Growing Up Snodgrass
A Poem & Birthday Wish
Growing Up Snodgrass
Snooty-lawn! Snot-blast! At some point you’ve heard all the taunts and not being bothered builds character. Now I hear a clever new twist and chuckle. Dickens, Twain, and Nash utilized this surname. Folks remember the Snodgrass they have known. Are you related to my first-grade teacher? Snod means smooth in Middle English, a Scottish bunch that spread around the globe, a badge of high honor for modern bearers. This spring, a friend with dementia whispered to me about the priest with the funny last name and I was grateful this grass is memorable.
I have a “Birthday Wish” on Facebook for All the Way Up, an adult education program in Newark that I helped found in 2018. All the Way Up (ATWU) grew out of a group called Newark Shared Ministry, which met monthly at the House of Prayer, where my father was rector in the 1980s, while my mom ran an adult literacy organization called “Project Read.”
Today, ATWU empowers adult learners in Newark, NJ and greater Essex County through individualized training in High School Equivalency/GED Test Preparation, English as a Second Language (ESL), and Job Readiness Skills. I hope that ATWU graduates will gain skills to engage literature and perhaps become writers and poets!
Please consider making a donation to support All the Way Up or become a Paid Subscriber. I give ATWU 10% of the income I receive on this platform and the remainder supports my writing (retreats, books, coffee shop visits, etc).
Thank you for reading my poems and reflections on Substack! Your engagement and encouragement are a tremendous gift.
This piece was drafted for the 2026 February Poetry Adventure prompt “grass.”
My funeral sermon for Juli Towell, who helped found All the Way Up and many other organizations.
My poem about last year’s “Midlife Birthday Morning.”
Q: Tell me stories about your name! Email your reply or comment below.