Author: LaToya Jordan

I've always been a writer. I fell in love with books as a little girl. One day I told myself I was going to have a book with my name on it, so I started writing. I wrote in diaries and journals. I wrote soap operas. I wrote the occasional poem and short story. I… Continue reading Writing Through Trying Times

I'm here! I have been neglecting my duties to my blog. For my thousands of loyal readers (ha) I'm sorry. With the holidays, working on my chapbook, writing for The Rumpus, and life in general, I've let it slip. This year, I am going to attempt to write a poem a week. I will probably… Continue reading Quick Shout: Write Resolution

I should've mentioned this when I first began. Those 12 of you who read my blog probably already know this, but I am doing a couple of posts on Sundays at The Rumpus. Check out what I've written so far: http://therumpus.net/author/latoya-jordan/

Yesterday was the Girls Write Now Poetry Workshop on short poetry forms, co-led by yours truly. I have to admit I was pretty much shaking in my sneakers and I wore a dark shirt so that the girls couldn't see how my pits were sweating profusely. The sections I had to lead were for the… Continue reading Oh hai Haibun

Ok, technically I won't be standing at an actual podium, but I will be one of the poets featured in the next issue of Podium, the 92nd Street Y Unterberg Poetry Center's online literary journal. Currently, Podium only publishes the work of students in their poetry workshops. The workshop leaders choose a student to represent… Continue reading I’ll be standing at the podium

So, this news is about a month old...but better late than never, right? My poem, "Prayer for My Fiance before His Bachelor Party," was nominated for the Best of the Web by the Splinter Generation. Read their announcement here.

Yes, that is the long title to one of two new poems that are featured in the October 2010 issue of MiPOesias. There's a poster in New York City that used to be on all the subways with a photo of Jerry Orbach and how he donated his eyes to the Eye Bank of New… Continue reading Jerry Orbach Gave the Gift of Sight to Two New Yorkers

You press the send button on your e-mail. A nice burst of adrenaline and possibility. You wait and wait, sometimes dreaming of your name in lights, other times the doubting rain clouds take over. And then the wait is over and you have your answer. A form rejection letter. This is how it feels:

Is one of the descriptions given for what kind of poetry Breadcrumb Scabs likes to receive. I definitely have many poems that fit, so I submitted to this journal back in spring/summer. Three of my poems, "Stuck in Traffic," "Doll Keeper," and "Terror Toma," appear in Issue 21 of the journal. Also, the editor of… Continue reading “Poems that make us feel nauseous.”