Poetry in a nutshell?  Carl Sandburg’s quote in Cottage Quotes is a perfect description.

I’ve also added Martha Robinson’s Field Trip.  See where she hones her writing skills that lead to her success.

I’m excited to introduce my friend and fellow writer, Martha Robinson.  Martha and I have been in the Rock Hill Chapter of the South Carolina Writers Workshop for several years.  We’ve taken road trips together – a conference in Anderson and a literary festival in Florence among them, and have watched each other’s work change and grow.

Martha teaches English at Northwest High School in Rock Hill and is one of those teachers you hope your child has.  She attends students’ ballgames, music and theater productions and even chaperoned their prom.  And she still makes time to write.

Martha recently learned she was nominated for a Pushcart Award.  For those unfamiliar with the Pushcart, this is a rather prestigious award.  Nominations come from the editors of small literary presses.  Martha’s poem was published in the South Carolina Writers’ Workshop literary journal, The Petigru Review. ‘

But this is not Martha’s first taste of success.  She’s been published in SCWW’s previous journal, Catfish Stew in 2004.  “That publication totally stunned me because it was a simple little personal essay that I thought was a little corny – but it worked.”  She’s had poetry published in Mom Writers Literary Magazine (now published as Mamapoloosa) in 2008 and 2009.  In addition to her recent poem in The Petigru Review, she’s had other poems, personal essays and one short story in the journal in 2008, 2009 and 2010.  A flash fiction piece was published in moonShine review.

“If I counted everything, I believe I’ve had 9 or 10 pieces of work published, and earned a total of $25 for all those pieces of literature, but I do value the complimentary copies I’ve received of each publication.  I have had more success earning money through winning contests – short fiction, personal essay, and poetry.  I think I’ve earned over $100 through contests.”

I’m happy to open A Writer’s Window for Martha to learn more about being nominated for the Pushcart Award and her writing.  On the Bookshelf Martha tells us what authors she likes to read.