I have not posted much lately, so it is time to catch up. Frankly, this has not been the best Christmas season for either Marilyn or I. Marilyn has been dealing with a lot of conflict and dissension from all sides, and I have been dealing with a lot of anxiety and depression. I guess my seasonal affective disorder is kicking in, and it kind of snuck up on me this year. A couple of weeks ago, right in the middle of the Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith Christmas concert, I fell into a very deep depression with all of the accompanying accoutrements. I did feel better the next morning. I had friends praying for me, I contacted my doctor, and Marilyn brought me flowers. If I have any kind of platform no matter how limited it may be, I want to use it to make a difference. The suffering artist is all well and good, but I believe strongly that mental health issues need to be de-stigmatized in this country. Wherever you are, look at the people around you. You do not know what they are feeling or going through at this moment. Smile and be kind. You will feel better for it.
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Even with a case of laryngitis, sharing my poetry at the World AIDS Day Commemoration on December first at the Square Nightclub in Akron's Highland Square was a precious and sacred experience for me.
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I received a copy of both of these beautiful anthologies in the mail a couple of weeks ago. My poem about my maternal grandfather entitled “Shooting Crows in the Cornfield” is included in Gargoyle 74. A copy may be obtained on Amazon, the NewPages Magazine Webstore, or at https://gargoylepaycock.wordpress.com/.
My poem “There’s An Empty Bucket Coming” is included in the Christian Poetry Compilation Book. A copy may be obtained at
I am both proud and awed to have my work included along side so many other amazing poets.
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This past Saturday, I read my poem "Blackwater River Canyon" at the Women of Appalachia Project's virtual poetry reading and launch party hosted by the Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library. More information about this Project involving so many amazing and talented women and the dates and locations for future readings may be obtained by visiting:
Barbara Marie Minney is a transgender woman, poet, writer, speaker, and quiet activist. She is a retired attorney and originally from West Virginia. Now based in Tallmadge, Ohio, her first collection of poetry entitled “If There’s No Heaven” was the winner of the 2020 Poetry Is Life Book Award and the Akron Beacon Journal Best Northeast Ohio Books 2020. It is available at www.poetryislifepublishing.com. Follow her at www.barbaramarieminneypoetry.com.