"Hazard of Hope" was my first public acknowledgment that my long-term relationship had ended. I wrote it, in part, to force myself to address my shame (at the time) of being unmarried. (This essay was published in March 2015. The entire piece can be read here: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2015/03/the-hazard-of-hope/)

Laurence is my first--and so far, only--friend to have died. I didn't get to say goodbye. (This vignette was published in January 2016. The piece can also be read here: https://tellusastoryblog.com/2016/01/20/its-our-first-flash-non-fiction-week-of-2016/)

Although family and close friends already knew about my disordered eating, this essay was my first time sharing widely about my struggles. (This essay was published in January 2016. The entire piece can be read here: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2016/01/how-i-learned-that-my-weight-is-not-my-worth/)

"Virus" is a tiny, true story that I only felt comfortable sharing if I called it fiction. (This vignette was published in January 2016. The piece can also be read here: https://www.everywritersresource.com/shortstories/virus-by-kerry-graham/)

I wrote this vignette in response to the murder of one of my students--the first of several over my career. In it, I combined fact and fiction; otherwise, his loss felt too real. (This vignette was published in April 2016. The piece can also be read here: https://aquietcourage.wordpress.com/2016/04/01/june-3rd/)

While this wasn't my first time writing about anxiety, it was the first time I shared about my anxiety getting the better of me. (This essay was re-published in February 2019. The entire piece can be read here: https://ravishly.com/first-time-i-cared-about-myself-more-consequences)

This essay is an honest, and humbling, examination of how my anxiety affects my relationship with my students. (This essay was published in March 2019. The entire piece can be read here: https://medium.com/my-sweet-dumb-brain/anxiety-left-me-weak-but-it-made-me-stronger-70ab8a5897c1)

Before this essay was published, a union representative told me what to expect if the school district disciplined me the way they have other educators who have publicly criticized their leadership. (This essay was published in June 2022. The entire piece can be read here: https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/creatives-in-residence/long-hours-no-respect-one-teachers-cry-for-help-LJ276YUIYNEGPOX4COVM7SVW3M/)

The hardest thing I've ever had to write was my brother's obituary. This essay--my first on grieving his sudden death--is the second. (This essay was published in December 2022. The entire piece can be read here: https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/creatives-in-residence/holiday-grief-self-care-J6HXJLZEQJERDDVQNJ4RYIJFDI/)

I applied for Yellow Arrow Publishing's Writer-in-Residence program not because I thought I'd be accepted, but because I was intentionally facing my fear of rejection. (More information is available here: https://www.yellowarrowpublishing.com/news/writers-in-real-life-kerry-graham, April 2019.)

I'm not afraid of public speaking. But this, my first literary reading, had me shaking. (This is at Yellow Arrow Publishing's Literary Night in August 2019.)

I wrote the entire proposal feeling unqualified to coach any other writers on their craft. I submitted it just in case I was. (This workshop took place in September 2019.)

I suspected the listeners of this podcast could become my future readers, so I pitched myself as a guest on the show. (This episode aired in February 2020. The audio is here: https://podbay.fm/p/brave-enough-to-be/e/1580889600)

Almost immediately after my first reading (in August 2019), I created an art series with other Baltimore artists. Starting in October 2019, we presented at various local venues. I read vignettes about my experiences teaching high school English, each of which was accompanied by either the artwork of painter Joann Dewwealth-O'Brien or photographer Rachel Shifreen. The visual art, inspired by the vignettes, revealed glimpses of each artist's individual impression of Baltimore. (The media release about our February 2020 show at Carpe Librum is here: https://baltimorefishbowl.com/stories/visit-carpe-librum-bookstore-and-art-gallery-for-the-literature-but-stay-for-the-bookstore-cat-stan-lee/)

I had to stop myself from declining the opportunity to be among Highland Featured Artists. (The piece, which went live in August 2021, is here: http://www.ihearthighlandtown.com/2021/08/03/artist-profile-kerry-graham/?fbclid=IwAR1sMo3JFrAQ_-i6i8LtMot1Yy8eLzhgWL29Wv_b4aVgLGFhYW7R3U7sY2s)

After being rejected seven times elsewhere, this flash fiction was published in Spry Literary Journal (June 2015). (https://sprylit.com/archives/issue-06/flash/wish/)

After being rejected seven times elsewhere, this vignette was published in The Citron Review (December 2018). (https://citronreview.com/2018/12/21/he-is/)

After being rejected 10 times elsewhere, this vignette was published in Crack the Spine (Feb 2019). (https://pub.lucidpress.com/crackthespine249/#4rCAzSaDo77p)

After being rejected 16 times elsewhere, this vignette was published in borrowed solace (Spring 2019).

After being rejected 12 times elsewhere, this vignette was published in borrowed solace (Spring 2019).

After being rejected 20 times elsewhere, the vignette "Slow His Feet" was published in Yellow Arrow Publishing's December 2019 zine. It appears below with permission: His footsteps sound like a panic attack. He only looks at me occasionally; otherwise, his eyes remain on the floor, unraveling his erratic path in the space between desks. Watching him, I wince. Until now, I have only ever known him to whisper jokes in class so my other students will laugh, or refuse the help I know he needs on assignments. To see him after school, by his choice and alone, I know before he admits: something is wrong. When he finally speaks, his words are even more rapid than his feet. He can’t sleep he wants resolutions he can’t eat he wants everyone to give him his space he can’t understand why some people act the way they do. He just wants to feel calm. “I only break out when I’m stressed.” Stopping for one second, two, but not three, he points to his face. “And look, it’s like connect-the-dots over here.” As his shadow paces the emptiness, I try to become for him, in my stillness and silence, a prayer. So often, it is the one answer I know. Only because he says a few times that it's okay, we can go, do I believe that he is ready to return to all that awaits him. By now, the late light of afternoon has melted, like bronze, into my room. It will eventually harden into darkness, then quietly crack with daybreak, before I see him again. During these hours apart, light drifts and stirs, but my hope stays steady: slow his feet, words, breath, mind. Please. The next time I see him, it is moments before the last of the day's classes begins. He walks not to his desk, but to me, and asks to talk. "So there's good news and there's bad news," he says as we step into the hall. Again, his words come quickly, but today, his feet stand still. I know that he knows now what is required of him to endure. Before I even start to go back to my room, he stops me. "But Ms. Graham, look." He grabs my wrist, and smiling, holds my hand against his chest. "Can you tell? My heart—it feels normal again.”

After being rejected nine times elsewhere, this vignette was published in Delmarva Review (November 2022). (https://delmarvareview.org/contributors-volume-12/)

I was so afraid I'd never be able to say I wrote my book.

"Dare" is one of my favorite micros I've written, a true story disguised as make-believe. (It was published in September 2017, and can be read here: https://atlasandalice.com/2017/09/25/fiction-from-kerry-graham/)

My first major byline! (This essay was published in July 2019. It can be read here: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/happily-childless-women_n_5d16788ce4b082e553691e1b)

My first major byline was translated into Spanish. (The translation was published in July 2019. It can be read here: https://www.huffingtonpost.es/entry/no-quiero-tener-hijos-y-estoy-harta-de-explicar-por-que_es_5d1de053e4b04c48140faf57?utm_hp_ref=es-solteros)

My first major byline was also translated in French. (The translation was published in July 2019. It can be read here: https://www.huffingtonpost.fr/life/article/je-ne-veux-pas-d-enfants-et-je-suis-lasse-d-expliquer-mes-raisons_148527.html)

When Googling myself one day, I discovered that my essay about being childfree by choice was cited by another writer. (Her piece was published in September 2019. The entire essay can be read here: https://www.scarymommy.com/childfree-women-motherhood-expectations/amp)

I am among a handful of Baltimore-based artists who The Baltimore Banner invited to be their inaugural Creatives in Residence. (The announcement was made in March 2022. It can be read here: https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/creatives-in-residence/the-baltimore-banner-announces-creatives-in-residence-to-celebrate-baltimore-writers-and-artists-UB4T5WVITRHLNLSIMYY7ODORCM/)

The same day The Baltimore Banner published one of my vignettes, Dan Rather read and shared it. (The vignette was published in July 2022. The piece can be read here: https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/creatives-in-residence/teaching-is-hard-moments-like-these-keep-me-going-GCYUUBRCXBC4PCS6HSHFK4IG54/ This is his tweet: https://twitter.com/DanRather/status/1552310296383029250?s=20&t=ZUlG0kebg802nZhU6wY4oQ)