Blogger Highlight-John Malone

Thank you for all the great feedback on the Blogger Highlight series, I’ve enjoyed meeting each blogger and sharing their site with you. This week we highlight John Malone and his blog. We haven’t followed each other long but we have become fast friends and I feel like a kindred spirit to him. John has brought my sense of creativity alive, he’s whip-smart, funny, and knows how to express himself through words. I could sit and talk with John for hours and would still have more questions, he’s interesting.  

John Malone

‘This then I can say about my life:

I have two cats, a dog.

three children

and a wife’

except I no longer have a wife or pets, except a cat called Rosco, but have accrued numerous grandchildren and yes, I still whistle while I walk 🙂

I have five books of poetry published, two of which have been self published and many , many poems anthologized. Between 2000 and 2012 I had over 170 childrens’ poems published in major magazines, in the North America, NZ and here in Oz, some of which are still earning royalties from being republished.

I also have three educational titles with major publishers, guides to creative writing in classrooms which schools use, written during the same period. 

I sometimes think I should write children’s poems again but I wrote them for/with my grandchildren while they grew up in my presence.

To dig deeper into John’s career accomplishments click here.

I asked John  three questions:

What was your first job and what did you learn from it?

A secondary English teacher; learnt how to ;handle’ teenagers, not always successfully; learnt how to impart my love of literature and get them to write poetry themselves: we were a vibrant writing community.

What is your greatest career accomplishment?

My first book of poems by a major publisher was a thrill. Also between 2001 and 2013 I had over 70 children’s poems published in literary magazines for children in Australia, the Us and NZ. The three poems I’m proudest of are ‘Fork’, ‘Fearless’ and ‘The Mothering Tree’ 

Did you have a goal for your blog and have you achieved it?

As for the blog I just wanted to get my stuff out there and get immediate feedback instead of going through the delayed process of magazine submissions. I’ve built a lively following and feel part of a vibrant ever evolving literary community: a tribe !

A couple of my favorite recent posts:

New Direction

John’s post New Direction was a surprise and a day to rejoice. We had been talking about his accomplishments which I greatly admire and later this post arrived. I’m thrilled John gave me some credit but most importantly, he wrote a new short story after taking many years off from writing. I’m counting the days until it’s published so we can read it on his blog. I look forward to new stories as John has his mojo back.

Rough “N” Ramshackle

This post makes me think of all the journals and notebooks I carried around for years, starting as a child, they included writings, drawings, goals, and daydreams. They were my calm, my comfort, they knew my inner thoughts and they never betrayed me. John’s notebook was no doubt just as special, holding his thoughts, stories, and many ideas. The cover is fitting with its lived-in look and who would want to change that?

One of John’s favorite tunes:

Paul Simon – Graceland (from The Concert in Hyde Park)

 

I set a goal in 5th or 6th grade to become a Journalist for Life Magazine, but that isn’t where my career took me for multiple reasons. John’s career accomplishments are not directly related to my goal but I can imagine that being published gives you the same high and sense of accomplishment. I admire his accomplishments but what’s more important is that John is humble, no boasting, there are no airs about him and I admire him for that.

Be sure to stop by and say hello to John and while there browse through his extensive archives. You will not be disappointed and you may find yourself following John as well.

Melinda

Looking for the Light