Growing

Growing hurts sometimes;

saying goodbye to friends,

to things you've known and done

to things you wanted to do.

Growing heals sometimes

the shattered dreams and hopes

of a life you once knew

leading you to a new knowledge of yourself.

Growing is fun sometimes

meeting new friends

learning new things

making changes that feel good and moving on.

Growing is necessary always.

Without change there is stagnation

death instead of life.

To choose to live is to choose to grow.

Fran is a Career Counsellor, Workshop Developer and Facilitator and e-zine Editor. You can sign up for her ezine at or check out her website for more information

In The News:

Los Angeles Times
Wislawa Szymborska, a Nobel Prize-winning Polish poet, dies at 88
Washington Post
Wislawa Szymborska, a Nobel Prize-winning poet who used the imagery of everyday objects and a mordant style to explore dramatic themes of human experience including love, war and death, died Feb. 1 at her home in Krakow, Poland. She was 88.
Wislawa Szymborska, Nobel-Winning Polish Poet, Dies at 88New York Times
The World Remembers Wislawa SzymborskaHuffington Post (blog)
Wislawa Szymborska dies at 88; Nobel-winning Polish poetLos Angeles Times
Philadelphia Inquirer -Hindustan Times -Wall Street Journal
all 274 news articles »

Flush Poets Society: Donnelly's 'Cloud Corporation' Wins Six-Figure Prize
NPR
by David Orr "Poetry" and "money" are rarely found in the same sentence, unless a practitioner of the former is lamenting his dearth of the latter. Most poets get by on odd jobs, occasional grants, adjunct teaching, snippets of journalism or â€” in the ...
Timothy Donnelly of Brooklyn wins Kingsley Tufts Poetry AwardNew York Daily News (blog)
Brooklyn man wins Kingsley Tufts Poetry AwardWall Street Journal
Claremont Graduate University Announces Winners of 2012 Tufts Poetry AwardsPR Newswire (press release)

all 142 news articles »

Telegraph.co.uk
Scotland referendum: We need a poetry of the Union to defeat Salmond's freedom ...
Telegraph.co.uk
Not that Labour's role in the campaign won't be vital â€“ I'll come back to this, because it's related to those shocking deprivation figures in Glasgow â€“ but Tories are the natural romantics of the Union, and should develop and articulate a poetry about ...

and more »

Poetry adding cheer to go with your beer
This is Kent
FOLLOWING last week's performances by Olympic poet Lemn Sissay in Thanet alongside Burns Night, Brown Ale takes a look at wordsmiths providing punters with purple prose to punctuate their pints. Spoken word has taken off in recent years with lyricists ...

and more »

DNAinfo
Nepali Poets Share Love of Homeland at Jackson Heights Festival
DNAinfo
Noted Nepali poet Govinda Giri Prerana will read his works at the Nepali poem festival on Sun., Feb. 5, in Jackson Heights. (Govinda Giri Prerana) JACKSON HEIGHTS â€” When Anjali Roka came to the United States in 2003, she tried to fit in with ...

Chicagoist
Langston Hughes Poetry Reading Returns
TheDay.com
The MAC's fourth Langston Hughes Community Poetry Reading will feature poets, educators, artists, students and members of the community celebrating the legacy of the renowned African American poet with readings from Hughes' voluminous body of work.
Celebrating The Legacy Of Langston HughesNPR
Langston Hughes Comes AliveChicagoist
African American Studies Presents The Langston Hughes ProjectValdosta State University

all 5 news articles »

Wigan Today
Poetry night reads well
Wigan Today
WHILE it seems a quiet one this week for music, sample some poetry from local writers instead. Write Out Loud (WOL) will take place next Thursday at the Tudor House Hotel. The open mic nights, which are run by local poet John Togher, give Wigan writers ...

Poetry in images and words
Washington Post
Both phenomena illustrate good reason why the poet, wooed by both Melancholy and Mirth, settles for the latter: â€œThese delights, if thou canst give, Mirth with thee, we mean to live.â€ Jennifer Santley, Falls Church.

Still time to make your poetry public
Iowa City Press Citizen
Where can you find Press-Citizen Poetic License regulars Lois Muehl and Art Small publishing alongside former Iowa Poet Laureate Marvin Bell and International Writing Program director Christopher Merrill? The answer: Only in the list of poems and poets ...

and more »

La. poet laureate to be in Leesville
Alexandria Town Talk
Louisiana Poet Laureate Julie Kane will make two stops in Leesville on Feb. 13 to offer presentations on humor in poetry and sign copies of her poetry volumes. Kane, a professor of English at Northwestern State University, makes public appearances and ...

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