Mother, Teacher, Cheerleader

My mother died November 10. She and my father were my first and best teachers in every sense of the word, as parents and educators. Like all great teachers, they were also cheerleaders, supporters of their students’ and children’s greatest dreams and aspirations. Dad never was able to read a copy of Teach. Write. as he died from complications of diabetes in 2014, but Mom was with me all along, reading the first edition in the fall of 2017. I always made sure to order her a print copy of every edition. Often, when I would go to visit, she would read me her favorite poem or a few lines from one of the stories she particularly liked from the most recent issue. As I was going through her things after she passed away, I found copies of Teach. Write. all over the house-on the table beside her recliner in the den, on the bookshelf beside the fireplace, and on her bedside table, among other places.

All her life, she exhibited one of the most important traits of a good teacher-exhortation. She heralded not only my work as an editor but the work of the writers that I had chosen. And what wonderful writers I have had the honor to publish since the first edition of my little passion project.

To stay in keeping with my mother’s teacher-cheerleader spirit, I was proud to nominate several contributors to Teach. Write. for this year’s Pushcart Prize, a long‑standing American literary award that honors the best poetry, short fiction, and essays published by small presses each year. Writers must be nominated by editors of small presses to be eligible for the award. From last year’s two editions I nominated the following:

Poetry – The Other Side by B. Lee – Spring/Summer 2025 edition
Creative Non-fiction – Strange Debris by Scott Kent – Spring/Summer 2025
Poetry – Recognize by Kendra Whitfield – Fall/Winter 2025
Poetry – A Teacher Looks Up by Ihor Pidhainy – Fall/Winter 2025
Poetry – Lucas by Patricia DeVilliers – Fall/Winter 2025

Congratulations to the nominees and thank you so much for sharing your work with us. I hope you all will seek out and read these works as well as the other excellent poetry, short stories, and essays found in the pages of Teach. Write. I am going to read them again as soon as I post this and think about Mom. I sure miss my cheerleader, my teacher.