Bio for 2024
John writes non-fiction and poetry. His work has been published in Kentucky Monthly Magazine, KentuckyLiving.Com, The Martha's Vineyard Times, and the University of the Cumberlands Alumni Magazine. Four of his poems are scheduled to be published later this year in Trajectory. John serves on the Jesse Stuart Foundation Board of Directors and is a member of the Bluegrass Writers Coalition. He served in the administration of President Barack Obama and on the Governor's Commission on Literacy, where he chaired the Local Issues Task Force. John and his wife Rebecca live in Lexington and on beautiful Lake Cumberland.
Reason for signing up:
I have been writing poetry for years but only started sharing my work several years ago. I was inspired by Byron Crawford's Back Page article in Kentucky Living Magazine, "For Whom the Dinner Bells Toll. It was this story that encouraged me to submit a poem that I had written about my Great-Grandmother's 1899 dinner bell, that I still have and ring. Kentucky Living liked the poem and made a (no poetry) exception and published it on January 31, 2023. Most of my poetry is what Kentucky's first poet laureate Cotton Noe called the simpler verse. I mostly write metrical poetry and influenced by the verse of Noe and Jesse Stuart and stay true to my Appalachian roots.
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