The Upcoming Book Signing at Olde Towne Art in Portsmouth

On Friday, June 3rd at Olde Towne Art gallery in Portsmouth, Virginia, I'll be signing copies of Poetic Dreamer from 5 to 8 p.m.. The cool thing about being at this art gallery is that a number of artists there inspired some of my poems with their artwork. Nothing moves me more artistically than seeing beautiful art and photography. I mention the names of some of the artists there in this new poetry book. Hope you can make it!

Paul D Camp Community College's Third Annual Literary Festival - Big Success

Besides music and visual stimuli, nothing inspires my Muse like hearing other authors read their work. I was blessed to once again be part of Paul D. Camp Community College's Third Annual Literary Festival. Emceed by poet and orator Nathan Richardson, it was well planned and organized by Professor and Literary Club Sponsor Ronette Jacobs and everyone on the staff of the literary club. Harriette Arrington, Dean of Academic Programs, engaged the children in another room with her storytelling. Paul D. Camp Community College President Paul Conco did some wonderful storytelling.

Author Annette Montgomery shared her book of history on African Americans in Suffolk. Lots of recognizable landmarks in the photos. Reginald Johns, a poet and motivational speaker, wowed the crowd with his words. I bought a hardback book of his, Love is Life's Lesson. It combines art and poetry. Love it!

As always, Nathan Richardson and Synnika Lofton delivered mighty words with just the right touch. I shared poetry from my newest book, Poetic Dreamer. One of the poems I shared is titled, Go Paint Yourself. In this poem, I imagine coming up behind Norman Rockwell as he paints his Triple Self Portrait. In my hand, I hold an ice cream cone as I await his reaction as he paints. My last comment in the poem as though he were speaking himself- "Just call me Norman Rocky Road."

The Artwork of Lowell Boileau and My Poetry in Poetic Dreamer

I admired the artwork of Lowell Boileau and felt moved to write a poem about his artwork, Riverbend. Here is the resulting poem beside his art. He's a great artist from Michigan. This is the first poem in my new poetry book, Poetic Dreamer. http://bit.ly/i8JtYH See more of his artwork at www.lowellboileau.com www.phyllisjohnson.net

Twelve Year Old Loves Being Frank with Anne

http://www.beingfrankwithanne.com Today I wanted to share one of the highlights of my day. I got a phone call from someone in Texas. Many times when I see a call coming in when I'm not expecting one from another state, I make the assumption that it's a solicitor. Today however, I answered the phone and to my delight, it was a twelve year old girl from Texas calling me about my book, Being Frank with Anne. A Holocaust Museum had purchased the book and this girl had read it and loved it. In the sixth grade, she had already read, The Diary of a Young Girl, and also enjoyed reading my poetic interpretation of the diary. It was a really gratifying phone call and I asked if she'd told her teacher about my book. She said that she was going to tell her about it soon. Thanks Miss Fisher for making my day!

Hampton Roads Writers - A Great Group for Writers!

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=1286135827547

If you're a writer, you may want to join Hampton Roads Writers. This amazing group of talented writers gets together monthly to share and listen to each other's poetry and prose. I've been fortunate enough to attend some of the events and even host one of their open mic events. The networking is wonderful and I've met some great people there. They meet at the Myra Oberndorf Library in Virginia Beach.

TWELVE IS FOR MORE THAN DOUGHNUTS

Picture this. You've been given a choice for breakfast between oatmeal and a doughnut. Which are you going to pick? Well, there's something special about a nice doughnut. In fact, I love them so much, they're in the title of my latest book, Twelve is for More Than Doughnuts at Lulu.com Based on poetry and essays from the Bible, it's a nice read when you're sitting down in the morning with a cup of coffee and a doughnut (or a hot bowl of oatmeal...) A friend referred to my book a bite sized chunks of spiritual nourishment... kind of like munchkins....yeah...