I look forward to each spring, especially as the dogwoods and irises in my yard birth plentiful, white blooms, in stark contrast to the verdant, leafy splashes of March. After they shed their snowy blooms, and June comes knocking on May’s door, daylilies burst forth as if to announce, “Summer’s coming! Summer’s coming!” And those daylilies don’t like to trumpet in the season solo. Nourish a bulb with sunlight and scant water, and in a few years you’ll have a gardenful that returns (and multiplies) year over year.

This summer, as daylilies erupt in bright shades of citrus and sunshine, PST will celebrate a momentous milestone: 70 years of poets and poetry! Imagine that handful of enterprising Memphis-based poets in the summer of 1953—their excitement as they formally established the society, the joy of creating a community for poets. Thanks to our founders, and those that followed them, poets have returned and joined anew year over year to grow and bloom. After setting a strong foundation in west Tennessee, PST eventually propagated, and today our members spread from corner to corner of the state, into bordering states and beyond.

Founded to promote poets and poetry and to nurture poets (present and future), PST has now delivered on its promise for seven decades. Over that time, traditions have formed: contests, a festival, an anthology, educational programs, poetry shares, critique groups, collaborations and more. At the same time, we are modernizing and enhancing operations. For example, Zoom allows members to join meetings from almost anywhere. Digital pay and an updated, expanded online presence are important upgrades already in the works this year.

PST will always be people-powered: our members and supporters bring our mission to life through volunteerism, participation, and collaboration. I invite you to help build our stretch of PST history, to keep alive traditions and forge new practices that serve poets today and prepare for the poets of tomorrow. Participate in programs. Volunteer in a focus area that moves you: open opportunities include Assistant Treasurer, Festival Coordinator, and Festival Contest Chair. If you would like to better connect poets in your community, I encourage you to contact Pat Hope, our Regional Connections director. Options range from joining the committee to representing a new region.

I also invite you to attend our 70^th anniversary celebration on June 15 at 7:30 pm Eastern / 6:30 pm Central. We’ll have a reading of poems from past anthologies, a poetry share and a time capsule ceremony. Let’s come together like a colorful field of daylilies and spread some joy … and poetry. A huge meadow of poetry.

Joyfully, 
Lisa Kamolnick
PST President