Garland Writer Rebirths a Galaxy

This is from NeighborsGo on-line edition of a Dallas Morning News insert,
December 13, 2010.

In June 2010, Garland writer and poet, Barbara Blanks, accepted the positions of President and Editor of the nearly defunct A Galaxy of Verse. This member-supported poetry anthology is a publication of A Galaxy of Verse Literary Foundation, a non-profit organization. Blanks gathered a new Board of Directors, rallied previous members, signed up new ones, and in December 2010, produced the Galaxy's first anthology since 2006.
Blanks also recently published a volume of humorous poetry titled, I've Heard Verse: awfully good poetry. Nothing obscurely literary here; just fun poems that will have you grinning or laughing out loud. Elaine George said, "I read her poetry book first and laughed. She has such a great sense of humor-she cracks me up. Then I read Out of the Wreckage, and found myself laughing and crying. I could definitely identify with the situation." (Out of the Wreckage: The Pop Stories is Blanks' inspirational memoir.)
If that's not enough, Blanks co-authored Giant Steps with Mary E. Winklebleck, which was published in November. This book surprised me. It is not only a good read, it is one that everyone experiencing loss and grief could learn from. The main inhabitants of this story are young, but they have very grown-up problems to deal with. Barbara and her sister Kyla come alive through the attention to detail and humor that the author(s) use. I cared about them. And I think everyone who reads this book will care, too. Read it, give it to a friend, and if you have a young person in your life, make a gift of this delightful book.
Barbara Blanks is the Recording Secretary and Librarian of the Poetry Society of Texas; Recording Secretary and Treasurer of the Bea Land-Phoenix (Garland) Chapter of the PST; a member of the Brown Bag Poets, and the Writers' Guild of Texas. She writes on assignment for The Senior Voice in Dallas, and for RubberStampMadness, a national stamping magazine. She has won or placed in a variety of poetry and prose contests, and has been published in a variety of magazines and other publications.
For information about A Galaxy of Verse and the other books mentioned here, go to Blanks' website, www.barbara-blanks.com. All four books are available, (or soon will be) at www.amazon.com, and www.lulu.com (which offers volume discounts).