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This NMSPS newsletter is full of pent-up information and time-sensitive material you may find useful, even inspiring. Please scroll and read, and forgive the editor for errors.she alone made them. For more info., or to volunteer/participate in NMSPS, please find the contact person.s name and email address in the stories, below; email info@nmpoetry.com; or send a real note or fan mail to: NMSPS, P.O. Box 21825, Albuquerque, NM 87154.
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Nominations open for 2017-2019 elected board
The 2015-2017 elected board members step down on April 29, 2017 when their term expires. The nominating committee is compiling a new slate of officers for President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer. Nominate yourself by emailing info@nmpoetry.com. When the slate is available in March, members will be able to vote via electronic or mail-in ballot. Final ballots may be cast at the annual meeting, April 29, after which the new board will be announced.
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NOTE: March 15 Deadline for National Federation Poetry contests. See online submission info by selecting "Poetry Contest," then "Annual Poetry Contests," and "Contest Rules." If you want to mail your entry on paper, send it to the Contest Chair:
Emory D. Jones
608 N. Pearl St.
Iuka, MS 38852
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SAVE THE DATE: April 29, 2017!
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The NMSPS Annual Convention will be held at the Monte Vista Christian Church in Albuquerque on April 29, 2017. Registration opens sometime in March (stay tuned).
- Online: Use PayPal to buy your ticket, request your lunch option (carnivore, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc.), and sign up to sell your books at the convention bookstore.
- Ticket price $20/per member; $40, non-member (includes 2017 NMSPS membership) includes, coffee, mingling, workshops, presentations, lunch, refreshments, bookstore, and open mic. Only the morning Annual Members. Meeting is free.
- Doors open at 8:30 a.m.; closing remarks at 3:45 p.m.
- Elected officers announced, open mic, book sales, food, friends, and fun!
- Poet Bruce Noll performs as Walt Whitman; morning and afternoon workshops by Manuel Gonzales (Albuq. Poet Laureate), Barbara Rockman, Elizabeth Raby, and Kelly and Pamela Yenser; a publishers. panel featuring three NM presses: West End, 3: A Taos Press, and Red Mountain.
- Contact Jules Nyquist, chair, julesnyquist@yahoo.com to learn more or volunteer.
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Nature, Calligraphy, & Haiku?
Call for Submissions! Deadline: March 20, 2017. Now accepting 10-word, one-line and haiku-like poems for impermanent publication as .weathergrams,. i.e., lines calligraphied on brown paper hung outdoors. [See pictures of last year.s event.] Of the hundreds of poems submitted by the Mar. 20 deadline, members of Escribiente, Albuquerque.s Calligraphy Society, will select 200 or more for the weathergrams. Send your plain text submissions (up to 10 entries per poet) via email message (no attachments) to Dale Harris or Scott Wiggerman. Use a nature theme: seasons, the Rio Grande valley, plants, animals, and/or the environment. The March deadline allows calligraphers time to create weathergrams for the Poets. Picnic, May 20, 2017, at the beautiful west-side Open Space Visitors. Center. All New Mexico poets and friends of open space are invited! Enjoy the weathergrams, poetry readings, workshops, calligraphy demonstrations, and more. [Poets need not be present to have their work displayed.] |
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Children.s Poetry Project (CPP) 2017: One more opportunity to sign up!
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Poet-in-the-Classroom day, Friday, April 7, 2017 at our newest location: Cochiti Elementary School in Albuquerque, still needs poets to volunteer an hour. Contact John Candelaria, Children.s Poetry Project lead, jjc-poet@comcast.net. Reginald Chavez Elementary hosted its 2nd annual PITC day on Feb. 3; Alvarado Elementary (where it all began several years ago) hosts its PITC day on Mar. 3. Poet-in-the-Classroom days involve many volunteer poets; school teachers, librarians, and administrators; and hundreds of elementary school kids. John Candelaria has announced his resignation, effective April 29, 2017. If the project is to survive without John.s leadership, dedication, and enthusiasm for corralling poets and collaborating with schools, we need a new leader and champion in Albuquerque. .Poet in the Classroom. could go statewide if someone with vision, energy, and organizational skills volunteered to lead the effort. Please consider volunteering as poet in the classroom and/or project leader. The children are counting on you!
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2016 Sweepstakes Winners!
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Thanks to all who participated in the fall membership sweepstakes. And congratulations winners, selected at random for the $100 gift-card prizes: Edi Powers, renewing Albuq. chapter member, and Von Bourland, new at-large member from Texas, but closest chapter is in Tucumcari, NM!
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Newsletter Editor Position Available
Do you know how to use MailChimp? Would you like to see more poetry and fewer mistakes in this newsletter? Have ideas for articles? You could be just the volunteer editor we're looking for! Please contact your chapter chair or any board member if you would like to be the NMSPS Newsletter Editor for member year 2017!
info@nmpoetry.com
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National Federation of State Poetry Societies announces
LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!
BlackBerryPeach Prizes for Poetry: Spoken and Heard
New contest honors the page-and-stage artistry of the performance poet, including slam and traditional-style readings. Enter 4 poems in both text and audio formats. Whatever your style, let the poetry of your voice and the voice of your poetry come through! Guidelines here. ONLINE ENTRIES ONLY, through Submittable.
DEADLINE: March 15, 2017
WINNERS RECEIVE:
- Cash Prizes: $1,000; $500; $250
- Publication in contest chap-book and video on YouTube.
- Performance opportunity at the NFSPS Annual Convention, July 1 & 2, 2017, in Ft. Worth, TX
- Under 21 - $10.00 entry fee: Entry Form
- Over 21 - $15 entry fee: Entry Form
*Our own Shirley Blackwell and Fil Peach created this national competition and contributed seed money to fund the prizes!
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From the President's Desk
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Dear Poets & Friends:
As my tenure draws to a close, this is my final newsletter opportunity to thank you all for contributing to the success of the New Mexico State Poetry Society over the past two years. You have done so much: added many members, partnered with libraries and other community organizations to promote poetry and literacy, expanded the Children's Poetry Project into three elementary schools, taken poetry on the road, created (and taken advantage of) publishing opportunities, supported the NM/AZ book awards prize for poetry, met regularly as chapters for workshops and open mics, and organized many events across the state. Kudos!
~ Andi Penner, President, NMSPS
p.s. Scroll up to see our newly designed logo; thanks to Debbi Gutierrez for making it happen.
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Sensational Prompts for 2017
Santa Fe poet and author Miriam Sagan introduced our chapter to a set of prompts based on .synesthesia. (e.g., the experience of .seeing. a color, or .hearing. a scent). Try these 3 exercises at home. After each one, read your response aloud, type it up, keep what you like, and build on it. You may be pleasantly surprised by the results!
- Given the words turquoise and thunder, in just 3 minutes, write a few lines to answer .What is the scent of turquoise?. and .What is the taste of thunder?.
- Select an abstract noun, broad non-specific, e.g. beauty, truth, death, etc. Then answer the following questions about your noun, freewriting for ~5-10 min., as the basis for a poem: What does it wear? What does it smell like? Say? Eat? Do to earn a living? Dream about?
- With exercises 1 & 2 in mind, freewrite for 10 full minutes, composing ~10-15 lines using 4 words.earth, mirror, regret, and smoke; include a non-English word and a New Mexico item/reference; and ask a question.
Thanks to Earl Kious for this synopsis.
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Santa Fe Poetry Trails Chapter Welcomes New Chair!
Long-time chapter chair and leader extraordinaire, Jim Raby, is stepping down from the volunteer heights. The new Santa Fe Chapter Chair.selected by Jim and chapter members.is John Casquarelli. Thank you, Jim. Welcome, John.
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MEMBERSHIP in NMSPS [a 501(c)(3) organization] is open to anyone interested in reading, writing, or promoting poetry. Benefits of membership include:
- Automatic membership in the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (including eligibility for national contests)
- Quarterly e-newsletter (via USPS on request)
- Eligibility for members-only contests, publications, etc.
- Book promotion on the NMSPS. website
- Society funds to promote the NMSPS mission via chapter activities, as determined by the chair: e.g., open workshops, slams, and readings.
...Annual dues support the website, online calendar, and newsletter; operating expenses; statewide outreach; poetry prizes and book awards; annual state convention; and the Children's Poetry Project. Join/renew online. Specify your chapter affiliation and your educational institution (if you are joining as a student).
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