As I write this, I’ve been burning the candle at both ends, and I’m tired—but I’m also feeling very satisfied. One reason is December’s wonderful poetry gatherings: 

• At Shuly Xóchitl Cawood’s recent reading, I was treated to selections from several of her books. (Members, we will have fun writing with her in January!) 
• In our December member meeting, we created breakout rooms for the first time! In those small groups, poetry “games” led to fabulous collaborative poems. 
• At the Johnson City Poets Collective’s Poetry Hoot, I hopped on stage (in my tacky holiday sweater) to share a couple of poems, and enjoyed readings from about 20 other poets.
• I spent the day in Oak Ridge, where 18 authors from Oak Ridge and surrounding communities gave readings. It was lovely to hear these talented authors share their work and to meet them (many Poetry Society of Tennessee members!). It was also nice to meet members of the event’s co-sponsoring organization, Friends of the Oak Ridge Public Library and to hang out with our Regional Connections Committee Director, Pat Hope, in person.
• When Howard Carman (our PST Treasurer-Membership Chair) and I touched base recently, he told me about the open mic he attended while in Memphis, cosponsored by several area organizations, including the Mississippi State Poetry Society.  (I love how we connect across borders, too.) 
• Our annual poetry festival contest closed, and we received many entries! I can’t wait to hear winning poems on April 13 at our festival.

Reflecting on our Tennessee and PST poetry communities, I’m struck by several thoughts:

• I never quite know what to expect beyond being amazed by the incredibly talented people of all ages who hail from hollers, small towns and larger cities across the state. 
• Poetry has value. And friends. I’m so grateful for the businesses and other organizations that support our writing communities. Art galleries, stage venues, public facilities, municipal parks (and more) give space for our poets to share their unique gifts. 
• PST has an important role to play in this mix. We can amplify poets’ voices. We can expand collaboration to ensure poetry is heard and poets are supported all over our state. We can grow our membership to create more touch points, more support and more impact for poets, present and future.

Our society is working to preserve our best traditions and to embrace modern operations. We may get things done in new ways, but our focus remains on poets and poetry. We invite all poets to join our society and become part of a growing network of writers who live in our Tennessee communities and beyond. We invite other organizations involved in Tennessee poetry to reach out and discover ways we can collaborate. We invite our members to get involved in projects to connect poets with poetry across the state. Together, we become stronger, create more impact … and have more fun while bringing poetry to life.

With joy and excitement—
Lisa Kamolnick
President, Poetry Society of Tennessee