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Joanne the Poet - The Poetry of Joanne M. Clarkson

New Poem in CATAMARAN

My poem “Hemlock at Ten” is just out in vol. 4, Issue 4, Winter 2016 of CATAMARAN Literary Reader.  This is a glossy, magazine-sized journal that I first encountered in Barnes and Noble a couple of years ago.  The format with its beautiful artwork, often full-page sized, and plenty of white space around the poems and stories, attracted me visually.  The imagistic quality of the pieces included drew my imagination.  I though to myself then, “I sure would love to have a poem in here!”  The poem they accepted is based on a childhood memory of climbing a tree.  I was not an adventurous child, but when my friend enticed me, I followed her up what I recall as a giant hemlock.  I was terrified and terribly excited at the same time.  And when she finally coaxed me down. I was never the same.  I hope I captured this moment that even after more than 50 years, I cannot forget.

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