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My Walk's avatar

beautifully written, I want to be remembered the same way. I also can't think of a greater honor than to have them take one off the shelves & discover what you've written even if it doesn't rhythm. Lovely just lovely 💞

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Jody L. Collins's avatar

So kind of you Marilyn. Thank you.

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Meagan's avatar

Yay Jody! :) She's a gem! I got to know her when I still lived in Seattle!

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Rona Maynard's avatar

Thank you, Matthew and Jody. What lucky grandkids you have!

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Jody L. Collins's avatar

Oh @Rona Maynard you are too kind :-) I feel lucky, too! thanks for reading.

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Jody L. Collins's avatar

Matthew, your kind words fill my heart--it's such a joy to help your audience (maybe a little) make friends with poetry. Thank you--it is a gift to be connected in the virtual world of the Substack community.

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Claire Adderholt's avatar

YAY Jody!! A moving article and so delighted to see this!

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Kim Gronsman Lee, MD's avatar

Okay, now I’m fan-girling Jody (is “fan-girling” a transitive verb??) because I want to grow up to learn to write better poetry but I don’t know how… this gives me hope 🥹

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Jody L. Collins's avatar

Ahhhhh.... well goodness you've made me smile. Thank you for the kind words... I'm 72 and my first book was published when I was 65. There's always time to discover more of what God made us for.

PS I have a bunch of how to write and read poetry via this tab on my Substack: You might find something helpful there--nothing behind a paywall. Please reach out if you have questions or want to connect.

https://jodycollins.substack.com/t/poetry-and-writing-resources

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Maureen Doallas's avatar

A lovely essay, Jody.

We share a significant influence/continued presence in our lives: L.L. Barket. If I recall correctly, the Twitter Poetry Party I happened upon so many years ago was my introduction to Laura. I love her poetry and am grateful to her for bringing out a collection of my work. Also, I wrote for both The High Calling and Tweetspeak.

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Jody L. Collins's avatar

hi @Maureen Doallas wow—it’s been awhile. I remember all your connections with Laura and your book. Thanks for your kind comments—the writing overlap/connections make it a small world indeed.

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R Lincoln Harris's avatar

Thanks for sharing this piece. It's always enlightening to find out what makes a writer tick. It's different for every one, but it's always worth knowing about.

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Susie Mawhinney's avatar

I literally couldn't stop reading this essay Jody, a delightful read Jody and Matthew, thank you both for sharing.

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Jody L. Collins's avatar

Susan, you are so kind--thank you!

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