My First Published Work Is... A Poem?

Several years ago I read the book The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, prompted by the release of the movie adaptation. Because I liked it well enough, I started to look into John's other works and I also became aware of his online presence. This is how I stumbled across the YouTube channel vlogbrothers, co-created by John Green and his brother Hank. (There's no easy way to explain what their channel is about, so I won't try -- and this does all relate to poetry, I promise!)

As John and Hank's online community grew (and became known by the name "nerdfighters" -- again, no easy way for me to explain), the Green brothers realized they were in a unique position to unite their fans and followers as a significant force for good in the world. Out of their efforts came The Foundation to Decrease World Suck, among other projects that help a variety of charities and causes internationally. ( http://www.fightworldsuck.org/ )

Several months ago a project to collect poetry from the nerdfighter community to be published into a book was started, with the idea that all the proceeds would go to the Foundation (and thus to charity). A call was sent out for submissions, and, since I had written some poetry as an assignment for my creative writing class a few years back, I polished up a poem and sent it in. Amazingly, mine happened to be one of the hundred chosen for the book! I was very pleased, and a bit amused, because I don't really consider myself a poet at all but I'm happy to contribute in some small way to projects that help increase the quality of life for people around the world.

Today, November 20, 2018, after months of anticipation, the poetry book is now available on Amazon! I'm excited to buy a copy for myself and see not only my own work but also the collective creativity that the nerdfighter community has to offer by way of poetry. None of us are going to get famous from our involvement in this project, and we aren't getting paid for our submissions, but knowing that we can use our talents to come together and make a positive difference in the world is good enough for me.

(If you're interested, just search for Life (as it) Happens: a nerdfighter poetry book on www.amazon.com to purchase the book. Both paperback and Kindle versions are available.)