Listening for Low Tide_Eric Hoffer Award

Listening for Low Tide, my chapbook, has been awarded an honorable mention by the Eric Hoffer Book Award. The results were released today, May 15. 

I'm pleasantly surprised and very happy at seeing the recognition given to my poems.

The commentary on my chapbook reads,

"Listening for Low Tide, James P. Cooper, Choeofpleirn Press - In these metaphysical yet modern poems, the boundaries between dreaming and waking blur, and so do the borders incurred on maps and within human existence. These verses remind readers about the value of solitude and silence in this ever busy and confusing world. This collection asks for a moment to "hear / the wintering geese before eight / of them glide onto the far shore." Place is deeply important, presenting deep reflections about cities, roadsides, rural spaces, and personal ranges that gently evoke remembrance of how even the darkest train track can shape a person's life."

Poem in Slant, Spring 2024

A poem of mine appears in the Spring, 2024 issue of Slant. Click on the following link to read my poem titled "With No Life Preserver Within Reach." 

My parents, by the way, moved to Northern Ireland, my mother's home, when my father retired after spending thirty years in the U.S. Navy.

Ernie Miller Nature Center

I recently visited the Ernie Miller Nature Center, which is located on the edge of the Kansas City metro area. It's a place that I hope to visit again soon, despite being able to hear the city traffic in the distance. The picture appearing below appeals to me because the dead tree in the foreground seems to resemble a dragon or an alien creature of some kind. It helps to enlarge the picture by clicking on it.

Spring Color

A few pictures of spring along the Missouri River appear below. I missed getting more pictures of the pear trees when they were in bloom. After my fall last autumn, something that I described in a previous post, I had not started to take pictures again until recently.

Glacial Hills Review: A Call for Submissions

Glacial Hills Review is looking for nonfiction, poetry, and art. The deadline is May 26. For more information, go to https://www.choeofpleirnpress.com/home