Tomorrow and Tomorrow: Bexley Couple Produces Pandemic Anthology

Tomorrow and Tomorrow: Bexley Couple Produces Pandemic Anthology

GUEST POST by TAMI KAMIN MEYER

Kristopher and Gretchen Armstrong, of Bexley, accomplished something during the COVID-19 quarantine that few others can say they did. The couple, married seven years and parents of a blended family of four children, decided to produce an anthology.

Because the quarantine slowed their lives to a trickle, when normally the family would have been incessantly busy with activities, the Armstrongs figured the time was right to create Tomorrow and Tomorrow. According to Kristopher, who lovingly refers to the anthology as the couple’s “pandemic baby,” he and Gretchen had discussed collaborating on a literary project upon retirement but seized the free time engendered by the shutdown to produce it now.

“We wanted to see if we could do it, especially during a pandemic,” says Kristopher. When the couple solicited contributions of stories, poems and art during 2020, they weren’t sure how many responses they would receive.

Fortunately, that wasn’t a problem. “We were amazed at the number of submissions we received,” says Gretchen. So many, in fact, the couple held lengthy discussions about which pieces would fill the pages of Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

While the anthology was going to be a one-time project, the enthusiastic welcome it has received persuaded the couple to continue with it. Not only is a second issue planned for later this year, the Armstrongs will publish two issues annually, in spring and fall.

Submissions for the second issue are being accepted through June 30, 2021. For further details, consult www.tomorrowandtomorrow.net.

Meanwhile, a book launching party to celebrate the launch of Tomorrow and Tomorrow is set for June 24, 2021 at Austen & Company, 1530 S. High Street, Columbus, from 7-9 pm. The evening will include readings by some of the contributors and a panel discussion on creativity in the current moment, as well as time to meet with writers and other creatives.


Note from Tami: I am proud to have contributed a haiku poem called ‘Raindrops,’ to Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I wrote it during a heavy rainstorm when I was a junior in high school for Boris, my crush. If you read it, you’ll understand why the context tells the story.


This essay first appeared in the June 2021 issue of Write Now Columbus. Subscribe here.

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