Welcome to my blog!

I hope you will like it here and will have fun reading what I have written for you.  My passion is writing and I want to share that interest with you.  Feel free to pass it on to others you think might enjoy it.  I’m a bookaholic, too.  I just can’t help it.  I love books; therefore, I also love authors.  Even though I don’t personally know most of the authors I read, I feel like I know them by the time I finish their book.

Authors are my mentors and have been my entire life.  Since I was a small child, I loved going to the library.  I loved the way it smelled; I loved touching the books; and I loved the illustrations.  The artwork transported me far, far away from my hometown of Liberal, Kansas and I envisioned myself in the pictures, alongside the characters in the book.

Each week, as I approached the check-out desk, clutching my library card in one hand and half a dozen books in the other arm, I knew I was in for an encounter with the scary librarian, Miss Jessie Jordan.  Dowdy Miss Jordan was tall, slender, and wore her brown hair in a bun at the nape of her neck. She wore a beige shirtwaist dress, grandmotherly shoes, and looked over her wire-rimmed glasses at me with a scowl.  Then she began her weekly lecture.

“Books are your friends, Stephany.  You must treat them gently. Don’t turn down any pages, and  always wash your hands before touching them.”  There must be a reason I remember her stern admonishments decades later.  She made an impression on me, though, because, to this day, I wash my hands before I pick up a book.  I also have a huge collection of bookmarks!  Sometimes, when I dare to turn down a page in my own book, I feel her disapproving look.  Now that’s what I call a life-long impression!

In my next blog, I’ll tell you about a book I’ve written.  I think you’ll like reading about raising a well-adjusted child.

Welcome to the Poet's Corner!!

     After the success of our Poetry-Reading Event in conjunction with Gatsby Days on April 28, 2012, my neighbor, Brent Beckett, suggested that having a monthly Poet's Corner in The Standard might attract the poets in our community.  So, I made a proposal to Eric Copeland, who in turned presented the idea to Brian Rice.

     Brian decided that we should create a blog with a link to The Standard's web-site in order to guage the potential readership for a possible monthly column in the print edition.  So, here you are and we're glad.  Keep checking back each month to read the poetry of the featured poet.

     That featured poet could be you!  All you have to do is submit your original work to me at stephippo@aol.com and I'll get back to you.

     Again, poetry appreciator, poetry writer, or poetically curious--welcome to our poetry community.