Come out to Larksong Writers Place on Tuesday, April 9, at 7
Come out to Larksong Writers Place
I can't wait to guest-read with featured writer Kate Gale of Red Hen Press at Larksong Writers Place! I'll read from my newest book of poetry translations, The Slow Horizon that Breathes (2023), from World Poetry Books. I'll also share poems from "PULSE," forthcoming from Omnidawn Publishing (2026).
Here are the deets:
DATE: Tuesday, April 9, 2024
TIME: 7 to 9 pm Central Time
FEATURED AUTHOR: Kate Gale, author of "Under a Neon Sun"
GUEST WRITER: Maria Nazos
LOCATION: Larksong Writers Place
1600 N Cotner Blvd, Lincoln, NE 68505
Life Begins at 40…Neurodivergence, Self-Forgiveness, and a New Book
Before I blew out my 43rd birthday candles, my husband reminded me to make a wish. I realized something incredible: I had everything I could want. My forthcoming publication of “PULSE,” from Omnidawn Publishing, my second, long-awaited collection of poems, is one of the miracles.
There are so many more: my husband, my friends and students (you know who you are), my new job, and supportive coworkers. The last unexpected blessing was the confirmation that I am delightfully neurodivergent.
The day after my 43rd birthday, I received an ADHD diagnosis to complement several other preexisting conditions, including traits or diagnoses of OCD, PTSD, dyslexia, and dyscalculia. It’s funny that my brain localized all those acronyms close to one place.
The greatest gift you can give anyone is being yourself. There is a saying that life begins at 40; I agree. I’m just barely getting started.
My life now makes so much more sense. Since childhood and throughout much of my adult life, what others dubbed quirks, spaciness, and eccentricities seemed to culminate in perceived weaknesses.
The terrible standardized test scores. The awful math grades. The generally awful school grades. The inability to sit still. Always being in trouble for talking back. Getting teased by friends because I couldn’t understand how to play a simple card game. Getting teased by adults later in life because while working my many cash register jobs, I could NOT count back change, or money, to save my life. I also lack spatial relations, LOL. You do NOT want me to parallel park your car.
And yet, I have so much to be thankful for leading up to now. My unique brain chemistry has gifted me with a photographic memory. As I discovered in my later adult years, my strategic ability allows me to thrive in the workaday world because my mind works so quickly that I can look at websites and marketing strategies and create a smooth strategy. I published one of the few or first pantoums in The New Yorker. I crossed borders by myself, from Belize to Guatemala. I’ve had Balinese medicine men put their healing hands on me.
The most moving part of this journey is giving grace to that child, teenager, and adult who was not like the others. It means thanking the people who saw and see me throughout the years. It means forgiving family members, teachers, acquaintances, and former service industry bosses who attached synonyms for “dumb” and “weird” to my name, or at least saying to them I made it. So there.
The way I gauge whether I “made it” isn’t through the above accomplishments. It’s whether or not I, at 21, would’ve wanted to have a beer with me now. The answer is yes. I’d have a beer with me. I’d think I was A-OK and pretty cool.
I wish you and all your future selves the same. 💓
Celebrating Ominidawn’s Publication of “PULSE,”
I have incredible news to share, but first, I want to tell you about my world leading up to it.
Fifteen years ago, I published my first book. Fifteen years later, I struggled immeasurably.
What I hate most about my industry is that we take ourselves so seriously. We opt for polish over humanity when that’s what makes our writing worth reading. Our real bios are the ones spattered in grit.
Not me. Not today.
I’ve shared snippets here and there of my past, but never the whole thing, not because of embarrassment but because there’s a lot to the story.
Here’s an abridged version of my life until the present moment:
2002-2007
• Took my MFA in New York City, ready to conquer
• Sent out work, getting rejected relentlessly
• Worked every job imaginable and scraped by on food stamps
• Moved to Provincetown, MA, and spent eight years cleaning hotel rooms, working as a whale watch boat attendant, selling sunglasses, and teaching community college
2007-2012
• Crazy ex stalks me for a year and a half
• I end up homeless for another year and a half, surfing on couches
• I recovered from PTSD. Kept living on the Cape, working odd jobs
• Fed up with the minimum wage, I apply for PhD programs
• Mentors tell me I’m not cut out for academia due to my dyslexia and poor test scores
• I Googled PhD programs and found one in Lincoln, NE, that doesn’t require GREs
• Got a full fellowship to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• I melted down my gold jewelry to scrape together enough money to move
2012-2017
• Drove across the country to Lincoln, NE
• During the PhD program, I publish in The New Yorker
• I met my husband, fell in love, and stayed in Lincoln
• Ten years after my first book, I finally pulled together another collection of poems, “PULSE,” as my thesis
• People say my career will explode; it doesn’t
• I keep sending the book to contests, making EVERY finalist pool, and then nothing
• I tell myself I’ll wait and fight for the RIGHT publisher, someone who is kind and who COUNTS
2017-2022
• Took my Ph.D., left academia for good, and pursued a digital marketing career
• Agents expressed interest in “PULSE”; then they didn’t
• Publishers express interest; then they don’t
• “PULSE” keeps making book contest finalist pools
• I put the book and poetry aside for a year
• Finally, I return, refusing to give up. Just like a heartbeat, I will not stop listening to the poems
2023
• I send the manuscript to Rusty Morrison at Omnidawn Publishing
• In 2026, Omidawn will publish “PULSE”
• Rusty, the editor of the press and a splendid teacher, editor, and poet, and I are happily working together to find the book’s best self
If I sound proud of myself, that’s because I am.
I have love for too many people to name who put up with my tantrums and resilience over the last decade and a half. Rusty Morrison, Deb Hicks, TJ Jarrett, Rick Christiansen, Emily Simmons, Martín Espada, Bill Berry, Travis Russell, Jayne Marten, and countless others.
Keep listening to your heartbeat.
Open for business & scanning new horizons!
As I scan the horizon for my next career, I’m looking for a place I can call home.
I also realize that so much of my transformation manifested right here at home this summer due to the privilege of taking a break.
As a result, I want to open up my creative and life coaching services for anyone who might need them.
A few years ago, a woman emailed me, “What experience DO you have as a life coach, exactly?”
I immediately felt like an imposter. She was right, I thought to myself. I don’t have an official certificate. Who am I to call myself a life and creative coach?
And so, I metaphorically closed the curtains on my dream. I took down my Google listing. I removed my website bio.
Nearly two years later, I realized how ridiculous I was. Of course, I have the credentials and the success to help you.
In this case, the achievements aren’t mine - they belong to my beloved students, clients, and friends.
Chances are, if you’re reading this post right now, one of these many successes is yours. Don’t be afraid to comment; take credit for our work together.
Does one or more of these success stories apply to you?
🎓 You’ve been accepted to competitive internship programs and Ivy League schools thanks to your talent and my support.
💷 When you took one of my classes, you decided to change your major to English, graduating with a fulfilling career.
📜 I helped you get a job by reviewing your resume or contacting the right peeps.
✏ You have gone on to publish poems in reputable journals because your work is just that fricking good and because I pushed - and continue to push you.
🗞 You have gone on to attend highly competitive MFA programs, a destiny you deserved, but needed a push and killer new poems due to taking my class.
So, to respond to that woman who emailed me and my inner critic: Yes, I have experience as a life and creative coach. And I’d love to help you out.
I also decided to ditch the prices and work with people on a case-by-case basis.
So, if you have:
🖋 Poems to publish
📰 Career or academic materials to revise
👣 Or want a loving kick in the butt? Here’s looking at you.
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