A celebration of the achievements of many members will be held Sunday, March 26th at 2:00 PM at the New Providence  Library.  Thanks to our Program Chairperson, Cherie Pritchett.  The authors published in Goldfinch will read their work followed by an open mic for members and non-members alike.  Copies will be given out at the Launch to members.  Come get your copies!

Goldfinch's success is the result of the time, diligence, and wisdom of Co-Editors, Mary Omnsted and Karen Haefelein.  Their  team of readers, Juanita Kirton, Dorothy Ryan, Cincy DiTaranto, Mary ann Mosa,Maureen Haggarty, Pat Weissner and Sarah Ducksworth, combined their efforts to produce a journal of quality that showcased the work of our membership.

Volume 19 will be in members' mailboxes very soon, but they can get them early at our Goldfinch Launch on Sunday, March 26th at the New Providence Library.

Several of our veterans asked newer members to share their thoughts on being published in Goldfinch.  

Lisa Honecker, "Sarah Ducksworth, how did you feel when your poem got accepted by Goldfinch?"  

Sarah Ducksworth, "I was surprised and happy. I felt I was taking a huge risk when I sent a poem entitled 'Dead and Unburied' to Goldfinch judges. The title sounded bizarre even to me, but it was the most appropriate title I could think of to fit my response to a prompt provided by Poets and Writers magazine. The prompt was 'death.' This word proved so depressing to me that just thinking about it made me want to cry. Finally, I thought, 'I can deal with death as a fact of life, but I can also see that a person does not have to stop breathing to be dead. One only needs to stop engaging with others, lose interest in Nature, not give love or accept it-- in which case one could be dead and unburied.' Putting this idea in a poem, I thought, would be risky because the reader might not be able to get past the title before putting the poem aside. I was wrong. The judges read it through and gave it a thumbs up. I was very glad to see the poem vindicated by being published.

Lisa Honecker, "Sarah, did you enjoy having your husband and your daughter there in the audience supporting your writing?"

Sarah, "I very much enjoyed having my husband and daughter in the audience to hear me read my poem. My husband asked me to read it to him at home before reading it to others in public. So I actually read it to him at the breakfast table.  After he heard the poem, he asked me why I had written such a sad piece. I told him I had written it in response to a prompt, and he said that I had better tell my audience where the idea came from. otherwise, he said, people may think of me as weird. So I followed his advice and told the Goldfinch audience that the poem came from a prompt."

Lisa Honecker, "How did you feel about the audiences' responses of your poem?   You may answer honestly."

Sarah, "Well, I really did not pay much attention to the audience's reaction while I was reading the poem. I never do because, when I read a poem I totally concentrate on its meaning and try to fit the meaning into the flow of the poem. I try to get inside the poem and experience it as an insider; and though, I look at the audience, I am really only interacting with the poem. Now, I believe that if I read a poem correctly, the audience will accept it and appreciate the communication even when they don't really like the message. I am sure some people may have preferred not to have such a negative description of a person (a petrified tree) presented, but I think I read the poem well enough to make them say, 'Well, that poem does impart a bit of truth.'  After I finished my reading, Juanita said something like, 'That's a good way to start the evening.' My husband did not frown, and my daughter did not roll her eyes. So I figured the rest of the audience was probably equally generous in their acceptance of my poem. I may be wrong, but that's how I judged the level of my success in reaching the audience."