I have been writing since I was in fifth grade, but I did not save many of my early poems. My first poem, written in response to The Stars Are Ours by Andre Norton, was a reflection on the supposed inevitability of war. I would have been nine or ten years old at the time, but was already deep into both biblical novels and science fiction. I know that poem is around here somewhere. I will add it when I can locate it, again. In my college years I wrote some poetry, book reviews, and micro-stories, and I maintained a daily journal. Fortunately, almost nothing that I wrote before 1975 survived; only a few poems, a micro-story and a book review were published, and so embarrassment was limited.
“Luncheon Guests” appeared in a literary journal out of Grand Forks, North Dakota,Bloodroot, which I expect no longer exists; the editor made a slight change to my wording that altered the tone of the piece. “Crying Children” was published in the Dec. 1979/Jan. 1980 edition (I think) of Ours, a publication of the International Mission of Hope. Shortly after its publication I made some changes to wording, and the poem has been republished several times. I have withdrawn submissions then acceptance was conditional on making alterations to my work that substantially changed its intent.
In the early 1990s, a pastor of the church I attended at the time asked me to write some calls to worship (four-line verses to be sung by the choir), and as well, a series of poems, structured around specific Bible passages speaking to the theme “The Faces of Jesus,” which were read aloud each week before the midweek Lenten service; they also served as daily group meditation/discussion pieces at the luncheon meetings held during Holy Week.
My micro-story “Outreach” was written out of frustration with the observed superficiality of Christian evangelism taking place around me during a specific time period in my life. It does, however, have a wider application and implications for how one lives one’s life with respect for the lives and dignity of others. I probably mention here that quite a bit of what I write, although by no means everything I’ve gotten published, tends toward satire or irony. In compensation for my not having a sense of humor.
