Category Cory Corrado

Jan 12 2026

My Poem of the Month for January

Hi everyone,

Our word for January is crowned (or crowned one) and I could think of no better way to put it to use than to remember Cory Corrado, whose full name was the inspiration for my choice. The picture was taken in 2011 in the farmhouse where the founders of Highlights for Children once lived, a few miles from Honesdale, Pennsylvania at Boyds Mills.

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Crowned One

We didn’t know that Cory stood for crowned.
Technically it didn’t, but Incoronata did,
the name she brought from Italy,
the land of her birth,
		which we didn’t know either,
until she left us and we read about her
and learned she was Italian not Canadian,
and had a long name with special meaning.

What we did know was, with Cory
we could count on kindness,
a helping hand, a picture to consider,
a friendship for life.

Incoronata (Cory) Corrado – our poetic,
wide-eyed friend crowned with black-maned
beauty –
we who knew you will remember.
			
(c) 2026 David L. Harrison
Jan 6 2026

The Word of the Month word for January is…

Hi everyone,

Two things. One, I apologize for failing to post the January word at the first of the month. I don’t remember that happening before. Thank you, GINA WYCKOFF, for reminding me!

Two, we learned last week that a dear friend died in October. INCORONATA CORRADO was born in Italy but lived in Montreal. We knew her as CORY, who attended my first poetry workshop for Highlights in Pennsylvania in 2011. Cory was a kind, sweet soul. I tried to reach her over the last few months, not knowing that her health had failed and she was struggling for life. Cory will be missed by many, including her mates at the workshop. She was a faithful contributor to Word of the Month and kept a careful record of each month’s word from the beginning. I dedicate January’s word to her honor and memory.

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In Italian, Incoronata means “crowned.” Therefore, the Word of the Month for January, 2026 will be crown or crowned. I wish that Cory could contribute a poem of her own but the rest of us can do it for her.

Apr 1 2024

And the word for April Word of the Month is…

Hi everyone,

If you know where the first quarter of 2024 has gone, I hope you’ll explain it to me. It’s just gone. And that reminds me of the word I’ve chosen for April’s Word of the Month Poetry Challege: GONE.

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According to CORY CORRADO, who has been with me in this monthly writing exercise since the beginning and who keeps careful records of every word we’ve used since the beginning back in October 2009, we used GONE once before, in August 2017. But I figure it’s safe after going on seven years to use it again.

So get going with GONE and lets see where you get with it!

Nov 26 2022

Word of the Month Poetry Challenges in the coming months

Hi everyone,

A quick reminder to those who have not posted their November Word of the Month poems yet. Grief is filled with meaning and stories. Thank you for the insightful poems already posted. I hope to see others as the month winds down.

If you remember, a few months ago I turned to the poets who attended my first workshop in 2011 near Honesdale, Pennsylvania and asked them to choose words for the next eight months. They were CORY CORRADO, JEANNE POLAND, KEN SLESARIK, SUSAN CARMICHAEL, JOY ACEY, HEIDI MORDHORST, BECCA MENSHEN, and CAROL-ANN HOYTE. In previous posts I’ve mentioned this group of poets, most of whom came to the workshop as strangers and left friends. Many have remained in touch over these past eleven years. With that original group in mind, I asked each in turn to provide the Word of the Month word for the months of September (Cory), October (Jeanne), November (Ken), December (Susan), January (Joy), February (Heidi), March (Becca), and April (Carol-Ann).

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So far we’ve enjoyed words provided by Cory, Jeanne, and Ken. Coming up in December is Susan. I’m eager to see what she suggests to tickle our muses.

Sep 29 2022

Last calls for September Word of the Month poems

Hi everyone,

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Thank you, Nathan Papes, Springfield News-Leader, for the swell picture

We’ve been zipping along with our September Word of the Month poems, thanks to CORY CORRADO’S good pick. If you haven’t added yours yet, you still have time, but don’t put it off any longer.

Next up for October will be JEANNE POLAND, choosing a new word to inspire and challenge us. That’s coming up on the 1st.