2022 started off cold and clear ...

- Ongoing:  Monthly readings at online poetry events and participating in writing circles

-January 31, the Wild Word, a literary journal from Berlin, Germany, published three of my poems in their Wintering Issue: 
Winter Reverie
Nighttime Deer
You Are a Winter Garden

 



 

 

 

-January 24, Feature Poet, Calgary's Single Onion reading series.  This series, created by Kirk Miles, is where I first heard the word spoken and was inspired to return to writing and to share my poetry.  






 

 

 

-January 21, the Edmonton group Stroll of Poets published my poem Guileless in their Poetry ReMix series


I have started to create video-readings of my published poems.  Here is one of my favourites,
The Smell of Sawdust, published in WordCity Lit in November, 2021.
 

 

 

-January 12, WordCity Lit published my poem
That Forgotten Place, inspired by TS Elliot. 



-in early February, I participated in the Loft 112 project
Cards for Community with my submission for the neighbourhood of Deer Run.

 

-To celebrate Valentine's Day, I participated in the Spontaneous Poetry, Poetry in Union, a The League of Canadian Poets' initiative.

-Also in late February, Antje Stehn with the Rucksack project, a Global Poetry Patchwork in the Piccolo Museo della Poesia in Piacenza, Italy, featured my poem Garden Tea, Poetry in both English and Italian.
There is a voice recording of my poem in English, and a video recording of the Italian version.







-March 6, I participated in a reading with Philadelphia's Moonstone Arts Center, a celebration of International Women's Day.  I shared Mothers' Hands during the reading, and submitted the following poem,
The Map Life Leaves Upon the Body for the accompanying anthology.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

-March 6, I shared these same poems in the Cultivating Voices Live Poetry celebration of International Women's Day.  My reading commences at 1 hour 54 minutes.




-on March 7, I was interviewed by Dr. Michael Anthony Ingrams, a retired university professor in Washington, DC, for Quintessential Listening: Poetry Online Radio.  This is one of the world’s most listened-to poetry podcasts. 



-The League of Canadian Poets published Leap, a poetic tribute to Lesley Strutt, which includes my poem
The Rooftop.  I wrote this poem on the occasion of my son's engagement.






-March 20, I participated in the second Poetic Nowruz, the celebration of Spring in the Persian tradition.  I read Release into Spring, which was translated into Farsi.  My reading starts at about 6 min 30.



-I participated in the online release of the long anticipated (M)othering Anthology, which includes my poem I am Ready to Memorize Mother.



 

 

-on March 21st, to coincide with the Spring Solstice,

Jim Jackson released our musical collaboration
Awaiting Spring, the third of four poems put to music to celebrate the seasons.  My words and voice, and his composition and music and accompanying vocals, available on Bandcamp and elsewhere.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My poem Fragments of Light was published in the first quarterly anthology for Fixed and Free 2022.  It is a tribute poem to Vinnie Yannone, stained-glass artist and beloved father of poet Sandy Yannone.



-April is Poetry Month!  I was elated to work with poet Saraswoti Lamichhane, editing this delightful project for Parkland Poets:  

A Posy of April Poetry is a month-long celebration that honors the International Poetry Month by sharing the pure delight of poetry contributed by the members of Parkland Poet’s Society.  Here is my poem, Release into Spring.

- April 1st
I was honoured to have my poem Wordless Cry appear on the Planet Earth Facebook Page for National Poetry Month:

Wordless Cry
by Josephine LoRe

in spring, fresh thoughts fly in
on the wing of nuthatch, thrush
weave themselves into nests

naked as fledglings they open
black beak to relentless sky
to be read against blue—
wordless cry


-April 11, my poem Tireless Travail, originally published in the 2021 Wine Country Writers' Festival Anthology, was translated into Farsi and featured on the Persian Ottawa radio program, Namashoum.
 

-On April 14th, I was one of the Featured Readers for the Parkland Poetry Reading Series.

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-April 15 GUSTS published two of my tanka in their gorgeous Spring edition

 

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-April 16, I participated in a reading of haiku and corresponding anthology put together by the Moonstone Center in Philadelphia along with a host of talented poets.
 

-April 18, it was a pleasure to serve as Mic Host for The Stroll of Poets Haven at Home.
 

-April 25:  publication of my poem
Imaginary Boulevard
Posted on April 25, 2022 by Mike Maggio
Part of the 330 for 30
30 days of poetry for April, in the US.
The challenge was to write a poem of 11 verses, each containing 11 syllables, on the theme of Imaginary Boulevard.

Imaginary Boulevard
night falls like rain in the curve of late season
strangers coo under eaves where old songs are sung
forgotten their homes, abandoned all reason
conversant now only in strange whispered tongue
trysting on Imaginary Boulevard
here fingertips trace syllabics onto skin
triangle, trapezoid, obelisk and ring
the scent of crushed bergamot, lavender tea
she brings his cupped hand to the shell of her ear
listens, listens … is that the cry of the sea?
its turgid farewell and its crystal salt tear


-Spreading my wings as an editor, along with a fine team of poets from Parkland Poetry, we put together this yearly anthology, Outlying Voices IV.  I contributed a visual poem entitled Full Stop, and participated in the Online Launch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

-May 17, I participated as an online reader at the virtual Haiku Canada yearly conference.

-May 23, WordCity Lit published my poem

we’ve held our breath, inspired by the perturbing situation in Ukraine.
My unending thanks to creator and editor Darcie Friesen Hossack.


-In May, Loft112 exhibited Exquisite Corps, a collaboration of three artists.  This year, I invited visual artist Terra Simieritsch and a young composer and pianist to work together with me, and we created this triptych.  I dedicate my poem to the memory of my nephew in Livorno, Italy.

-May 15:  Always an honour to read for Cultivating Voices Open Mic live.  My reading commences at 06:00, but I would recommend listening to all the poetry if you have the opportunity!

-The Indie YYC Inspires featured a video reading of my long poem, Not A Single Leaf, written in response to the ongoing tension and tragegy in Ukraine.




-June 1st, I was honoured be invited to be Feature Poet in the San Francisco reading series, Sacred Grounds:  
Daniel Philip Brady Sacred's Open Mic News
This Coming Week 06/01/22 @ 6:45pm PST sign-in06/01/22 
"Our feature is Josephine LoRe and comes highly recommended so I am excited "...

 

 

 

 

 

 

-June 9:  as I continue to expand my role in the poetry world, it was a treat to co-host a Parkland Poetry Reading featuring poets I have come to admire and be inspired by, including Susana Case

-June 17:  Podcast Feature
The Tea Set ... I am delighted to share that

Jason E. Coombes has chosen to showcase my poem
The Tea Set today on his poetry podcast, Eh Poetry.

This poem was shortlisted for the 2019 Room Poetry Prize and subsequently published by The League of Canadian Poets.
My thanks to Jason for his thoughtful reading.
 

 

-June 20:  it was a pleasure to participate in this launch and reading by Wendy Donowa, which featured poets who had written together in the Cowichan Valley

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-June 30:  my last days as a classroom teacher

(1989 - 2022)

 

 

 

 

 

-July:  publication of the collection Thirty Years of Strolling, which includes my poem Laundry Lines, which was inspired by a poem by Alice Major.
 


-July 5 Sonnet #22
I wrote a sonnet inspired by George Elliot Clark and submitted it to one of my writing circles, Inkspirations.  Fellow poet Mansour Noorbakhsh asked permission to translate my sonnet into Farsi and feature it on the Ottawa poetry radio program, Namaashoum.





 
 
 




-The fourth and final poem put to music by Jim Jackson for our collaborative Solstice & Equinox series,
A Litany of Blooms has been released and is available on Bandcamp and Spotify.  This poem was accepted for publication in the September issue of the Fixed and Free Quarterly Anthology.


-I took a haitus in July to attend my son's wedding, and then visit family.  Overcome by grief and loss as my father, aged 90, passed away on August 3rd.

-August 6:  I had accepted an invitation to read at the international launch of Amit Dahiyabadshah's Tiger Eye by co-ordinator Billy Brown, esteemed poet of Albuquerque.  I ended up reading a series of poems in honour of my father, including a piece written in his final days, To Sit Quietly.  That poem was published in the Autumn edition of Fixed and Free.

-August:  last Spring, I was invited to contribute to this collaboration of poetry and here it is in its beautiful form!  My thanks to creator and editor Josie Di Sciascio Andrews for including five of my poems, including 

Hide Me In Your Arms, inspired by Pablo Neruda.

-I learned that my submission to Femmes de Parole,  homage to the work of Canadian poet Lorna Crozier and my poem This Gossamer World, has been accepted and the collection has now been published!
Femmes de parole met en valeur la parole des femmes avec des jumelages internationaux de femmes poètes et des hommages à des poètes québécoises décédées avec des textes de femmes et d'hommes. Elle est d'une telle qualité graphique et littéraire qu'un éditeur français, les Éditions du Cygne, a offert son partenariat et la distribue dans l'Europe​ francophone. 

-August:  I submitted a voem (video recording of poem) of I am Ready to Memorize Mother, from the (M)othering Anthology to Indie YYC, an initiative of Wakefield Brewster's, current Poet Laureate of Calgary


-On Friday, August 26, I was a Feature Poet for the Surrey Muse Arts Society. I am dedicating my  reading to the dear memory of my father. The program was released in a live watch party on YouTube and will stay online permanently.  My reading starts at about 33 minutes.

 

 

-August 27

All The Way Up:  live poetry in Calgary.  The care and love I received as I read the grief poems ... Thank you, Calgary poets and poetry lovers

 

-due to family commitments, I had to decline the opportunity to present at and participate in this September event ... I had been planning on facilitating a workshop on metaphor, serving as a panelist, and offering Blue Pencil sessions at Penticton's Wine Country Writers' Festival ... next year, I hope !

 

-in September, I was touched that Darcie Friesen Hossack and the editorial board chose to publish my new poem, Bereft, in the newest issue of WordCity Lit

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-September 15

As part of the Single Onion Poetry Series, a number of contributors had the chance to read our work to a live audience at Calgary's Shelf Life Books.  The full recording is here, and my reading begins at about 30 minutes in.  My thanks again to editors Anne Sorbie and Heidi Grogan for the opportunity to share I Am Ready to Memorize Mother.  I read a small selection of poems inspired by (m)othering.  

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-A beautiful drive to the mountain town of Canmore, Alberta to take part in the Arts Place Spoken Word Cabaret, where I shared two poems.  A wonderful evening of live poetry!

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-Two pieces were published in the September issue of Fixed and Free Quarterly, in Albuquerque, New Mexico:  A Litany of Blooms and a poem dedicated to my father, To Sit Quietly, inspired by a passage by Robert Frost.

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-on October 7, I presented a talk entitled Creating a Concertina Haiku Photo Book for the Seasons as part of Australia and New Zealand's Haiku Society conference, Haiku Down Under.
 

 

-also in October, I received my copy of the Fall & Winter issue of GUSTS, the Tanka Journal, which contains three of my tanka

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femmes de parole No. 5

It was an honour to be invited to participate in a poetry initiative which is also a fundraiser for Ukraine.  The project, spearheaded by Nancy Lange in Quebec, features original poems written by renowned Ukrainian poets.  These poems were translated into French and I was asked to translate three of them into English:  There had never been and would nevermore be; I am the poet who pens; and The city no longer exists.

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A review of my poetry!

David Steinberg wrote a kind review of my poem, A Litany of Blooms, which was published in September issue of Fixed and Free, in The Albuquerque Journal:

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The title Fixed and Free Quarterly may not reveal much about its contents.

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But know this: It spills over with a cornucopia of poetry. Fifty-nine poets – the majority from New Mexico – contributed the 112 poems that spice up the third and most recent issue of the quarterly’s volume one.

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The poems are of varied lengths, moods and subjects.

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In “A litany of blooms,” Josephine LoRe fills the reader’s eyes and ears with a garden full of flowers’ common and Latin names.

...

 

-November 2:  I was invited to return as Feature Poet to San Francisco for Dan Brady's poetry series, the longest running in the US, Sacred Grounds.

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-I learned that Dinosaur Dreams has been accepted for publication in Nepal, in the World Poetry Movement:  Madness, an Anthology of World Poetry.  That makes 4 continents, 14 countries, and 4 languages ... 

 

-November 7, Cultivating Voices Live Open Mic, on the theme of Hunger, created and hosted by Sandy Yannone.  My reading starts at about 11 minutes.
 

 

 

-November 19

What a joy to participate in the live celebration of 22 years of Calgary's Single Onion Poetry Series.  This was where I first heard live poetry, back in 2016, and where I first read to a real live audience.  My thanks to Kirk Miles et al for the opportunities over the years to feature, for inviting me to serve as a board member, and for the chance to share some of my poems at the anniversary celebration.

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-I was invited to submit a poetry reading video to Indran Amirthanayagam's YouTube Poetry Channel.  This suite of poems is a tribute to my father.

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-November 26

Charlotte Digregorio published this holiday haiku on her daily Writer's Blog

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Christmas morning 

among the rowan berries 

   a lone cardinal 

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-November 22, feature reader at NOWW (the Northern Ontario Writers' Workshop), a group to which virtually belong.  I will add a link to the recording once it is available.  

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-November 29

Publication of my prose poem it was in FareForward, a literary journal out of Tennessee.  My thanks to the Poetry Editor for contacting me to request that they include this piece in this edition!

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Upcoming in 2022 and sneak-a-peak 2023:

-on December 8th, I will be a Feature Reader for the Parkland Poetry reading series

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-in the December issue of the Fixed and Free Quarterly Anthology, my poem nine-thirty will be published, along with a review of my collection, The Cowichan Series by Billy Brown

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-on December 15th, the League of Canadian Poets' series entitled Fresh Voices will be featuring my poem Liminalities

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-on December 19th, I will be a Feature Poet in the New York reading series Poetry Near and Afar

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-on January 9, 2023, I will be participating in the zoom reading for the 26th Annual Poetry Ink Anthology, part of Moonstone Poetry from Philadelphia

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-in February, I will again be participating in the online program to create unique, personalized, spontaneous Valentine poems through The League of Canadian Poets

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-hoping to .... bring to life a full-length manuscript of poems for publication in 2023 while continuing to find venues for publication of individual pieces in different countries around the world, and continue to participate in online readings at the local and global level

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