TATRANEWS - June Newsletter

Dear Friends: The world is experiencing major upheaval with the COVID-19 virus and the trauma of the Black Lives Matter movement. Marcia and I managed to make it back to Vermont from San Francisco right at the end of May, and after quarantining, had a coronavirus test which came back negative. Vermont has managed the virus situation well, and where we live we are able to go for long walks on the back roads without seeing a soul. We are very troubled by the racism that just does not seem to go away in this country and elsewhere. The recent police killings of our fellow African-Americans are inexcusable and it is right that so many people are speaking out against them. Also, the 400 years of discrimination and injustice against people of color is a crime against humanity that must be stopped. This country needs major institutional and attitudinal change, but unfortunately, the current leadership is, if anything, counterproductive. With this background, I particularly want to do a shout-out for my wonderful African-American publisher, Lucinda Clark, at P.R.A. Publishing. Lucinda is the literary mentor who first saw value in my poetry by publishing Cello's Tears in 2015, then Sighs and Murmurs in 2018 and Extinction in 2019. I owe her a lot indeed, and I am proud to say that we have a wonderful working relationship. The authors and poets in P.R.A. Publishing's stable are truly diverse and an example of how human beings should respect each other and work together. I am proud to be one of their poets and am looking forward to continuing to work with them -- P.R.A. Publishing is releasing my short story collection, The Spinning Mind, this summer! I am also happy to report that a major international publisher of poetry, Cyberwit, has agreed to publish my fourth collection of poems, Extinction Rebellion. This volume will also be released this summer. And I am still looking forward to the rerelease of an updated edition of my thriller, Arctic Meltdown, by my friends at Black Opal Books. So, in spite of all the trauma in our world today, this is looking like another good year for my books, with three new books coming out. I am sorry though that book events -- readings, signings, presentations -- have had to be canceled. While doing some of these online works, it is not the same as having the human contact. Hopefully, next year will be better from this standpoint. I hope you all are staying safe and healthy, reading a lot and standing up for the rights of all human beings! Geza P.S. I will leave you with a haiku for these troubled times: We are all humans your color does not matter let's love each other