Between lovely outings with former foster kids this summer—fun things like boating, miniature golf, roller skating, picking wildflowers, historical landmark ventures, laughter … and lots of ice cream—I spent a lot of time in my kitchen. And thanks to a mostly DIY renovation, my kitchen has been in various states of disarray pretty much all summer. I’ve become skilled at navigating alternate pathways, making meals with variable appliance access, and innovating alternate prep surfaces. As we enter a second quarter of work, I’m ready for the much-needed projects to wrap up so we can enjoy the fruits of our labor … and the peace of put-away power tools.

As we enter the second quarter of our society’s program year, we’re wrapping up last year’s work with the publication of our anthology. I’m pleased to share that Tennessee Voices Anthology, 2023-2024 is now available. Many thanks to the anthology board (Howard Carman, Pat Hope, Kayla Nichols, and Janet Qually) for producing a quality book and to our communications team (Matt Gilbert and Adam Lambert, with Kayla Nichols) for creating a fun and effective media campaign.

“Published” sounds so sweet. Poets from across Tennessee and beyond are featured between this book’s covers, and their poems are tasty. In the northeast region, we will celebrate with a reading on September 3, 2024, at the Philosopher’s House in Johnson City, Tennessee, at 6:30 pm. We also invite our published members to read one of their poems at our September 14 meeting as part of our launch celebration.

Publication is an important goal for some of our members. In addition to placement in Tennessee Voices, our members are finding homes for their poems in literary magazines and anthologies and creating (and publishing!) collections. I invite you to visit our new virtual bookstore, where you will discover chapbooks and collections written by member authors. (And if you have a book or books but haven’t submitted your information, it’s not too late. We invite all member authors to participate.)

Poetry is foremost in our organization’s name, but poets are at the heart of our society. Members, we seek to promote your creativity, celebrate your achievements, and help you develop as poets within a supportive community. I invite you to get involved in local and statewide activities. If so moved, take on a volunteer role (we have openings!). Join us September 14 as we celebrate our book launch and hear from longtime member and contest expert Russell Strauss discuss entering and judging contests.

This month, I invite you to try something new or do something you’ve been putting off. Enter a contest you might not normally enter. Buy a PST member’s book. Attend an open mic event (and read or recite your poetry!). Finish a poem you started in a generative session. Submit a poem to a lit magazine. Free write for 2 minutes. (Or try 15 minutes, no stopping!) Use unusual sources to create word banks for later use. Workshop a poem. Whatever you do, have fun!

Curious about PST? Join us at a meeting or event, or take the plunge and join us for our 71st year. Reach out anytime. I hope to see you soon at a PST event.

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