I didn’t make any resolutions for 2007 because I figured all the ones I’d made in the past should be kicking in right about now and producing some positive tangible results. The one exception (to not making any) is my standard resolution to always learn from mistakes in any given sphere of my life––poetry, prose, romance, career, finances, choice of toilet paper, etc.–– and do better the next time an opportunity presents itself.

There must have been some wisdom in my approach because the last week of 2006 continuously brought news of good things to come in 2007. While completely unaware that I was even being considered for such an honor, The Writing Forum (at http://thewritingforum.net/html/aberjhani.html ) selected me as its Poet of the Month for January 2007. The web site is one I enjoy both because of the opportunity to share my work with others and for the extraordinary beauty of the graphic art designs used to showcase each individual poet’s work.

I also received word that an interview I had done with the writer Randall Barfield was under consideration for publication in a leading e-zine that has also requested some poetry to go along with the piece. I’m trying to hold off pending confirmation before saying exactly which e-zine it is.    

On the other hand: MISSISSIPPI CROW, a small press literary magazine bravely continuing in the tradition of such publications as the Antioch Review and African American Review, announced that it plans to publish poetry from my first book, I MADE MY BOY OUT OF POETRY, in its spring and/or summer 2007 issue.  Edited by Nadia Giordana, the magazine has won a very strong reputation for living up to its motto of “Art, Humor, and the Pleasures of Everyday Life.”

I’m looking forward to seeing my work in these various journals just as I’m looking forward to completing edits on a novel that I’ve been working on for some five or six years. That should make life in 2007 pretty interesting also.

Aberjhani

http://www.aberjhani.com