From Corporate Lawyer to Published Poet in His 60s

Three decades in law, 39 rejections, one acceptance, a published poet — now, with Fifth Stanza Press, he’s opening doors for poets who start later in life.

In 2019, Hong Kong came apart around me. I had lived there for 18 years. Things were happening outside my window that I had never experienced before. Writing became a way to stay calm and make sense of the world amidst uncertainty. Around the same time, I began a meditation practice. Poetry followed as a natural response.

Thirty years in Asia, and a notebook I had closed

For most of my adult life, my identity was tied to being a lawyer: 25 years in private practice and 30 years in Asia — Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, and Taiwan. When I left, my goal was simply to stay engaged. I’d written poetry in college but gave it up as other commitments took over: first graduate school, where I earned a JD and an MBA, then building a career and starting a family.

A poetry class, taken alone in quarantine

When the pandemic began, Hong Kong imposed strict quarantines for inbound travelers, so I could no longer travel for business and spent long stretches alone in the city, away from my family. To keep my mind engaged when I wasn’t working, I took online courses, including ModPo, a modern poetry course offered by the University of Pennsylvania’s Kelly Writers House.

ModPo is taught online, so its students are scattered across the globe and span every age group; the course is built around lifelong learning. It offers more than lectures. Community members read poems together in small groups and write poems to share with one another year after year.

The manuscript, and thirty-nine rejections

I never set out to publish a book. I began writing poems again to explore the transitions and uncertainties of midlife, and ModPo supported me. Al Filreis, the professor who developed and teaches the course, introduced me to Autumn McClintock, a Philadelphia-based editor who helped me grow as a writer.

By 2023, I began to sense that my poems might take shape as a book. With Autumn’s help, I shaped a manuscript and sent it to 40 small presses.

Thirty-nine rejected it. Typically, the only feedback from a publisher is a terse rejection letter that arrives months after you submit. My confidence began to falter as I worked my way down a list of publishers over about a year — long periods of silence punctuated by rejections.

Instead of another submission, I entered a contest: the Trail to Table Book Award, run by Wandering Aengus Press. Before Leaving the Island won — the publication itself was the prize. Until that day, I had assumed I would self-publish, as many people in my position do.

The collection came out in April. It brings together nearly 90 pages of poetry written over five years. The title, Before Leaving the Island, reflects both geography and biography: the literal islands of Asia I left behind after three decades, and the professional island I left behind as well.

Why I started a press for poets who begin their writing career late

This year, I founded Fifth Stanza Press — where your next stanza begins — with Autumn McClintock as Editor-in-Chief to publish first and second collections — giving a debut poet in midlife the shot I nearly didn’t get. I know what thirty-nine rejections feel like, and I wanted to build the kind of door I wish had been open when I was sending my own work out. Writing poetry later in life is more common than people assume; many don’t begin until their first decades in other careers are behind them, and poetry becomes a second act. These poets aren’t credentialed in the conventional sense — they generally don’t hold MFA degrees — but their life experience is a rich source of insight. And there are more of them than you might think: at the Association of Writers & Writing Programs conference in Baltimore this February, the session “Debuting After Fifty” was standing room only.

Yet the demographic remains underserved. Only a few literary presses focus on these writers, so many who take up poetry later in life self-publish — a legitimate and more accessible option than it used to be, though it lacks the production and marketing support a press can provide. I wanted to create space for those voices.

Our first reading period runs through July 31, 2026. Submissions cost $15, and the guidelines are available at fifthstanzapress.com/submissions. Every poet will hear back by the end of October, and we’ll announce one or two manuscripts for publication in early 2027.

What I am working on now

I’ve also returned to another long-standing interest: classical Chinese poetry. I studied modern and classical Chinese long before I published my own poems, and I’m now collaborating with an old friend to translate Tang and Song dynasty poetry as part of an illustrated series on the Chinese classics. I hope the work helps bridge a cultural gap in an era of geopolitical tension and misunderstanding.

Moving on after a long, demanding career isn’t easy. But writing poetry later in life gave me back something I’d set aside before that career began — and, at last, a path forward.

Before Leaving the Island is available on Amazon.

Your questions about writing poetry at 50+, answered

Is it too late to start writing poetry in your 50s, 60sand beyond?

No, it is not too late to start writing poetry later in life. Many poets publish their first collection in midlife or later, and life experience often gives that work depth. Online courses support writers who begin later.

How do you publish a first poetry collection later in life?

A debut poet in midlife usually reaches print through small presses or poetry book contests. Building craft and community through a course like ModPo helps, and a few presses now focus specifically on publishing poetry for those over 50.

How many rejections are normal before a poetry book is published?

Often, dozens. John Fadely’s debut was rejected 39 times before it won a book award and was published — a reminder that persistence, not just talent, is essential to publishing a poetry book.

What is Fifth Stanza Press?

Fifth Stanza Press publishes first and second poetry collections by writers in midlife or later — “where your next stanza begins.” Its inaugural reading period runs through July 31, 2026; guidelines are at fifthstanzapress.com/submissions. 

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