About Me

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Jim Croteau lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan with his partner of 31 years, Darryl, and their two Labrador retrievers. He grew up gay and Catholic and white in the southern United States in the 1960’s and 70’s and has spent his adult life in small non-coastal cities, mostly in the Midwest. He loved his mother very much. He began writing poetry in May 2012 at first to cope with life in times of aging and then, well, he sorta caught the poetry bug. He is still working as a professor in Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology at Western Michigan University.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

I'm back in Ogunquit and It's been a good few months on the poetry front

Along with the usual slew of rejections, I have had some acceptances in the past few months that I am excited about. 

The Twenty-Ninth Hail Mary, a villanelle, was taken by the Naugatuck River Review for publication in the early Fall.  I have had my eye on this journal for a while because its focus is narrative poetry.

Two poems were accepted by Muddy River Review.  I do well with river journals.  When a Gay Boy Dreams in 1969 and In the Name of the Mother, the Dog, and the Too Strict Nun will be published in the Fall.  In the Name of  was inspired by my mother and was the first poem I ever wrote (revised countless times over about a five year period).  It is special to this blog because the reference to "talking dogs" is from that poem.

Haibun Today asked for a revise and resubmit and I am optimistic I will have something in their next issue.  This would be my second time getting published by them and they have been fantastic about feedback and a chance for revision. My impression is that they are dedicated to teaching the art of the haibun.

Lastly, the place where I have been most frequently published, New Verse News, took my poem written in the car on the way here as I learned of the Orlando massacre. It was published earlier this week.  Please give it a read.  June 12, 2016: Who Counts.