2017 was a great year for me. There were some dark spots in the path, but most of it was filled with light and hope. I made this list for an application, and I thought it would be good to share it. Five years of clearing the path to make my dream come true has led me to....more work to clear the path. But I've learned a lot about paths and built the muscles for clearing. So I'll forge on until I get there. Yesterday I tried to convince myself that my voice just wasn't important. Then a memory from 5 years ago popped up on Facebook, it reminded me of a friend who encouraged me to take this fork in the road. But more than that, the one "like" it had was from my dear cousin who passed away a few weeks ago. It was heart wrenching, but inspiring, to remember the faith she had in my words. Over the last year my writing has been called cliche by one and comforting by another. My voice isn't for everyone, but it's for someone. I hope you all find the voice that comforts you. If it's not me, peace be yours until you find the right one. If it is, welcome. Pull up a chair, I'll get some coffee. Enjoy the poetry, let me know what touches you.
As 2018 gets a rolling start, I wish you hope. It is a single match, but it pierces the darkness to guide you to light.

2018 is starting off great! If you're in the Ballard area, I hope you'll come hear me read.
https://www.thestranger.com/events/25680436/its-about-time-writers-series

Publication History

Poetry:

“Unseen Moment”; Whidbey General Hospital, Nurses News; 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQaMjUNhRy0&t=17s

“Iridescence” (Third Place) and “Tell Your Love Story”; Timeless Pearl Poetry Contest 2016 https://www.timelesspearl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/poems_about_pearls_2016.pdf

“Needlepoint”; Westward Quarterly; Fall 2016 http://www.wwquarterly.com/wwq_archive/wwq_2016-4-fall.pdf

“Cleansing Tears”; Peeking Cat Poetry Journal; Spring 2017 (Issue 26) https://peekingcatpoetry.co.uk/issues

“Automatic Bill Pay”, “Great Lakes”, “Investment Lessons”; Writing In A Women’s Voice Blog; 2017  http://writinginawomansvoice.blogspot.com/

 “Spit and Grit” (First Place); Timeless Pearl Poetry Contest 2017 https://www.timelesspearl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/2017-timeless-pearl-poems-about-pearls.pdf

“Quiet Sighs Whisper on the Wind”; Whidbey Weekly; August 2017 https://issuu.com/whidbeylocal/docs/9.31_august_3__2017-web

“Karma of Encouragement”; 3^rd Act Magazine (Oshi Publishing, LLC); Fall 2017; Pushcart Prize Nominee https://issuu.com/3rdactmagazine/docs/magazine

“Abnegate”; Right Hand Pointing/One Sentence Poems; Winter 2017 http://www.onesentencepoems.com/osp/?s=Laura+Tarasoff

Pending Publication:

“Incessant”, “Fear of Losing Inner Self”, “It Was A Day”; Wraith Infirmity Muses

Guest Blogs:

Hedgebrook Newsletter, “A Love Story of True Voice”; December 2013 http://www.hedgebrook.org/?s=Laura+Tarasoff

Writer-ly; Conference blog 2015 (This content is no longer on-line. Copies are available)

Trish Hopkinson, A Selfish Poet Blog: 2017 https://trishhopkinson.com/2017/08/27/someone-needs-your-voice-guest-blog-post-by-laura-tarasoff/

Personal site:
Poetrybytheshot.wordpress.com with the amazing Woodzick.

Writer's Digest Poetry Month:
http://gowrite.me/pad.pl?writer=Laura+T++%2832%29&day=&q=Full-text+search


I hope you find something that touches your heart. I hope there is a light of hope in your darkness.