by Lisa Zerkle, VP Programs

Skilled kayakers seek to join the current, become one with the water, enjoy the trees and riverbanks as they glide past. But sometimes joining the current becomes an exercise in frustration as you hit a rock or get thrown off course into an eddy. Poets know writing can offer the same thrills and frustration. There’s nothing quite like writing when it’s going well, but the eddies challenge.

Together with generous support from Friends of Weymouth, the Poetry Society is pleased to welcome poet (and kayaker) Lola Haskins as our featured reader and presenter for the January meeting. A prolific and gifted writer, Ms. Haskins will read some of her recent work in the morning session and lead us in a workshop in the afternoon. She will use examples from her own rough drafts to show us how to best navigate into the current in our poetry. Her tenth book of poetry, The Grace to Leave is forthcoming from Anhinga Books. Her ninth book, Still, the Mountain, won the Silver Medal for Poetry in the 2010 Florida Book Awards. She is the author of a book of poetry advice, Not Feathers Yet: A Beginner’s Guide to the Poetic Life and teaches in the low residency MFA at Pacific Lutheran University.

Haskins excels at collaboration, working with dancers, actors, musicians and visual artists. Some of her collaborations include a performance called “Forty-Four Ambitions for the Piano” and Solutions Beginning with A, a book of fables about women illustrated by Maggie Taylor, among many others. Please join us as we hear Lola Haskins’ poetry in the morning and learn from this multi-talented artist in the afternoon.

For the Right Brain: Creative Strategies for Poets

Later in the afternoon, it’s a switch to the right side of the brain to learn about smart strategies for promoting yourself on the web. In the Creative Strategies for Poets workshop, Kevin Watson, founding editor of Press 53, will discuss the many opportunities writers have to be seen and heard. Social media offers numerous ways to reach your readers, but how much is too much? Watson will discuss how to best use social media to promote yourself and your work.

Kevin Morgan Watson is founder of Press 53 and serves as Editor in Chief with a special focus on Short Stories and Poetry. As a publisher, he has worked with writers ranging from first-time published authors to winners of the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize. As a writer, his short stories, poetry, and essays have appeared in numerous publications, including the 2002 TallGrass Writers Guild/Outrider Press anthology Take Two—They’re Small, where his short story “Sunny Side Up” won first prize. Press 53 is an independent publisher of literary fiction, poetry and non-fiction located in Winston-Salem, NC. Their impressive internet presence can be found at www.press53.com and on Facebook.

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Coming in March: Sam Ragan Festival
A Sneak Peek
On March 24, 2012, the Sam Ragan Festival continues the celebration of the Poetry Society’s 80th year with readings and workshops from poets Diana Pinckney (Green Daughters) and Katherine Soniat (Swing Girl). During open mic, we’ll honor instrumental NCPS members by reading their poems. And it wouldn’t be the Sam Ragan Festival without music. We hope you’ll join us for the fun!

The time is here to  start thinking about submitting to the NCPS 2012 Poetry Contests! February 1, 2012 is our deadline, and that may seem like a long way away, but time flies.

The NC Poetry Society has two categories of contests:

• our Adult Contests (find the guidelines here).
• our Student Contests, which includes students grade 3 all the way up to university undergraduates (find those guidelines here).

Winners and honorable mentions of all of our contests receive a free copy of Pinesong, our annual awards anthology book, and an invitation to read at the Awards Day meeting, on May 19, 2012 in Southern Pines.

Submission to all of these contests is completely free for NCPS Members (except for the Poet Laureate Award, which is still a bargain at $5), and reasonably-priced for non-members. So go ahead and dig out your favorite poems to submit. You never know which one might be a winner!

We also sponsor the Brockman-Campbell Book Award for books published in 2011. You can read the guidelines on the Brockman-Campbell page, here. Entries for this award are due on May 1, 2012.

Join us at the upcoming Fall Meeting of the NCPS!

NCPS Fall Meeting
Saturday, September 17, 2011
Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities
Southern Pines, NC
For directions to the Weymouth Center, see this page.

Featuring the Brockman-Campbell Book Award winners and the North Carolina Writers’ Network Randall Jarrell Poetry Competition winners, and an afternoon talk from Keith Flynn.

The morning will feature readings by the 2011 Brockman-Campbell Book Award winner, Peter Makuck, and Malaika King Albrecht and Joe Mills, two of the poets selected as honorable mentions.

We’ve also invited the winner and honorable mentions in the 2011 Randall Jarrell Poetry Competition, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network (NCWN), to read. The poem “I Am the Girl” by Dannye Romine Powell was chosen, from almost 100 entries, as the winning poem by acclaimed poet Dan Albergotti.

After lunch, Keith Flynn will lead a discussion about the evolving ole of new media as it relates to the poetry world.

Before and after lunch, we’ll continue the open mic tradition, and we’ll end the day with a reception and book signing for the Brockman-Campbell Book Award and Randall Jarrell honorees and Keith Flynn.

Visit our events page for a full schedule, a writeup on the day’s events, and more about the afternoon workshop from Keith Flynn.

And after the meeting, Keith Flynn is giving a workshop in nearby Aberdeen, NC. Check out the local events page for more information about this event.

Announcing:

Awards Day Meeting
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Weymouth Center, Southern Pines

We’ll honor the latest student and adult winners of the North Carolina Poetry Society’s annual competitions and release the 2011 Pinesong (edited by Debra Kaufman) on Saturday, May 21, 2011, at Weymouth.

After a brief business meeting, we’ll dedicate this year’s Pinesong to Bill Griffin, doctor, author of little mouse and other books, and the Poetry Society’s long-standing treasurer.

After the dedication, Andrea Bates of Wilmington—winner of the Poet Laureate Award (final judge Cathy Smith Bowers)—will read, followed by the finalists for the Poet Laureate Award (preliminary judge Myrna Stone). Then we’ll hear the student winners of the Travis Tuck Jordan Award (for students in grades 3 through 5, judged by Donna Waters), the Joan Scott Memorial Award (for poems about the environment by students in grades 3 through 8, judged by Jan Jacobi), the Mary Chilton Award (for students in grades 6 through 8, judged by Jennifer Menser), the Sherry Pruitt Award (for students in grade 9 through undergraduate, judged by Mark Scandling), and the Farlow-Griffin Haiku Award (for students in grade 9 through undergraduate, judged by Dan Drummond). Annalee Kwochka will read at the end of the student contests, with an introduction by Libby Campbell on the role NCPS plays in fostering young poets.

We’ll then continue with the adult winners of the Caldwell Nixon Jr. Award for poems written by adults for children (judged by Sharon F. McDermott) and the Griffin-Farlow Award (judged by Roberta Beary), and
possibly others, depending on time.

After a break for lunch around noon, we’ll resume readings by the remaining adult winners at 1:15 pm: winners of the Poetry of Courage Award (judged by Simon J. Ortiz); the Poetry of Love Award (judged by Lola
Haskins); the Thomas H. McDill Award for a poem of any form, any style, with a maximum of 60 lines (judged by Toi Derricotte); the Joanna Catherine Scott Award for traditional forms (judged by Richard Katrovas); the Mary Ruffin Poole American Heritage Award (judged by David Huddle); and the Katherine Kennedy McIntyre Light Verse Award (judged by Franz Wright).

For a full schedule, be sure to see the events page.

May is a perfect time to enjoy poetry and the majestic gardens and house at Weymouth. Please join us.