The Art & Poetry of Mary Coleman

Some people call me Mar, short for Mary. My husband and my uncle both occasionally use that form of my name. It’s not an official nickname because only two people really use it.

I have decided to take a 3 month break from art making and focus solely on my poetry book. I also want to continue to apply to literary quarterlies. This month I applied to three. So far I have been accepted to one of those three. Next month submissions for fall should open up for several of the publishers I’m keeping an eye on.

I’ve been writing a poem nearly every day (I’ve given myself an aim of 3 a week but I’ve been overshooting that consistently), so I should have enough decent poems to submit to multiple quarterlies by the end of August. Not every poem I’m writing is a keeper of course, but I’m managing to write about 2 to 3 poems a week that I deem worthy of being in my book and submitting to literary magazines.

As for my other intentions for the next 3 months, I want to focus on establishing a daily routine where I get most of what I want to achieve done in the early morning and in the evenings. This includes things like time for creativity, daily exercise, set mealtimes, nightly relaxation and meditation, time for cooking dinner, and a daily walk for the dog. All of this is in preparation for having a job. I also want to build the habit of eating an anti-inflammatory diet that is low in calories (but not too low). Additionally I would like to spend as little money as possible and save as much as I can in preparation for Christmas when my mother-in-law is coming to stay.