEHPoeting

Poetry Collections I’ve Recently Finished/Currently Reading

My creative nonfiction piece “Explaining ‘the patron saint of suicide’” was published in Nixes Mate Review.
As the title suggests, this is an essay that braids the stories of
- writing the poem “the patron saint of suicide” (originally published in Cola Literary Review, but also appearing in said the Frog to the scorpion),
- how well I disassociate while doing poetry readings, and
- a night when I didn’t disassociate while reading “the patron saint of suicide.”
“when asked what it’s like being a poet” was published and nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Whale Road Review
Two of my ekphrastic poems, "The Most Dangerous Game" & "La Voix du Silence," were published in the latest issue of Lily Poetry Review , guest edited by Anthony Walton and Heather Treseler. Read them here.

For January (so far…)

Sunday, January 5, 2025 (2:30 PM 5:00 PM) ~ Featured reader at The Word at Workshop 13 [13 Church Street Ware, MA, 01082]
The Word is a monthly poetry open mic & reading series at Workshop13, a cultural arts & learning center in Ware, Massachusetts. We start with an engaging, compassionate open mic with a featured reader to follow right after. The event takes place in Workshop13’s Great Hall, a refurbished church and a beautiful space to read, listen, and be heard. BYOB. Free popcorn. This is an all ages event. SIGN-UPS start at 2:30. Open mic starts promptly at 3pm, with our featured reader to follow after a short break.

Matthew E. Henry (MEH)'s Substack