Janis Medders Tobechi Biography

Janis Medders Tobechi  is a retired teacher. But she feels there is no such thing as a retired teacher. 

Her former days were spent as an educator of grades k through 12. She taught high school English, was a reading specialist and finally left the system as an administrator. Her later years were spent preparing students for high school equivalency tests as an instructor for the Community College of Baltimore County.  A mother and a grandmother of two, Janis has also recently become a new wife.

She has been writing poetry since childhood, has a Bachelor's Degree from Juniata College and a Master's from Johns Hopkins University.  

She gives daily thanks and praise to her Heavenly Father for the blessings in life. 

 

 

Ottava rima Contest

Blog Posted by Janis Medders Tobechi: 6/19/2017 9:14:00 PM

Please Login to post a comment
La France Avatar
June 20, 2017 at 11:16 PM
Janis, i want to enter your contest
Medders Tobechi Avatar
June 21, 2017 at 2:51 PM
Good luck to you Constance.
Dietrich Avatar
June 20, 2017 at 2:42 PM
Janis, I always go by the judges' rules; however, personally, I believe meter is more important than the count of syllables. I have read poems claiming to be iambic pentameter , when in fact they were not, and other poems which were iambic pentameter although they were forced to add one extra syllable at the end of the line (as you said you had to do with your poem). I do not judge folks harshly when I can see something makes sense. One day I counted syllables in Shakespeare's sonnets (about ten of them). I found he sometimes used headless lines starting with stress instead of an unstressed sound. Other times he used 11 or 12 syllables! I will read your poem when I have more time. Gotta run!
Allison Avatar
June 20, 2017 at 7:05 AM
I read your poem it is very beautiful Janis:-) hugs jan xx
Cornish Avatar
June 19, 2017 at 9:29 PM
Interesting, but don't expect many if any to write in correct meter. Frere didn't even do so but Byron was very close. Good luck---btw, I will write to it for fun but will remove it afterward because I don't care about contests anymore---I pray some prove me wrong (a challenge) DO IT!

Previous Blogs

Thanks to Soupers
Date Posted: 9/8/2025 9:38:00 AM
Web Site Changes
Date Posted: 8/26/2018 4:46:00 PM
Collaboration Contest
Date Posted: 8/13/2017 9:28:00 PM
Ottava rima Contest
Date Posted: 6/19/2017 9:14:00 PM
The Color Blue Contest
Date Posted: 1/30/2017 2:51:00 PM
My First Published Book
Date Posted: 12/19/2016 10:04:00 PM
My Kind of Town
Date Posted: 11/10/2016 5:28:00 PM
Diamante Contest Finalized
Date Posted: 10/21/2016 9:44:00 PM
Olympic Mania
Date Posted: 9/4/2016 8:49:00 PM
Compose A Choka
Date Posted: 7/23/2016 7:03:00 PM
SUMMERTIME
Date Posted: 7/5/2016 1:04:00 PM
A Place Called Beautiful
Date Posted: 6/18/2016 5:27:00 PM
Pen A Sonnet On It
Date Posted: 5/29/2016 7:14:00 PM

My Photos


Get a Premium Membership
Turn off ads, get more exposure for your poetry, and get more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Diverse Voices: The Poetry of Human Rights and the Pursuit of Peace