Imbolc Roundup and Subscription News
The Other Elements, Paint & Prose Arts & National Poetry Month
“Imbolc”—Watercolor pencil on paper by Samantha Lazar, 2003
Happy spring, dear subscribers! I hope the blossoms are full where you live. I am excited about this long weekend, as my garden beds need some attention! It’s that time again. There is little that’s more satisfying to me than digging in the dirt. I find it so meditative.
There’s a lot going on in my creative world. Here’s a glimpse.
March Round-Up
I guess this is less a round-up and more a highlight. Over on Medium, editor Thomas Gaudex of Scribe held a poetry contest on the theme of the approaching spring. I am humbled that my poem “Rolling Land of the Early Blooms” was selected (among three others) to be a winner. Here is the poem:
There'll be snow in Appalachia tonight but I'm in the rolling land of the early blooms memories of rhododendron tunnels replaced by cusps of azaleas - blossoms resume done are we with daffodils, Bradford pears have dropped white for green crocus moves aside for tulip and iris phlox will blanket mulch and weed and I'm surprised by the burst of color announced overnight, so it seems as a child in a secret garden, I forget the changing season dreams 2023
National Poetry Month!
This month I am celebrating National Poetry Month in many ways. Of course, I am teaching all about it in my classroom, my creative writing club has created a literary magazine, and I am hosting a poet laureate competition for the whole school. Personally, I am trying to learn about as many contemporary poets as I can. On Medium, I am selecting my favorite lines from the studied poets and turning them into “Quote Prompts.” If you subscribe to my work on Medium, you can find the prompts and inspired poetry in this list, which will be updated throughout the month.
Paint & Prose Arts
I am most excited about this new endeavor! A friend and I have started a business that combines our love for the visual and written arts. We will have many offerings including a shop (ETA fall, 2023). We have a blog and if you are local to me, studio days and workshops. You can check all of this out here:
Paint & Prose Arts.
The Other Elements
Finally, I have a new subscription here on Substack: The Other Elements. This is a paid subscription and readers will get subscriber-only content including previously unpublished work, journals, previews of works in progress, and free friend links to my paid work on Medium (among other content as it comes up). I hope you will consider supporting my creative work.
Thank you for reading! Have a great day! —Samantha