Early February, I set out on the roads that thread from the home of my youth on Florida’s Gulf Coast to my home in the Appalachian highlands. Not long after, I treaded the trail back beachward. Whichever direction I head, I’m homebound. I enjoy the mountainous Appalachian terrain of northeast Tennessee, the wide vistas of northwest Florida’s coast, and time spent with the people I love at either end and along the way.

Love and loss are threading through 2026. I’m sad to share that our friend, fellow poet, Festival Contest Coordinator and frequent poetry contest sponsor, Deborah Adams, passed away recently. She leaves us not only happy memories and a legacy of writing and service to the writing community, but one final sponsored contest: a lannet. Entries are open April 1 – 15. Winners will be announced in May. Get contest details here.

As I’ve begun catching up on PST business, a couple of highlights include the wonderful poetry shared and created in our December meeting and the fabulous workshop by Kory Wells in our January meeting. I’m happy to share links to these replays will be available to members in our next meeting notice. Thank you for your patience.

In our most recent member meeting, Jeff Hardin gave a great talk on sound, supplying us with more than six or seven (say eight, or maybe nine?) clever sound strategies to power our poetic endeavors. In March, Shan Overton will lead a workshop on haiku! I’m excited to explore this challenging, compact form.

For those participating in the National Federation of State Poetry Society annual contests, they close March 15. On April 18, we will hold our 69th Annual Poetry Festival! Mark the date for an afternoon to remember, including a workshop with Lisa Coffman and contest award announcements. (Details to come soon!) For our visual artist members: a call for cover art for our next Tennessee Voices will be released this month.

If you haven’t visited our bookstore recently, check out what’s new from our member authors. We love to highlight our member’s books, so if you’re not on our bookstore, let us know and we’ll help you through the process.

We are always looking for volunteers to support our mission. Would you like to … help us with contests or the festival? connect members in a region? write about poetic opportunities? share the latest author to be featured on our bookstore? support the mission in some other way? Contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com to learn more and get involved.

Curious about PST? Join us at a meeting or other activity. Reach out anytime. Peruse our website, monthly newsletters, social media (@poetrysocietyoftennessee on Facebook and Instagram). Ready to join? Find membership information here (online & mail options available). I hope to see you soon at an event—in person or virtual.

With reflection, appreciation (and a set of new tires)—
Lisa Kamolnick
President, Poetry Society of Tennessee