April does not have a monopoly on poetry celebrations. June offers boundless poetry, too. Open mic events, educational programs, and craft tips have chased me across the physical and virtual plane. Poetry readings, book offerings, and ideas to enhance daily practice resound. And I continue to collect rejections in pursuit of publication.

I began the month at the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) Convention in Roswell, Georgia. The short trip felt like a trek to a different world—surrounded by poets of diverse ages and interests, discussing and sharing poetry from early morning through, well, early morning! Together, we learned the poetics of tango and explored nature and slam poetry. We were inspired by spoken word phenom Georgia Me, among a host of others. (And I’m just getting started.) We met virtually with Ukrainian poet Ihor Pavlyuk and learned what it’s like to create poetry in a war zone, how Ukrainians are faring, the growing need for prosthetics, and the proliferation of orphanages. We began an important project: Poets for Peace. (You’ll hear more about this and other initiatives through the year.)

We enjoyed top poets competing in the BlackBerry Peach Poetry Slam and selections from manuscript and spoken word contest winners. A youth poetry workshop and slam were also held. While at the convention, I especially enjoyed meeting our members Russell Strauss, Cynthia Storrs, and Cathy Hollister. After meeting with other state society members (another pleasure), I feel even more strongly that our collaboration can advance poetry here in Tennessee and … everywhere.

The convention also featured contest announcements and readings. I want to personally congratulate all our members who entered contests and our 13 members whose work was recognized. (Get details here.) Those placing in contests will have poems published in the upcoming Encore anthology, available soon.

Back home, amidst member renewals, new members continue to join us: welcome (and welcome back)! For those still considering renewal or new membership, we welcome you, too. Join us for our 71st year.

At the heart of June, I find a reminder to set voices free (the theme of the NFSPS convention). Whether putting words to a page to share with a friend or submit for publication or lifting our poems in performance, our voices hold great value. I invite each of you to lift your voice in as many ways as you can imagine in the coming year.

Join us in July for Jim Minick‘s writing workshop. Join an open mic, critique group meeting, or study session. Discover details for these and other opportunities in PST newsletters, on social media, and in meetings. We’ll be launching our monthly members-only contests soon, too!

If you have questions or comments, please reach out. I hope to see you soon at a PST event.

With enthusiasm—
Lisa Kamolnick
President, Poetry Society of Tennessee