IRIS M MORA
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Behind the Poem

6/26/2017

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I have decided to try something different as a gift to family and friends who support my work. I will be featuring a poem once in a while I have written based on something that has had a big impact on my life.  This poem is based on what I have seen, not only in my backyard of Central Florida, but in other parts of the world. Homelessness is real.  There are countless people worldwide who need support. In addition to a lack of food and shelter, some of these people have a myriad of health problems and have to cope with weather conditions that are in many cases too extreme. More needs to be done. Although I admire trying to find a solution for those who live on the streets with temporary shelters, I believe an actual roof and warm daily meals give a better sense of hope and purpose. This poem was originally published in NUIG ROPES magazine supporting Galway Simon Community charity that provides housing, healthcare and support to the homeless. Here is a link to their cause. https://www.galwaysimon.ie/

Afraid

I see him against the railings,
his hair is tangled
his clothes are ripped.
His unbroken stare
looks ahead to a current
he doesn’t know is there.
I can’t smell him as I pass‒
the air in Ireland is always crisp.
Is he cold I wonder,
has he had anything to eat?


I want to stop and ask
but I’m afraid.
Afraid,
like the time I made balloon animals
for the clinically insane
and a woman ran after me
screaming profanities;
I couldn’t understand her pain.

Or the time I gave food to a disabled man.
His friend followed me down the street shouting
“I am a vet too. I also suffered!”
“I wish I could help all of you,” I said
before my brother
whisked me away by the hand.

Or the time in Dublin
when a man outside a trinket shop
extended his left arm,
exposing a twisted blue band
and showing me the bleeding syringe.
Yes, I am afraid.
What if the man
propped against the railings
is afraid too?

Afraid to be cold.
Afraid to be hungry.

Afraid‒
to die alone.

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I did it!

11/24/2016

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I'm an MA graduate. Thanks NUIG!
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Reading of the poem "Afraid" for ROPES

4/20/2016

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BOOK REVIEW

1/12/2016

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This is my first poetry collection review. Check it out!
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Evidence of Freewheeling
By Trevor Conway

Conway’s poems
embrace diversity in all facets of life

Review by Iris M Mora

Published in The Galway Review
January 30, 2016

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How UCF Prepared Me for a Graduate Degree Abroad and How to Decide If It Is Right for You

12/15/2015

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Published at The University of Central Florida Creative Writing MFA blog
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"WRITE WORK THAT LEAVES THE READER SEARCHING FOR THEIR OWN MEANING"

12/4/2015

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Blog published in The Galway Review
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Reading a poem at Over The Edge

11/19/2015

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This was my first experience at the Over The Edge Literary gathering run by poet Kevin Higgins and his wife Susan Millar Dumars'. Check out "the very hungry caterpillar" sizing me up.
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WRITING AS A SPORT

9/15/2015

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On many occasions I meet people that become motivated when I tell them I’m doing an MA in writing. They share their experiences and reveal, why they think their idea or life story will make a good book. A large percentage of them want to write a manuscript but unfortunately, they want to write only when they feel like writing.

The first writing class I took at the University of Central Florida while pursuing a BA in creative writing, taught me that writing is like playing a sport. You have to practice every day, or as much as you can to become good at it. Like sports, you also need the right equipment in order to better yourself.  

With this discovery I decided that Bruce Lee, would become my mentor. Bruce Lee? What can he teach about writing? What he has taught me, is how he approached his craft. Bruce Lee read and researched different styles of combat practices. He lived and breathed martial arts. He practiced religiously and found his own “style.” What I’m trying to say is that to be a writer, you must write and do so every day.  
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WINE OR CHAMPAGNE

3/24/2015

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I often thought about how I would celebrate my first acceptance letter. On numerous occasions, a bottle of Dom Perignon would come up reminding my taste buds of the first time I drank this delicious sparkling wine. So, I decided that Dom and I would have a "date" if I was lucky enough to be published. When I received an email from The Cypress Dome on February 16, I did not have Dom as a date but a cheaper version. Instead of celebrating with champagne, I celebrated with the leftovers of an old, almost to the point of vinegar Cabernet Sauvignon I had left in the fridge. It didn't matter because the salty flavor from the tears of joy that ran down my blushed cheeks, was better than any cheap wine or fancy champagne I had ever tasted. My friend Dom will just have to wait for another day.
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AWP PANEL SPEAKER

3/9/2015

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Earlier this year I took part in Cecilia Rodríguez Milanés's panel Composing and Critiquing in Color at the Association of Writers and Writing programs held in Minneapolis. This was the first time I attended an AWP conference and the first time I was part of a panel. While at the conference, I also attended a multitude of workshops, gathered information from various presses, journals and publishing houses, and met one of my favorite authors, Luís Alberto Urrea. If you have never been to this conference, its worth taking a look.  
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    Iris M Mora

    The purpose of this blog is to encourage and support anyone who wants to write or finish a manuscript. Whether its poetry, fiction or non-fiction, literary or commercial, genre specific or speculative, I hope that through my successes and failures I can be an inspiration to those who are pursuing their dreams.  

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