New Mexico State Poetry Society

Language of

Enchantment

“A grain of poetry suffices to season a century.” -- Jose Marti, Cuban poet

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New Mexico State Poetry Society

Pardon me if I paraphrase the century-old British music hall song and say

“It’s a long way to Tucumcari, It’s a long way to go...”

But not for six intrepid members of the New Mexico State Poetry Society who ventured to that eastern New Mexico city November 13-14, 2015, for a Friday night spoken word program and a Saturday morning workshop as part of the NMSPS mission to promote poetry in the land of enchantment.

Joining local Tucumcari poets at the Eastern New Mexico ArtSpace event were NMSPS President Andi Pen- ner; Dante Berry, chair of the Rio Grande Valley Chapter; Jim Raby, chair of the Santa Fe Trails Chapter; Zacha- ry Kluckman, chair of the newly incorporated Southwest Speaks chapter; and NMSPS members Mark Fleisher and Ginny Gaskill.

The event was organized primarily by Gregg Howard (Mesalands Community College instructor and chair of the Enchanted Mesa Poets chapter). More than 50 local poetry enthusiasts packed the gallery, owned by Toni & Rick Haymaker, and listened to several open mic readers before Gregg and Tucumcari resident Levi Mericle joined the NMPS crew for the spoken word program. Levi, a performance poet, gave the audience an unex- pected bonus when he ended a love poem by kneeling on one knee and asking his girlfriend, Crystal Dawn, for her hand in marriage. And yes, friends, she did accept!

The two-hour Saturday workshop led by Zachary Kluckman focused on pushing the envelope in discovering techniques to help avoid using the same “favorite” words in poems we write. Zach encouraged the twenty or so poets in the room to get out of our comfort zones.

Writing exercises, including word association and filling in the blanks in a series of unrelated sentences helped workshop attendees use images to convey their thoughts—in other words, employing images to “show rather than tell.” The workshop concluded with writers creating at least the beginnings of poems using “The Golden Shovel” form, based on a poem of that name by Terrance Hayes (who got it from Gwendolyn Brooks’ “We Real Cool.”)

NMSPS is a proud sponsor of poetry road trips!

New Mexico State Poetry Society

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What's Happening in the Chapters?

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New Mexico State Poetry Society

What's Happening in the Chapters?

...continued...

New Mexico State Poetry Society

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NMSPS Member & Community

Recognition

Important Dates...Please note on your Calendar

Board Meetings

January 23, 2016, 12:00—2:30 p.m. Belen, NM

Contact any board member for more information if you wish to attend.

April 23, 2016, time TBD, Annual State Convention, Monte Vista Christian Church, Albuquerque, NM For more events, meetings, and happenings all around the state poetry community,

please see our online calendar. To have your poetry event listed, email NMSPScalendar@nmpoetry.com

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New Mexico State Poetry Society

The NMSPS Children’s Poetry Project tradition continues this school-year and has expanded to include two schools in Albuquerque: Alvarado and Reginald Chavez Elementary Schools in the Albuquerque Public Schools district. The project hosts a Poet in the Classroom Day and involves teachers and students in writing and sharing poetry.

Last year, with the help of over a dozen local poets* who volunteered their time, the project reached every classroom at Alvarado. With a $500 grant of support from NMSPS, the project culminated in the publication of a beautiful full-color hardback book of poetry called Alvarado Elementary Poems, written and illustrated by the children and facilitated by Alison O’Leary, school librarian. (One of those poems appears below.)

For the 2015-16 year, we are expanding into a second school in the Albuquerque Public School district, Reginald Chavez Elementary School.

A “Share Your Experience” session is scheduled for January 22, 2016. This is an opportunity for past and new Poets in the Classroom to learn how others have conducted their Poet in the Classroom Day.

The Poet in the Classroom Day at Reginald Chavez Elementary School will be presented on

February 12, 2016.

The Poet in the Classroom Day at Alvarado Elementary School is scheduled for March 18, 2016.

The children at both schools will have a chance to listen to children's poetry, write a poem, and then present that poem to their class.

If you are interested in learning more about the project, would like to volunteer your time, or have ideas for doing a children’s poetry project in your area, the NMSPS would like to hear from you! Please contact John

Candelaria at NMSPSchildpoetryproject@nmpoetry.com

Purple

I feel purple like a grape in the night I feel cold.

~Izabella Gonzales, 1st grade

*NMSPS poets: Chandra Bales, Greg Candela, John J. Candelaria, Gary Chorre, Deborah B. Eagan, Fil Peach, Elizabeth Raby, and Bonnie Rucobo.

New Mexico State Poetry Society

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NM State Poetry Society Annual Convention: April 23, 2016!

The NMSPS 2016 Convention will take place on Saturday, April 23, 2016, at the Monte Vista Christian Church, 3501 Campus Blvd, NE, in Albuquerque. All members and visitors are welcome to attend this day of poetry readings, workshops, and news from around the State.

This year’s event will be catered so that those coming from long distances do not have to worry about transporting potluck fare. Please mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details. Typically we begin mid-morning with the board/business meeting in which members may participate and vote on any proposed actions. The meeting also includes reports from the chapters and announcements of special awards and recognition. We share a meal together and of course we share poetry! Workshops and open mic are open to all.

We hope to see you there for a day of poetry, greeting old friends, and making new ones.

Conventions don’t just happen, however. It takes a group of volunteers to plan together in advance.

Do we want music? If so, who will play and sing?

Do we want workshops? If so, who will lead them?

Do we want to sell books? If so, who will host the sale table? Jim & Elizabeth Raby will! :)

Do we want an open mic? If so, who will emcee and keep time?

Do we want to contact each member with a personal invitation? If so, who will make phone calls?

If you are interested in volunteering to make this convention happen, we need you! Please contact your chapter chair or any board member. See page 9 of this newsletter for complete contact information. Thank you!

Oh, yes,

let’s bless the imagination. It gives us the myths we live by. Let’s bless the visionary power of the human—

from “On the Meeting of Garcia Lorca and Hart Crane” by Philip Levine

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New Mexico State Poetry Society

No, the “cup” headline above is not some Mad Hatter's tea party reference! The

College Undergraduate Poetry (CUP) Competition is the new name of the Na- tional Federation of State Poetry Societies' (NFSPS) annual prize of $500 plus publi- cation awarded to two US college students for a chapbook of poetry. I became chair of the CUP Competition in 2014, which also means I am a member of the NFSPS Appointive Board. Wondering what that means and why it matters? Let me explain.

The New Mexico State Poetry Society is the only New Mexico state affiliate of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, NFSPS, aka the Federation. Each June, the Federation holds its Annual Convention during which the NFSPS Board meets to discuss policies and vote on major decisions. The Convention moves from state to state each year; we hosted it in Albuquerque in 2013. The 2013 Convention breathed new life into the Federation, and the same excitement was apparent at the 2015 Florida convention. One idea gaining momentum is online contest submissions. Last year, we started that process with the CUP Competition and it proved quite successful among computer savvy college students. Our success with CUP paved the way for the Stevens Manuscript Contest (another annual NFSPS award) to go online as well. The Stevens chair reports that over 90 percent of this year’s entries were digital, and it looks like only a matter of time before the Nationals―those 50 NFSPS contests whose winners are announced at the Convention and published in the Encore anthology―will follow suit.

As a member of the NFSPS Appointive Board, I get a backstage look at some of the other ideas floating around the Federation, and I am heartened by what I see. Younger members, new approaches, and some lively debate about what our Federation should be in this still-new century might surprise you, including talk about contests for performance poetry and the spoken word. At the next Convention (Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN, June 9-13), Board members will stay an extra day to work on strategic planning―a first for NFSPS. The NFSPS Board is now communicating year-round in a new online chat forum where we are looking hard at long-held practices at the "heart" of NFSPS.

Speaking of the Annual Convention, plan now to attend, if you can. NMSPS has become a force in the Federation, but unless we have a full delegation at its main event, we don't get an equal voice in voting (one vote per delegate, up to four per state). Who knows? You could be part of a literary revolution.

The All-Volunteer NMSPS Board Serves YOU!

MEMBER BOOK MARKET WEB PAGE

http://nmpoetry.org/nmsps-market.shtml

Want your book included in the Members’ Book Market? Look for the submission guidelines on the NMSPS website. A $10 set-up fee lets you list up to three books with links to where your books can be purchased.