Dearest Friends, Family, Fellow Authors, and Cherished Readers,
I am pleased to announce that I was once again long-listed for the international erbacce-prize.
You can find my name amongst those of around 130 other incredibly talented, innovative, brilliant poets from across the world.
As a Young writer – a lady never reveals her exact age but I am in my mid-20s – this is an unexpected and much-welcome honor for me. I was long-listed in 2021, 2022, and now 2023.
All of the poets on the list come “highly commended,” and the term “Crème De La Crème of poets world-wide” was also used. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the winners, and of course to the editors and judges at the erbacce-prize for believing so fiercely in my work.
I firmly believe in the power of the written word. Words have the power to move us, to change us, to unite us, to divide us, to provoke and to protest, to soothe and to inflame, to sway us and convince us. Words hold power, and finding the right ones is almost like casting a spell – you must find the correct order, just the right ingredients, and grapple with the consequences of what is written. In the right hands, words have the capacity to save us, to educate us, to uplift us. Words can wound. But they can also heal us.
I am incredibly proud of where my writing career is taking me, and would like to thank my beautiful, loving mother – who has always supported my writing, and The One, The Only, The Greatest Great-Aunt Of Them All, My Great-Aunt Jo. Aunt Jo doesn’t have Internet access, but I have been mailing her my poetry since 2017. I sent her 42 letters in 2022 alone. Aunt Jo is 90 years young, and is becoming quite the discerning literary critic.
I would also like to thank everyone in my literary circle – you know who you are, and I wouldn’t be half the poet I am without such a strong support system of men and women who have been willing to mentor me, exchange letters, freely give their best advice, and support a young, up-and-coming writer in all the ways that matter. From the bottom of my heart, and the essence of my soul: thank you.
Stay tuned for updates on an Open Educational Resource (OER) I am creating on Ekphrastic Poetry for a graduate-level Digital Pedagogy course, and look out for my upcoming publication in Sunlight Press.
Until next time, my friends.
And, as always, may inspiration find you in unexpected places.
Fondly,
Caitlin Cacciatore
