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Jimmy Pappas

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Born
in Boston, Massachusetts , The United States
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Member Since
February 2010


Jimmy Pappas served during the Vietnam War as an English language instructor training South Vietnamese soldiers. He received a BA in English at Bridgewater State University and an MA in English literature from Rivier University. His poems have been published in over 150 journals, including Sheila-Na-Gig, First Frost, Shot Glass Journal, Frogpond, Off the Coast, Haikuniverse, Rattle, Cattails, and Boston Literary Magazine. The poem "Bobby's Story" was one of ten finalists in the 2017 Rattle Poetry Contest and won the 2018 Readers Choice Award. Other poems about veterans are included in Jimmy's first book Scream Wounds published by A15 Press in 2019. Jimmy won the Rattle chapbook prize in 2019 for Falling off the Empire State Building. He has ...more

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Popular Answered Questions

Jimmy Pappas What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

1. It's never too late to start. I really didn't start writing until after I had retired. Before that, as a t…more
What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

1. It's never too late to start. I really didn't start writing until after I had retired. Before that, as a teacher, I worked seven days a week. I learned quickly that the better prepared I was, the better teacher I was. That didn't leave much time for writing. Once the free time came, I immersed myself in my writing.

2. Read a lot. Look for what's new, especially in poetry. Don't tie yourself to the past. Poetry is always changing.

3. If you are young, set up a schedule of daily writing. Close the door of your room and write for one to three hours. Don't waste time. Do it.

4. Don't overrate yourself. Be humble or you may never improve.

5. Learn what good writing is all about. Good luck. (less)
Jimmy Pappas I have finished up a manuscript for a book of poetry about the Vietnam War and other stories from veterans I have spoken to in my Vietnam veterans gro…moreI have finished up a manuscript for a book of poetry about the Vietnam War and other stories from veterans I have spoken to in my Vietnam veterans group. The book will be called Scream Wounds: How to Kill Your First Man in War and should be published some time in 2018. (less)
Average rating: 4.18 · 103 ratings · 40 reviews · 6 distinct worksSimilar authors
Falling off the Empire Stat...

4.07 avg rating — 75 ratings
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Poppy Road Review (Annual E...

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4.55 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2014 — 3 editions
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Scream Wounds: How to Kill ...

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4.57 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2019 — 2 editions
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Petrichor Machine #6

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Auroras & Blossoms Poetry J...

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it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings
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Akitsu Quarterly Summer 2021

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A Conversation with Jimmy and Friends

Every Monday evening at 7 PM ET, I moderate a Zoom event called A Conversation with Jimmy and Friends. If you are interested in attending, let me know. I mostly discuss poetry, but I also discuss music, art, photography, and anything else. It's fun, educational, and interactive. The audience joins in.
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Published on March 03, 2026 20:00 Tags: poetry
All Join Hands: D...
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Patriot: A Memoir
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Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams
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Richard Alex Jenkins shared a highlight from
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Marcus Aurelius
Men seek retirement in the country, on the sea-coast, in the mountains; and you too have frequent longings for such distractions. Yet surely this is great folly, since you may retire into yourself at any hour you please.
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Richard Alex Jenkins shared a note and highlight from
The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius by Marcus Aurelius
All the earth is but a point in the Universe; how small a corner of that little is inhabited, and even there how few are they and of how little worth who are to praise us!
To think this was written nigh on 2000 years ago!
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Go and Do Likewise by Andy Beshear
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Treasury of Vietnamese Folk Tales by Nguyen Dong Chi
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Ordinary People, Extraordinary Times by Skye Perryman
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Residency Review by Katie Dozier
"I had the ebook version of this but turned around and bought the paperback version so I can keep it with my treasured poetry books of survivorship and bravery. Dozier explores a traumatic experience through an excellent collage of forms: haibun, poet" Read more of this review »
Residency Review by Katie Dozier
"I admired Dozier's fluid, inventive use of language and form, and intend to study her work more closely. Additionally, I am stunned by the complexity of the multiple themes presented, how they weave around each poem and inform the whole. What resonat" Read more of this review »
Masterpieces of Ancient Greek Literature by David J. Schenker
"It's a real pleasure to listen to a lecturer who is as knowledgeable and passionate about his subject as David J. Schenker. In this course (36 half-hour lectures) he gives an excellent overview of Ancient Greek literature, from Homer to the Hellenist" Read more of this review »
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Quotes by Jimmy Pappas  (?)
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“Writing poetry is the art of expressing old ideas in a new way.”
Jimmy Pappas, Falling off the Empire State Building

Topics Mentioning This Author

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Green Group: Scream Wounds 1 5 Sep 11, 2019 06:39PM  
Making Connections: 5574. Scream Wounds: How to Kill Your First Man in War by Jimmy Pappas 3 13 Oct 24, 2019 07:43PM  
Goodreads Viet Nam: Scream Wounds 2 322 Aug 17, 2022 02:29PM  
The Poetry Spot: Promote Your Book Here 301 406 Apr 22, 2025 05:26PM  
Around the World ...: Authors in the Group? 297 1161 Aug 25, 2026 09:27AM  
“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson's Essays

“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.”
François de La Rochefoucauld

“I am not sure that I exist, actually. I am all the writers that I have read, all the people that I have met, all the women that I have loved; all the cities I have visited.”
Jorge Luis Borges

“Perhaps it's impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be.”
Orson Scott Card, Ender's Game

660 Green Group — 2031 members — last activity 8 hours, 16 min ago
The Green group is about living in a sustainable manner--how human activity affects the environment and how a changing climate/environment affects how ...more
233 ¡ POETRY ! — 22505 members — last activity Jul 31, 2026 02:04PM
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read ...more
8115 The History Book Club — 26446 members — last activity 14 hours, 7 min ago
"Interested in history - then you have found the right group". The History Book Club is the largest history and nonfiction group on Goodread ...more
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A forum for friendly discussion of classics, literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry and short stories. We also love movies and art. Don't ask to join th ...more
169034 Non Fiction Book Club — 5198 members — last activity 17 hours, 40 min ago
This group is for anyone who enjoys Non Fiction. Genres discussed here include Histories, Autobiographies, Biographies, Memoirs, Science and Technolog ...more
28172 Poetry Readers Challenge — 640 members — last activity Jan 08, 2026 06:18AM
Let's talk about poetry books. This group's members read poetry collections, with the goal of reviewing twenty in a year. C'mon. Do it. It's good for ...more
1177401 "The Best American Poetry" Annual Anthologies — 16 members — last activity May 21, 2023 08:39PM
This group is dedicated to the annual poetry anthology The Best American Poetry [insert year here]. A discussion group will be created for each year's ...more
1139 Science and Inquiry — 4535 members — last activity 5 hours, 48 min ago
This Group explores scientific topics. We have an active monthly book club, as well as discussions on a variety of topics including science in the new ...more
263 Existentialism — 939 members — last activity Aug 07, 2026 05:00AM
Existentialism is a philosophical movement that claims that individual human beings have full responsibility for creating the meanings of their own li ...more
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What is Philosophy? Why is it important? How do you use it? This group looks at these questions and others: ethics, government, economics, skepticism, ...more
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Comments (showing 1-15)    post a comment »
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message 15: by Jimmy

Jimmy Poppy wrote: "OOPS, Jimmy. I put my comment in the wrong place (question), so I hope you find it. I just read the Bobby poems, and cannot repeat my comments of admiration yet again. So please read that box. Poppy"

Thank you, Poppy. It was great to see "Bobby's Story" again today on Rattle.


message 14: by Poppy

Poppy OOPS, Jimmy. I put my comment in the wrong place (question), so I hope you find it. I just read the Bobby poems, and cannot repeat my comments of admiration yet again. So please read that box. Poppy


message 13: by Jimmy

Jimmy John wrote: "Another Vietnam vet here. 8/68-9/69 9th ID

Let’s chat. flyfisher6312@gmail.com

John
Citrus Heights, CA"


I will contact you, John.


message 12: by John

John Turner Another Vietnam vet here. 8/68-9/69 9th ID

Let’s chat. flyfisher6312@gmail.com

John
Citrus Heights, CA


message 11: by Jimmy

Jimmy Poppy wrote: "Jimmy, I just finished reading Donald Hall's most recent book of essays, written as he headed toward his nineties. That happens to be in my very near future, as well, so I enjoyed the book immensel..."

I did read that book and thought it was excellent, Poppy.


message 10: by Poppy

Poppy Jimmy, I just finished reading Donald Hall's most recent book of essays, written as he headed toward his nineties. That happens to be in my very near future, as well, so I enjoyed the book immensely. He has been a favorite of mine since my husband and I lived less than a block from the Brock-Hall Dairy in New Haven. If you haven't read it, DO!!!


message 9: by Sarah

Sarah Russell Got it today! Thanks.


message 8: by Jimmy

Jimmy You have done nothing wrong, Sarah. We just have not had any posts for a few days. I will be active again today and make some new posts.


message 7: by Sarah

Sarah Russell Hi Jimmy,

Oops. Didn’t scroll down enough to see this comments section so I put my note to you in the “Ask the Author” section. If you miss it there, it was about IHOP. I’m not receiving posts anymore from the group, and I wonder if I’ve done something wrong. If I have, let me know what it is. If I haven’t, I’d really like to be reinstated.

Sarah Russell


message 6: by Jimmy

Jimmy Poppy wrote: "So, Jimmy, where can I find Bobby's Story?"

As far as "Bobby's Story" goes, that will take some time. As you know, it was nominated as a finalist for the 2017 Rattle Poetry Prize. Here is the link for that contest:

https://www.rattle.com/prize/winners/...

The poem will be published in the December issue of Rattle. You can become a subscriber online for $20. Maybe in January it will be posted online. If you subscribe to the print journal, you can vote for the best of the 10 finalists. The winner gets $2,000.

I am afraid that's the best I can do for now.


message 5: by Jimmy

Jimmy Poppy wrote: "Hi Jimmy. While I was looking for your Rattle poem, I came across this list of your favorite authors. When I saw Bart Ehrman's name, I just had to tell you that we have a connection. When my husban..."



I love Bart Ehrman, Poppy. Than you for sharing that connection with me. I never knew that. Your husband must have been a special man.


message 4: by Poppy

Poppy So, Jimmy, where can I find Bobby's Story?


message 3: by Poppy

Poppy Hi Jimmy. While I was looking for your Rattle poem, I came across this list of your favorite authors. When I saw Bart Ehrman's name, I just had to tell you that we have a connection. When my husband was brain-injured in an accident, he had to retire from teaching at the age of 52. Bart was hired to take his place!!!


message 2: by Jimmy (last edited Jun 16, 2012 10:28AM)

Jimmy James wrote: "Thanks for yuor support.

I don't know if you waded through all the comments, but this Jeff guy added a list of people who doubt evolution. Included on the list? Leonardo da Vinci , Isaac Newton, B..."


You have my total support on this issue.


message 1: by James

James Piper Thanks for yuor support.

I don't know if you waded through all the comments, but this Jeff guy added a list of people who doubt evolution. Included on the list? Leonardo da Vinci , Isaac Newton, Blaise Pascal, Louis Pasteur etc.

It shows you the lengths of deception these folks will go to to protect their religion. I find it disgusting.


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