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Upcoming Events: April 2026 - Poetry Workshops - Atlantic Center for the Arts ACA will again be celebrating National Poetry Month by sponsoring a four-part series of poetry workshops hosted by M.B. every Wednesday in April next year from 4:15pm until 6pm. Signup details coming soon. Previous Events: Oct. 24 - 26, 2025 - FSPA Fall Convention M.B. will be joining Sean Sexton and Brian Turner as speakers at the FSPA poetry convention next Fall in Lake Wales. The event will be held at Bok Tower Gardens . Details Here . March 26, 2025 - Poetry Reading M.B. will be guest reader at the Crazy Wisdom Poetry Circle event via Zoom. Open to all, the reading will be followed by an open mic. Details here. January 2025 - Poets for Peace Join M.B., local area poets, and musician Ray McNiece on Thursday January 23 at 7pm for Poetry & Music in Support of the Orphans in Ukraine . The event will be held at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 56 North Halifax Drive, in Ormond Beach. Free admission; donations welcome. Contact Joe Cavanaugh, jcavanaugh1@gmail.com November 23, 1-2pm - Let's Talk Poetry! M.B. will host a creative writing discussion on Saturday afternoon during National Novel Writing Month at the New Smyrna Beach Regional Library, 1001 S. Dixie Fwy, NSB. Details here . November 6, 13, 20 - The HUB on Canal M.B. will host Florida Loves Poetry!! ™ workshops on three consecutive Wednesday afternoons this November (2024) at The HUB on Canal in New Smyrna Beach. Sign up here . October 2024 - FSPA Fall Conference The annual Florida State Poets Association Fall Conference will take place October 25 - 27, 2024 at the Quality Inn & Suites Palatka Riverfront in Palatka, Florida, on the beautiful St. Johns River. M.B. and several others will be conducting writing workshops this year. Details and agenda here . Oct. 2024 - Women's Health and Breast Cancer Care Event. The Atlantic Center for the Arts is partnering with Advent Health NSB on October 2, 2024 for an evening focused on mindfulness and women's health . As guest speaker, M.B. will explore the healing power of creativity. Details here . April, 2024. National Poetry Month ACA Poetry Workshops - Get ready to embrace National P oetry Month in April, 2024 by signing up now for Florida Loves Poetry workshops and see why poets are calling these "the best poetry workshops in Florida!" M.B. will host four consecutive Wednesday night classes, 4pm to 6pm, at the Harris House in New Smyrna Beach. Free of charge. Beginners to advanced are welcome, but seating is limited. SOLD OUT Wed., February 28, 2024 7-9pm Patio Poets - Maitland - M.B. will Guest Poet for the evening at the Venue on Lake Lily in Maitland. Her reading will be followed by an Open Mic for poets. All poets are welcome.. January 20, 2024, 5:30-7:15pm The HUB on Canal Poetry Night . M.B. will Guest Poet for the evening during The Hub's open mic monthly event. For info, contact Mary Jane at 386-214-6409. Nov. 19, 2023, 10:30am to 4pm Fall Festival of the Arts - Deland . Poetry readings, open mic, and poetry slam. M.B. and Volusia Poet Laureate Dr. David Axelrod will both read from their works at noon on Sunday at the Chess Park Stage next to the courthouse in downtown Deland. Oct. 25 - Nov. 15, 2023 Poetry Workshops at The HUB on Canal . M.B. will host four poetry workshops that will run on consecutive Wednesdays from 4:30 to 6pm starting on October 25. Serious poets and writers of all skill levels are welcome. SOLD OUT Sept. 16, 202 3 Refreshments and Readings - Barnes & Noble, Tomoka Town Ctr., Daytona Beach, Saturday, Sept. 16. at 2:30 pm. M.B. will be joining author Ginger Pinholster to read from their upcoming works. Ginger will be launching her book Snakes of St. Augustine and M.B. will read from her newest collection, Smiling at the Executioner . Please respond to the evite to reserve you spot. April 2023 ACA Poetry Workshops - SOLD OUT Atlantic Center for the Arts will host their annual poetry workshops at ACA Harris House in New Smyrna Beach throughout poetry month next April. M.B. will host four workshops over the month with the theme "Freeing our poetic voices the formal way". Admission is free. Sign up on ACA's website . UPDATE : The ACA poetry workshops are currently sold out. You can send an email to mbmclatchey@gmail.com if you would like to get onto the standby list. Oct. 21-23, 2022 Florida State Poets Association - Annual Fall Convention The Florida State Poets Association (FSPA ) will hold its annual fall convention in Daytona, Florida at the Marriott Residence Inn Daytona Beach Shores. M.B. will be moderating a panel of experts on the topic of Slam Poetry. Details here. Sep. 22, 2022 - 5:30 - 7:30 PM Breast Cancer Awareness and Prevention Free event sponsored by AdventHealth and Atlantic Center for the Arts. Experience mindfulness activities through meditation and expressive writing. Includes a healthy dinner and refreshments. Open to the Public. Details here. Sep. 27, 2022 - 7:30 PM Miami Poetry Reading J oi n poets January Gill O’Neil and Susan L. Leary at The Betsy-South Beach Library in Miami for an evening of poetry hosted by SWWIM . Arrive early with M.B. to meet the artists at 6:30 PM. Details here . September 10, 2022 (Saturday) Wheaton Writing Academy - Online Workshop Nationally-recognized Wheaton Writing Academy will sponsor a three-hour online workshop, “Unleashing Our Poetic Voices”, with M.B. as host. Beginners to advanced-level poets are all welcome. Time: noon - 3pm. To register or for more info, email wheatonwriter@gmail.com . April 13 - 14, 2022 Miami Poetry Readings Check out SWWIM's list of upcoming events and readings at The Betsy Hotel in South Beach, Miami. April 6, 13, 20, 27 - 2022 ACA Poetry Month Workshops Celebrate National Poetry Month in 2022 with Atlantic Center for the Arts! M.B. will host poetry sessions every Wednesday at 3pm throughout the month of April at ACA Harris House in New Smyrna Beach. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Sign up here . November 3-5, 2021 HundrED Innovation Summit 2021. Join M.B. and education experts from around the world to talk about the future of education. The three days of expert panels, live workshops, and networking with industry representatives are free to all and completely virtual. Details here . November 10 & December 15, 2021 SWWIM (Supporting Women Writers in Miami) will host poetry readings at The Betsy Hotel in South Beach, Miami at 7pm. October 2021 The 10th Annual Winter Park Paint Out International Poetry Competition is about to begin. Join other poets in creating your own ekphrastic response to a contestant's painting. Find out all of the details here . Entry is free, but, you need to hurry. Sept. 28, 2021 Florida State Poets Association Zoomies ( Originally scheduled for 9/14/21 ) Join the FSPA Zoomies and M.B. for a special presentation at 7:30 p.m. via Zoom. M.B. will read from her new book Beginner's Mind and speak to the topic of "poets writing prose". If you have a question you'd like her to respond to during the presentation, you may email her in advance at mbmclatchey@gmail.com. Attendance is always free for these events. Details here . June 9, 2021 M.B. will be featured as a guest reader for the Midsummer Night's Pensive Reading , hosted on Zoom by Northeastern University's Center for Spirituality, Dialogue, and Service (CSDS) and the New England Poetry Club. Readings start at 7pm. RSVP preferred. May 15, 2021 Beginner's Mind - Book Release. Now available from Regal House Publishing and your favorite book suppliers. May 1, 2021 For a behind the scenes look at M.B.'s new book, Beginner's Mind , check out her interview in the May/June issue of Florida's premier poetry magazine, Of Poets & Poetry . Spring 2021 Fresh Perspectives in Poetry In partnership with Atlantic Center for the Arts and with sponsorship from The Florida Humanities Council, M.B. is hosting a four-part poetry series on Facebook. From the comfort and safety of your home or workplace, join M.B. on a journey of learning from the world's most notable masters. Free of charge and open to the public. Details here .

Published Poems (sorted): Click on column to sort. * publication forthcoming

Published Poems Sort by Title Year Title Journal Award 2025 Illuminator Porcupine Literary 2025 Grading on a Curve Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art 2025 Last Lecture Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art 2025 Plan B Azure Lazuli Literary Group - First Place 2025 Academic Calendar The Soliloquist Journal 2025 Is there a Final Exam? Azure Lazuli Literary Group - First Place 2025 Palinode Neologism Poetry Journal 2025 Dream Song Teach. Write. 2025 Trojan Horse The Common 2025 Ethos, Logos, Pathos Azure Lazuli Literary Group - First Place 2025 Full Disclosure The Missouri Review Poem of the Week 2024 For a Dying Child International Human Rights Art Movement Rhonda Gail Williford Poetry Prize - 2nd Place 2024 Pop Quiz Sky Island Journal 2024 Invocation Before a Day of Teaching Crab Orchard Review 2023 Rate My Professor: A Rebuttal Sky Island Journal 2023 Balcony House Tampa Review 2023 Morning in Three Movements The Banyan Review 2023 A Drink of Water The Banyan Review 2023 Synonym for Marriage The Banyan Review 2022 The Wisdom of the Cave SWWIM 2022 Inventory Southern Poetry Review 2022 The Shadow Maker Sequestrum 2022 War in Eurasia Sequestrum 2022 Calendar Plans Relief 2021 Ctrl+Z Florida Review 2021 On Forgetting Ash Wednesday Iris Literary Journal 2021 Before the Common Era Quadrant 2021 Aftercare Raintown Review 2021 Invocation Cider Press Review 2021 The End of Knowing The Criterion 2021 Another Inevitable Romance at Olduvai Gorge Avatar Review 2021 Ode for My Department Chair Who Left a Face Shield on My Desk NCTE English Journal 2020 Bingo Night for Missing and Exploited Children Beacon Press Blue Room Collective - "Grabbed Anthology" 2020 Prometheus's Regret Halcyone, Black Mountain Press 2020 Smiling at the Executioner Sky Island Journal Pushcart Prize Nominee 2020; Best of the Net Nominee 2021 2020 Ode for an Absent Student Naugatuck River Review Narrative Poetry Contest - Semi Finalist 2020 Afterlives Pensive: A Global Journal... Featured in Verse Daily - 2024 2020 Cues National Poetry Review 2020 Ode to the Heart Of Poets & Poetry, FSPA 2019 We leave the beaches for the tourists, mostly Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art 2019 Ode for Amy Smithsonian Arts&Sciences 2019 Ode for an Ode on a Grecian Urn Folio 2019 Folio Editor's Prize - Winner 2019 Where Winter Spends the Summer SWWIM 2018 Anthem Harpur Palate 2018 On Folding a Fitted Sheet Harpur Palate 2018 Learning the Scriptures Naugatuck River Review 2018 Trigger Warning Harpur Palate 2017 Bad Apology SWWIM Narrative Poetry Contest Semi Finalist; also featured in March 2020 #Tbt 2016 Ocracoke Briar Cliff Review 2016 Urban Helicon Cold Mountain Review 2016 Parousia Tar River Poetry 2016 Sugaring Naugatuck River Review Robert Frost Award - Finalist 2015 The Breakfast Piece Drunken Boat 2015 Emperical God Ruminate Magazine 2014 The Bath Naugatuck River Review Narrative Poetry Contest - Semi Finalist 2014 Portable Labyrinth Aurorean 2013 Amber Alert new south: Georgia St. Univ. Journal New South Writing Contest - Winner 2012 The Arrangement Beauty/Truth: Ekphrastic Poetry Robert Frost Award - First Runner Up 2012 At the Grieving Parents Meeting River Styx Rita Dove Poetry Award - Semi Finalist 2012 1-800-THE-LOST American Poetry Journal 2011 American Poet Prize - Winner 2012 Catharsis Smartish Pace Erskine J. Poetry Prize - Finalist 2008 Arcadia Cider Press Review 2008 House on Fire New Formalist 2008 Museum Comstock Review Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award - Special Merit 2008 The Rescue Comstock Review Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award - Special Merit 2008 Melville's Reader Spoon River Poetry Review 2008 The Retrieval Comstock Review Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award - Special Merit 2008 Oaths, Curses, Blessings Georgetown Review 2008 Snow Globe Cider Press Review 2008 The Lame God Spoon River Poetry Review 2007 The Rape of Chryssipus Spoon River Poetry Review Spoon River Editors' Prize - Winner 2006 Odalisque Comstock Review Muriel Craft Bailey Award - Finalist 2006 Girl at Piano Beauty/Truth: Ekphrastic Poetry 2006 Aubade DMQ Review 2006 Washday Ekphrasis 2006 Sanriku Willow Springs Vachel Lindsay Poetry Award - Winner 2005 A Kenning American Poetry Journal 2005 On Recognizing Saints National Poetry Review Annie Finch Prize - Winner 2005 Leaving the Mainland American Poetry Journal 2005 A Glass of Absinthe Anthology of New England Writers 2004 Against Elegies National Poetry Review Featured in Verse Daily 2003 Days Inn Shenandoah 2003 Teaching the Tragedies Southern Poetry Review 1985 The Peculiar Truth Grain 1978 Beginner's Mind Williams College Archives From the book "Advantages of Believing" 1975 On Rewinding Emerson College Review Emerson Original Poetry Award - Winner

Published Poems Title Journal Year Award 1-800-THE-LOST American Poetry Journal 2012 2011 American Poet Prize - Winner A Drink of Water The Banyan Review 2023 A Glass of Absinthe Anthology of New England Writers 2005 A Kenning American Poetry Journal 2005 Academic Calendar The Soliloquist Journal 2025 Aftercare Raintown Review 2021 Afterlives Pensive: A Global Journal... 2020 Featured in Verse Daily - 2024 Against Elegies National Poetry Review 2004 Featured in Verse Daily Amber Alert new south: Georgia St. Univ. Journal 2013 New South Writing Contest - Winner Another Inevitable Romance at Olduvai Gorge Avatar Review 2021 Anthem Harpur Palate 2018 Arcadia Cider Press Review 2008 At the Grieving Parents Meeting River Styx 2012 Rita Dove Poetry Award - Semi Finalist Aubade DMQ Review 2006 Bad Apology SWWIM 2017 Narrative Poetry Contest Semi Finalist; also featured in March 2020 #Tbt Balcony House Tampa Review 2023 Before the Common Era Quadrant 2021 Beginner's Mind Williams College Archives 1978 From the book "Advantages of Believing" Bingo Night for Missing and Exploited Children Beacon Press 2020 Blue Room Collective - "Grabbed Anthology" Calendar Plans Relief 2022 Catharsis Smartish Pace 2012 Erskine J. Poetry Prize - Finalist Ctrl+Z Florida Review 2021 Cues National Poetry Review 2020 Days Inn Shenandoah 2003 Dream Song Teach. Write. 2025 Emperical God Ruminate Magazine 2015 Ethos, Logos, Pathos Azure 2025 Lazuli Literary Group - First Place For a Dying Child International Human Rights Art Movement 2024 Rhonda Gail Williford Poetry Prize - 2nd Place Full Disclosure The Missouri Review 2025 Poem of the Week Girl at Piano Beauty/Truth: Ekphrastic Poetry 2006 Grading on a Curve Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art 2025 House on Fire New Formalist 2008 Illuminator Porcupine Literary 2025 Inventory Southern Poetry Review 2022 Invocation Cider Press Review 2021 Invocation Before a Day of Teaching Crab Orchard Review 2024 Is there a Final Exam? Azure 2025 Lazuli Literary Group - First Place Last Lecture Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art 2025 Learning the Scriptures Naugatuck River Review 2018 Leaving the Mainland American Poetry Journal 2005 Melville's Reader Spoon River Poetry Review 2008 Morning in Three Movements The Banyan Review 2023 Museum Comstock Review 2008 Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award - Special Merit Oaths, Curses, Blessings Georgetown Review 2008 Ocracoke Briar Cliff Review 2016 Odalisque Comstock Review 2006 Muriel Craft Bailey Award - Finalist Ode for Amy Smithsonian Arts&Sciences 2019 Ode for My Department Chair Who Left a Face Shield on My Desk NCTE English Journal 2021 Ode for an Absent Student Naugatuck River Review 2020 Narrative Poetry Contest - Semi Finalist Ode for an Ode on a Grecian Urn Folio 2019 2019 Folio Editor's Prize - Winner Ode to the Heart Of Poets & Poetry, FSPA 2020 On Folding a Fitted Sheet Harpur Palate 2018 On Forgetting Ash Wednesday Iris Literary Journal 2021 On Recognizing Saints National Poetry Review 2005 Annie Finch Prize - Winner On Rewinding Emerson College Review 1975 Emerson Original Poetry Award - Winner Palinode Neologism Poetry Journal 2025 Parousia Tar River Poetry 2016 Plan B Azure 2025 Lazuli Literary Group - First Place Pop Quiz Sky Island Journal 2024 Portable Labyrinth Aurorean 2014 Prometheus's Regret Halcyone, Black Mountain Press 2020 Rate My Professor: A Rebuttal Sky Island Journal 2023 Sanriku Willow Springs 2006 Vachel Lindsay Poetry Award - Winner Smiling at the Executioner Sky Island Journal 2020 Pushcart Prize Nominee 2020; Best of the Net Nominee 2021 Snow Globe Cider Press Review 2008 Sugaring Naugatuck River Review 2016 Robert Frost Award - Finalist Synonym for Marriage The Banyan Review 2023 Teaching the Tragedies Southern Poetry Review 2003 The Arrangement Beauty/Truth: Ekphrastic Poetry 2012 Robert Frost Award - First Runner Up The Bath Naugatuck River Review 2014 Narrative Poetry Contest - Semi Finalist The Breakfast Piece Drunken Boat 2015 The End of Knowing The Criterion 2021 The Lame God Spoon River Poetry Review 2008 The Peculiar Truth Grain 1985 The Rape of Chryssipus Spoon River Poetry Review 2007 Spoon River Editors' Prize - Winner The Rescue Comstock Review 2008 Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award - Special Merit The Retrieval Comstock Review 2008 Muriel Craft Bailey Memorial Award - Special Merit The Shadow Maker Sequestrum 2022 The Wisdom of the Cave SWWIM 2022 Trigger Warning Harpur Palate 2018 Trojan Horse The Common 2025 Urban Helicon Cold Mountain Review 2016 War in Eurasia Sequestrum 2022 Washday Ekphrasis 2006 We leave the beaches for the tourists, mostly Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art 2019 Where Winter Spends the Summer SWWIM 2019 Sort by Year * forthcoming

Index Previous Next Palinode for a Grade Seeker Sorry... currently embargoed until publication. . Copyright © 2025 M. B. McLatchey. All rights reserved. Forthcoming in N eologism Poetry Journal .

Selected Poems 1-800-THE-LOST 2012 American Poetry Journal Display Poem 2011 American Poet Prize - Winner A Drink of Water 2023 The Banyan Review Display Poem A Glass of Absinthe 2005 Anthology of New England Writers Display Poem A Kenning 2005 American Poetry Journal Display Poem Academic Calendar 2025 The Soliloquist Journal Display Poem Aftercare 2021 Raintown Review Display Poem Afterlives 2020 Pensive: A Global Journal... Display Poem Featured in Verse Daily - 2024 Against Elegies 2004 National Poetry Review Display Poem Featured in Verse Daily Amber Alert 2013 new south: Georgia St. Univ. Journal Display Poem New South Writing Contest - Winner Another Inevitable Romance at Olduvai Gorge 2021 Avatar Review Display Poem Anthem 2018 Harpur Palate Display Poem Arcadia 2008 Cider Press Review Display Poem

Index Previous Next Grading on a Curve Sorry... currently embargoed until publication. . Copyright © 2025 M. B. McLatchey. All rights reserved. Forthcoming in Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art .

Index Previous Next Last Lecture Sorry... currently embargoed until publication. . Copyright © 2025 M. B. McLatchey. All rights reserved. Forthcoming in Saw Palm: Florida Literature and Art .

Index Previous Next Academic Calendar for my first born Those first months in Fall Term, you slept and dreamed and grew like a cub waiting to be born, his mother’s womb in hibernation. My students watchful as my middle bloomed and bloomed. Commencement was the flower that flew away – your phrase; you were eight. You pursed your lips and blew. We made a wish and watched the fluffy head release its seeds. There were courses to take. First steps, first words, first bicycle, first broken heart. Each asking from you attachment to the same survivor traits: adventure forward, balance – and brake. Graduation, a recurring awakening to the yield in loss: Fallen leaves, detached fruit reseeding. The surprise of new buds on dank limbs. These were the notes, your song, your convocation hymn. . Copyright © 2025 M. B. McLatchey. All rights reserved. Published in The Soliloquist Journal

Index Previous Next Dream Song For a sleeping student Our voices, a gurgling brook, became your parting song: a stream grading stones – meandering – where bend becomes slope. You teetered in the current – strong, young – yet bowed by doubts, centuries-old cares. A stream grading stones, meandering. Where might we have extracted you, harness and rope, young – yet bowed by doubts, centuries-old cares? Cold depths are ours to brave alone, I was also told. Might we have extracted you, harness and rope, what threshold did you cross; what pieces rearrange? Cold depths are ours to brave alone. I was also told our troubles wane when guardian spirits learn our names. What threshold did you cross; what pieces rearrange? Our voices, a gurgling brook, became your parting song. Our troubles wane when guardian spirits learn our names, bend becomes slope. You teetered in the current – strong. . Copyright © 2025 M. B. McLatchey. All rights reserved. Published in Teach. Write . Fall 2025.

Index Previous Next Winner of the 2019 Folio Editor's Prize Ode for an Ode on a Grecian Urn Ode, let your sorrows go. Let brides be ravished, trees forsake their leaves, let lovers kiss and fade, daughters age. Let loss be the elixir that induces a new legend, new urn-dream: Forests that seed, mature, starve, and reseed without our overtures. Let wanting, waiting, pacing be the rings in carbon dating. A new museum piece. Imagine yearning bigger than an urn, bigger than god; desire out of bounds, desire crowned. Paint it fulfilled, the turning back of hounds. What good is song if not the end of one man’s wish, what-ifs? I died at twenty-five. So many do. Urn, make your story new: Beauty is truth when sung to a priest’s staccato voice and tone near a young marine’s too-heavy, too mature, burial stone; when love betrayed makes lovers stutter phrases – sweet clichés – that they used to say alone. Put it in stone: Beauty is truth when sung to the beat of a child’s quiet feet leaving home; when aging lovers sing to one another: Remember when we used to rock in one another’s arms and we knew god and the devil’s charms? . Copyright © 2019 M. B. McLatchey. All rights reserved. Winner of the 2019 Folio annual Editor's Prize for Poetry . Published in Folio Volume 34, May 2019.

Index Previous Next Leaving the Mainland The last resort as some wags dub it. And now for the first time since leaving the mainland we feel it. So narrow an approach, the road we're on seems less a slip of land than a channel of water. And everywhere the doubling back of life scenes: herons teetering on one leg as if to remain prescient of two worlds - this one that warms us through car glass, and the other a stirring life submerged. Island of bones. So overwhelmed were they by life's remains - so many bones - that de Leon and trails of others found there. The terrible name must have given breadth to their worst fears. Ships like theirs brought to grief by poorly marked reefs or the lure of a light on a cow's tail. And after disaster, the call - but not for help- among the islanders. A wreck! Prosperity from ruined ships - a life no one had entertained. Still, there they were chasing submerged treasures. A slip in judgment, perhaps. But given the choice between limestone too hard for digging graves or an ocean of pyramids, who could blame them - certainly neither of us - for wanting to live? . Copyright © 2004 M. B. McLatchey All rights reserved. Published in The American Poetry Journal , Summer/Fall 2005.