A Pleasant Surprise

My friend Mort was a poet.  He wrote his poems on little scraps of paper.  He died in 1998.  His brother took over organizing and editing Mort's poems.  Then his brother died.  The task moved on to Mort's sister-in-law and an old poet friend.  They were going to self-publish it but I never let me know if that happened.

Now, 15 years later, Mort's book of poems will be issued by Bottom Dog Press, of Firelands College in Huron, Ohio.  The title is An Act of Courage. It will be ready in January 2014.

A week ago I received an email from someone at Kent State U. saying he was trying to get in touch with me.  One of the editors on Mort's Mss as it turned out.  They needed a photo of Mort.  So I spent a frantic hour searching for the ones I had and trying to figure out how to scan them and email them.

Meanwhile, the Kent State editor asked me if I had painted a picture of Mort.  They had found one on the internet!!!  I had, but couldnt imagine how it got on the internet.  I had also made a pastel drawing of Mort.
But in the end, they meant a pen and ink drawing I did about Mort.  20 by 30.  I had posted it on my blog maybe 8 years ago.  I had drawn it in a class at Castle Hill in Truro, Ma.  Autobiographical drawing.  Great class.

More frantic hours trying to get a copy photographed and into the right megabytes for them to use it.  I had no idea how to do this.  Later discovered you do it with photoshop.  Finally, my friend Studiololo did it for me.  So!!!!! my drawing may possibly appear in the book!!!!

I am so happy for Mort.  And so happy to be part of the book in my small way.  Here's my drawing.