My first exposure to poetry was back in high school. As part of a creative writing class, we were required to compose different forms of literature, i.e., an essay, a one-act play, a short story, and poems. I found poetry to be the most interesting form because it allowed me to express myself, my thoughts, feelings, emotions, and fears more than any other forms of writing. Further classes in American and world literature in high school and college taught me to appreciate the great works of writers and poets. Through the years, I dabbled with writing poems and song lyrics, which are closely related. However, I did not write seriously until several years ago when while surfing the Internet I stumbled upon an online poetry contest sponsored by The American Poetry Society. On a whim, I submitted a poem and to my surprise I was notified that the poem would be included in an anthology to be published later that year. A few months later, I received another letter asking for more poems to be submitted for inclusion in future volumes. That's when a lightning bolt hit me and I realized that they were making money off my poems and I wasn't receiving any royalties. I decide to publish my own book, thus my poetry career took off. I have since had three books published and numerous book signings and readings with a following on my Facebook group, "Fans of Howard's Poetry." As a published author, it has given me the opportunity to do a number of commissioned works (e.g., a poem for a published golfing book) and special events. I hope this latest book gains the same positive response as my previous endeavors.
