Valkyrie

Today is a bittersweet day, as we remember and pay tribute to a GA icon, @Comicality. It's hard to believe it's been a year since he's been gone. Today would have been Comsie's 50th birthday, so we thought it would be the perfect day to feature the tributes written by his friends and fellow GA authors. Comsie was the first author to join GA, when Myr started the site back in 2002. He garnered quite the following, and he gave back to the site in many ways - mentoring other authors, posting a blog series with writing tips, and participating in site events such as anthologies and contests. There is so much more to be said, but it would be impossible to list them all. He had a profound impact on his readers and those who interacted with him. We have ten tributes and stories inspired by Comicality and his writings to share. There is also something very special posted at the end of this blog, so be sure to check out all the tributes, and the eleventh story featured after them. Please share your memories of Comsie in the comments, and join the GA Staff in wishing him Happy Birthday in the great beyond. Comsie, you are missed! Last, but certainly not least, is Comicality's last story. It has never been published, so we thought it fitting to feature it here.

We've already completed two events this year, Carlos Hazday's tribute and the Diversity Poetry Anthology. Our third event, Coming of Age - A Tribute to Comicality, goes live tomorrow. So, what's next on the radar? Or, shall I say that @Cia has a secret One of our most popular site events is the annual Secret Author contest, where stories are voted on without the readers knowing who wrote them. Guessing who wrote what always creates great discussion! Details should be coming soon. We already have a few story submissions for our annual anthology - Creature Feature, even though the deadline isn't until October first. Guidelines can be found here: Our first Prompt Team event proved quite popular last year, so we will be doing another one after the anthology. @Aditus and I have come up with something a bit different this year. Stay tuned for more information!

We had eight poems featured by site poets who were inspired by the theme of "Diversity". I really enjoyed everyone's unique take on an important theme. If you haven't done so, check out the links below and leave the poets a reaction or comment. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed poetry, read, reacted, commented, and reviewed. You guys are what makes this site so awesome! There's always behind-the-scenes help when it comes to anthologies, so I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks and appreciation to the following: 2025 Poetry Anthology Support Team Anthology Coordinator Valkyrie Tech Support Myr Anthology Banner Creation Cia Thank you to Cia, Myr, and Wildone for their behind-the-scenes help and moral support with the technical aspects I sometimes struggle with.

This reminded me of a fable, with an important message at the end. I do have to say that I don't kill spiders, but rather capture them in a glass and then liberate them outside. Usually while screaming and then flailing like Kermit the Frog. I really enjoyed this though. Thanks for sharing!

Two wonderful, thought-provoking poems; so well-written, as always. My BFF's non-binary child has an interesting take on labels. They said that labels can be helpful when trying to find like-minded people, which makes total sense to me. It doesn't mean that label has to stick, though. Unfortunately, there are people that would use those labels against us, and the label certainly does not make the person. I feel and share your anger in the second poem. I am lucky in that I grew up in a progressive church, where everyone has always been welcome. Sadly, I know that is not the case for everyone. Thank you for sharing these with us.

Finding someone who's been through the same tough times as us, knowing that we're not alone in a difficult journey is so motivating and comforting. I'm glad you were able to find that when you experienced your event. Thanks for reading and commenting. I enjoyed reading your comments.

There are a lot of common childhood experiences across generations, probably more so with the baby boomers, Gen X, and millenials. One thing I love about poetry is the different takeaways from different readers. I wanted to embrace some of the stereotypical Gen X experiences, but I really like your thought about things not changing as much as we might think. I agree about the resilience of the human spirit prevailing. I know the younger generations tend to get a lot of grief, but I see some great things coming from them.

Thank you! I always love it when readers find my work thought provoking.

Thank you so much! It's a powerful thing when we find commonality.

Thank you! I'm glad you could relate

Thank you! I'm really glad the second poem resonated with so many people.

Aww... thank you so much! It's so important to have empathy and put ourselves in others' shoes.

Poem 1 was meant to be an homage to childhood memories. I remember walking home from school once in a literal blizzard, and a streetlight actually blew over right in front of me O.O My mom picked me up shortly after that and wanted to know why I didn't wait for her. I just shrugged. Walking home is just what we did back then. Now I would definitely not drink from a hose, but back in the '80s we didn't really think about any potential contaminants. Poem 2 is based on a true story. Maybe one of these days I will feature a poem collection about the people I work with. Thank you for your comments and reading. I appreciate it!

We always had a fish fry on Good Friday and then colored the hard-boiled eggs afterwards. My parents hid them on Easter, along with baskets for me and my brother. The eggs we found would be made into deviled eggs to have with dinner.

Our celebration of National Poetry Writing Month continues with four more poems from site poets. I love the diversity of these submissions, and I hope you will too. Be sure to show the anthology participants your appreciation by leaving a comment, like, or review. If you haven't read them yet, check out last week's offerings as well. I'm really glad to see all the support for those who participated this year. Time to start reading!

Untitled Poem #1 I am from identifying birds from description while seated cross-legged on the floor. I am from fresh peanut butter fudge simmering on the stove. I am from snow angels and snow forts and ice skating in the back yard. I am from dirty hands and beautiful flowers. I am from curling up in the closet surrounded by my favorite books. I am from writing stories based on those books. I am from riding my bike until the streetlights came on. I am from

Finding commonality with other people is a powerful thing.

Yes, here it is.

Thank you! This was an interesting story to write, because I had to write about someone I didn't particularly like and then try to make them likeable. I'm glad it worked. FYI, Pete features in my Max and Elliot series, which were my first anthology stories. I would suggest reading those in order when you get to them. They're marked as a series, so it's easy to find the correct order.

You truly embraced "diversity" in all its meanings. I enjoyed all of them, but particularly felt the passion and emotion in the Fight for Inclusion. While I've never had dogs, I've had cats and plenty of horses in my life, so I can totally relate to the joy they bring and the pain when they leave us. The Haiku are very poignant and telling for these troubled times. Thank you for sharing your poems with us, and participating in the anthology!

Diversity is necessary to keep the world functioning, whether it be the symbiosis of nature or the rainbow of humankind. This was a nice reminder of that. Thank you for participating in the poetry anthology!

Realizing we are all different in unique, yet similar, ways is a powerful thing and the first step toward self-acceptance. Thank you for taking us on this journey and for participating in the poetry anthology. I enjoyed reading this.

The deadline for participating in the tribute to Comicality is fast approaching. Anyone who wishes to participate should post the link to their submission by midnight EST April 25th. More information can be found here:

April is National Poetry Writing Month, and it's time for GA's annual celebration of this event - the poetry anthology! This year, the theme was Diversity, and we had several site poets take up the challenge. We truly have some diverse poetry, and I am sure you will enjoy reading these selections as much as I did. Please show our poets your appreciation by leaving a reaction, comment, or review, and stay tuned next week for even more poetry Diversity!

April is National Poetry Writing Month, which is why we feature our annual Poetry Anthology in April. Stay tuned next week for the first batch of poems from site poets. In the meantime, let's explore poetry through prompts! PT Prompt #281: Write a poem celebrating spring. Haiku are, by tradition, about nature, but feel free to explore any form. PT Prompt #282: Write a poem about an inanimate object and bring it to life. Please include the prompt number either in your story/chapter description or title to help readers who would like to search for specific prompts. Also, please remember that stories less than one thousand words must be posted as part of a collection. If you check the subgenre 'prompt' in your story tags, then people/readers can find everything here: https://gayauthors.org/stories/browse/subgenre/prompt/