As we transition into fall, the landscape is changing—invigorating color and breeze will soon charge the atmosphere. Within our society, membership growth and a colorful canopy of educational programs, poetry books, public readings and other events invigorate our society and our poetry communities across the state and beyond. It seems each month, we learn about new ways and places poets are publishing, presenting, and coming together in the practice of poetry.

Let me start with a couple of events featuring our members:

• On September 30, members Connie Jordan Green and Natalie Kimbell will present during convocation at Tennessee Wesleyan University in Athens, Tennessee. Regional Connections Committee Director Claudia Stanek will facilitate a Q&A, and Southeast Regional Rep Ray Zimmerman will also attend. Many thanks to our regional reps for their efforts. If you are in or near the area, I invite you to attend. (See our latest blog roundup for details about these events.)
• In Knoxville, Linda Parsons will lead a Fall Poetry Workshop Oct 10 from 1:00-2:30 p.m.  at the Halls Library Branch in her capacity as Knoxville’s Poet Laureate. Get her schedule here.

As our society grows and we move forward, we understand more than ever the need to flex into our future. This summer, we asked you to share opinions about our society. Our Board of Directors appreciate your candid responses which on the whole were quite positive (thank you for your vote of confidence!). Your insights are already leading to action:

• You now can enjoy a year of membership from the date you join rather than based on our program/fiscal year.
• We have begun exploring balanced and manageable options to run contests and submission calls across our membership and beyond to enhance representation of our members and poetic styles. We will also consider your input regarding contest content and guidelines.
• We will continue to promote member publications, from individual works to books, along with workshops or other events in which a member may be featured. (Did you know? If you’ve got a poetry event and you’re on Facebook, you can post directly to our Facebook page to promote it!)
• We will continue to share opportunities such as submission calls, workshops, and events across our state and within regions. Check out our latest roundup here.
• We are working to expand our knowledge base of regional happenings, and we thank all of you who have shared new opportunities! You can always send us updates for our roundup and add opportunities as comments to the blog!
• We will continue to focus not only on our member poets but our future generations of poets through student outreach. We thank Seth Grindstaff for his several years of service as Student Contest chair and thank DeAnna Stephens for chairing our student contest this year. We also thank Jake Lawson and Fred Tudiver for co-chairing our collegiate contest this year.
• We will work to better connect people within regions. Our website now lists our members by region. Check it out! (Please let us know if you find an error or omission.)

For more information on all we have to offer, peruse our website, monthly newsletters, social media (@poetrysocietyoftennessee on Facebook and Instagram), or reach out to poetrytennessee@gmail.com.

Now is always a good time to join us! And between now and October 14, you can enjoy our $25 membership fee, which increases to $35 on October 15, 2025. Find membership information here (online & mail options available).

Next up for our monthly members-only contests is a villanelle, sponsored by KB Ballentine. Brush off those prompts from our villanelle workshop and polish them, create a new one, or pull a completed one still needing a publication home. Entries accepted October 1 through 15. Get contest details here.

Earlier this month, Thomas Alan Holmes led members through an invigorating presentation on the lyrical I. On October 11, Valencia Robbins invites us to explore aspects of lyrical and narrative poetry.

The Anthology Editorial Board is nearly done creating Tennessee Voices Anthology, 2024-2025. The team took on some new effort this year, like more contests and biographies for our authors; as I write, the final touches are being made. We currently expect an early fall launch.

We are always looking for volunteers to support our mission. (We promise, inquiries are not expectations for a commitment.) Current, specific needs include regional connections committee reps and helpers, communications, and miscellaneous support based on interests and skills to help your President out. Contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com to learn more.

Curious about PST? Join us at a meeting or other activity. Reach out anytime. I hope to see you soon at an event—in person or virtual.

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