"Poetry by F. L. Oakes" Book Review

It was such a pleasure talking to Fred Oakes about his poetry--such a nice, polite, and funny guy. Imagine taking up a new art form at the age of 81! That's what I call inspirational.


Read my article on him and his first collection of poetry here:
https://www.recorder.com/Valley-Verses-Greenfield-poet-reflects-on-nature-s-beauty-human-experience-24170283

F. L. Oakes at the Greenfield Co-Op

Warwick Writing Workshop

Here's the link to my article about the Warwick Writing Workshop! It was fun and inspiring to be around so many people dedicated to their craft and so supportive of each other!

I hope that Elaine Reardon hosts another one soon--closer to me :)

https://www.recorder.com/Valley-Verses-Writers-create-together-through-Warwick-workshop-23606690

Beverly Ketch's Play "The Maiden, the Hunter, and the Stag" featured in The Recorder

My article about Beverly Ketch's Play "The Maiden, the Hunter, and the Stag" came out in The Recorder today!

It was such a pleasure talking to Ketch (who is such a delightful person). It was also fun to visit the Root Cellar for the first time (I know, I know, I've only lived in the area how many years?). 

https://www.recorder.com/Music-play-23200632

Ketch’s play will be staged again on Feb. 14 at 8:30 p.m., as an introductory act for The Heartbreak Ball at The Root Cellar, 10 Fiske Ave. in Greenfield.

https://www.recorder.com/getattachment/eb3b4472-6705-461c-9422-537240a01bd4/LIT-Ketch-Play-020719-ph01
Beverly Ketch, right, sings in her one-act play at The Root Cellar in Greenfield. She is joined by Wednesday Knudsen on guitar and Sarah Lanzillotta, who plays the young maiden at left. Staff Photo (Greenfield Recorder)/PAUL FRANZ

Slate Roof Press Feature Article

Check out my feature article for the Recorder about the local publishing group Slate Roof Press:

https://www.recorder.com/Northfield-based-Slate-Roof-Press-connects-poets-and-community-22168022

It was so much fun interviewing the poets and listening to them talk about their passion for writing.

Seeing the students warm up to the poets was amusing--if you look at the photos, you can see that they avoided the front row of seats entirely. By the end of the reading, however, they were really into it. Some read their poetry to the poets, and others were fully inspired to submit their work to the press as well as to the Poet's Seat Contest next year.

Also, Abbot Cutler (pictured below with fellow poets Cindy Snow, Amanda Doster, and Janet MacFadyen) used to be my adviser and poetry professor at MCLA, so it was awesome to see him again and catch up. 

HWP Contributor Showcase

After publishing my poem "Bardwell's Ferry Bridge," Haunted Waters Press also added me to their very special "contributor showcase." I feel very honored, and am of course excited to see my picture on their website!

Here's the link:

http://www.hauntedwaterspress.com/contributors/nicole-k-braden-johnson/

Publication in Haunted Waters Press

I'm very excited to announce that my poem "Bardwell's Ferry Bridge" was published in the brand-new online edition of Haunted Waters Press titled SPLASH!

http://www.hauntedwaterspress.com/bardwells-ferry-bridge/

I'd like to give a shout-out to the HWP team and their amazing work. They actually did some research, found the bridge I am referencing, and did an awesome artistic rendition thereof to go along with the poem.

I don't want to steal their image, but here is a picture of the original bridge and you can see on their website what they did with that:


(Picture source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bardwell%27s_Ferry_Bridge)

Turkey's of the World Unite

Check out my husband's Thanksgiving poem here:

http://critojazz.blogspot.com/2010/11/poem-for-turkeys.html