Poetry Society of Tennessee

EST. 1953

PST News

  • All Across the State

    As I traveled between Florida and Tennessee recently, I saw license plates from Arkansas, Michigan, Alabama, Georgia (where several out-of-state PST members live). From Minnesota and Arizona (whose poetry societies have contests underway). From New Mexico (site of the next NFSPS convention). And many from Tennessee, fellow travelers from all across the state.

    “All across the state” has become a PST catch phrase recently, describing our mix of contest winners and sponsors and where most of our members live. Now in our third chapter-free year, we’re focused on how to better connect our members in regional communities. (Learn more about our formal (yet flexible) regional structure here.) Our Regional Connections Committee members have engaged with their communities to create regional awareness. Among their programs is a new members-only contest from Middle Tennessee offering every entrant an evaluation of their poem. Check it out! Like our monthly meetings and festival, our regional programs welcome members from everywhere.

    Earlier this month, we shared a message from National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) President Joseph Cavanaugh, who announced that NFSPS has nominated Ukrainian poet Ihor Pavlyuk for the Nobel Peace Prize and launched Poets for Peace, a project aimed (initially) to help Ukraine’s orphans. If so inclined, I encourage you to become involved. Contact poetrytennessee@gmail.com for details.

    Poetry holds magic and power—the way it transports us, how poems speak a language that transcends language itself. How intimate details of place, space and time connect us to all that makes us human. (I’m reminded of Jim Minick’s July workshop where we moved from abstract to concrete and back again in generative exercises.)

    Being a poet is not a wholly solo endeavor. That’s why PST seeks to provide a supportive community for poets—those of you starting out, finding your way (like me) or more established and experienced. In this record-hot summer, I invite you to find a cool spot and reflect on where you want to take your work this year. I invite you to try PST opportunities and share with us opportunities we’ve yet to discover. Join us for Annie Woodford‘s workshop August 10. Try a new form or explore a theme in contests. Buy a PST member’s book. Attend an open mic event. Get the scoop in PST newsletters, on social media, and in meetings.

    Curious about PST? Join a meeting or take the plunge and join us for our 71st year: $25 is a huge bargain for the monthly meetings alone. (Wondering if you’ve renewed or not? If not, you will receive a dues reminder notice soon.) Reach out anytime. I hope to see you soon at a PST event.

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

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  • August 2024 with Annie Woodford

    POETRY DANCES IN NEGLECT: FINDING INSPIRATION IN THE GREAT AMERICAN STRIP MALL LANDSCAPE

    This generative workshop will feature a craft talk about engaging with the landscape (or human-shaped space) outside our front doors. What sort of spaces do you walk into from your front door and how can they inspire your poetry? Who are your neighbors? Where are the graveyards, marked and unmarked? What sort of histories saturate this land, even if it is covered up in strip malls and suburbia? So many of us live in spaces that have not been considered beyond their money-making potential and yet we can find poetry in these neglected, ordinary spaces. NC poet A.R. Ammons wrote, “Poetry dances in neglect, waste, terror, hopelessness—wherever it is hard to come by.” This workshop will examine how to hear that dance tune and to engage with the nature (or lack of nature) where we live, realizing that no matter how mundane, even our backyard can be, “an extraordinary accelerator of consciousness, of thinking, of comprehending the universe,” as Joseph Brodsky put it.

    About the Presenter

    Annie Woodford is the author of Bootleg (Groundhog Poetry Press, 2019) and Where You Come from Is Gone (Mercer UP, 2022), recipient of the 2022 Weatherford Award for Appalachian Poetry. Her micro-chapbook, When God Was a Child, was published by Bull City Press in 2023. She has been a Rona Jaffe Poetry Scholar at Bread Loaf and a Tennessee Williams Scholar at the Sewanee Writers’ Conference. She has also been a recipient of the Jean Ritchie Fellowship from Lincoln Memorial University and the Thelma Smallwood Scholarship from the Appalachian Writers’ Workshop. Her work has been published in Appalachian Journal, Appalachian Review, Prairie Schooner, The Sewanee Review, The Southern Review, The Southern Humanities Review, Cutleaf Journal, and Still: The Journal, among others. In 2024, she was awarded the Guy Owen Prize from Southern Poetry Review. Originally from Henry County, Virginia, she now lives in Deep Gap, NC and teaches at Wilkes Community College. More info. can be found at www.anniewoodfordpoet.com. 

    MEETING INFORMATION

    This program will be presented during our upcoming PST member meeting, to be held August 10 from 2:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern / 1:00 – 3:00 pm Central via Zoom. Members will be provided a link a few days prior. If you are interested in learning more about PST, check out our website. If you’d like to attend our meeting as a guest, contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com.

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  • PST Full Moon Poetry Contest Offers All Entrants Value

    PST Full Moon Poetry Contest Offers All Entrants Value

    PST is pleased to announce a special members-only contest sponsored by the Full Moon Poetry Group, comprised of members of our middle Tennessee region. The contest is free to enter and will be open for entries August 15-September 1, 2024.

    Something for Everyone

    As with other members-only contests offered this program year, the first-place winner of the Full Moon Poetry Contest will be published in Tennessee Voices Anthology, 2024-2025. The big twist is that Full Moon Poetry Group is donating time and expertise rather than money: all entrants will receive a minimum of two electronic written evaluations of their entry! (Anyone who has submitted to lit mags knows evaluations like this are rarely offered … and often expensive!)

    We thank the Full Moon Poetry Group for sponsoring this contest and for their donation of time and expertise, and we encourage members to take advantage of this unique contest.

    Contest Guidelines

    The contest theme is the four seasons (spring, summer, autumn, winter), or a combination of seasons, or seasonal transition. Entries must be 10-40 lines. Winners will be announced and evaluations will be returned by mid-November. Unless otherwise noted, this contest follows members-only contest guidelines. Please review closely.

    As with our other members-only contests, the judges seek original, previously unpublished poems created without use of AI.  No simultaneous submissions. You must be a paid member to participate. (Join or renew here. Unsure of your membership status? Contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com).

    This contest accepts email entries only. For email submission subject line, type “Submission for Full Moon Contest-[Last Name].”  For more specifics regarding entry format, submission, etc., please see PST Members Only Contest Rules. (If you need help submitting an email entry, please contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com, SUBJECT: Email Entry Help.)

    About Entry Evaluation

    As with our other contests, entries will be judged blind (ensure your identity does not appear anywhere in your blind copy or its file name). Poems will be judged in 4 areas: diction, figurative language, technique, and theme. Details and criteria weighting are as follows:

    • Diction: vocabulary, word choice, syntax (20% of total score)
    • Figurative language: imagery, alliteration, metaphor, simile, assonance, and consonance (20%)
    • Technique: volta (turns), line breaks, enjambment, visual layout, title, 1st line, last line, foreshadowing (30%)
    • Theme: symbolism, message, layers of meaning (30%)

    Poems will be evaluated individually and then awards will be agreed upon by the judges collectively. Judges (Cynthia Storrs, Cathy Hollister, Ione Singletary, Nikki Noushin, and Scott Pierce) include experienced published poets and educators along with poets actively studying the practice of poetry evaluation.

    More PST Contests

    Get details on other PST contests as they develop at our website contest page.

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  • PST Kicks Off 2024-2025 Members-only Contests

    For our 2024-2025 members-only contest season, PST again offers a slate of 11 members-only contests featuring a variety of forms and topics. Enter more contests for more chances to not only try your hand at a poetry form or theme, but also to win and be published in Tennessee Voices Anthology, 2024-2025.

    We are still collecting information on a couple of contests and will provide updates as we fill out the details. The season officially begins on July 1, when the first two contests open for entries! You must be a PST member in good standing (dues paid) to participate in members-only contests. (Join or renew here.) Read on for more details!

    2024-2025 Contest List

    The year will begin and end with duo contests in August and May. Coming up for August: a haiku about animals in the wild, sponsored by Anna’s Pet Sitting, and an American cinquain about flowers, sponsored by William Hill Art and Poetry. Submissions for August contests open July 1 and close July 15. The year’s opportunities follow:

    August.   **TWO CONTESTS**
    Please note clearly on your entry which contest(s) you are entering.

    1. Subject: Animals in the Wild / Form: Haiku  / Line Limit: per form
    Prizes (1/2/3): $25/$15/$10 / Sponsor: Anna's Pet Sitting / Judge: William Hill
    Open for entries: Jul 1-15
     
    2. Subject: Flowers / Form: American cinquain / 
    Prizes (1/2/3): $25/$15/$10 / Sponsor: William Hill Art & Poetry / Judge: William Hill
    Open for entries: Jul 1-15

    September 
    Subject: Aurora, Eclipse, Sunspots /  Form: Cento  
    Prizes (1/2/3): $25/$15/$10 / Sponsor: PST-Knox Group / Judge: Ann Long
    Open for entries: Aug 1-15
    October
    Subject: any / Form: heroic couplet (iambic tetrameter or pentameter) /
    Line Limit: 40  
    Prizes (1/2/3) $25/$15/$10 / Sponsor and judge: Howard Carman
    Open for entries Sep 1-15
    November
    Subject: America the Beautiful (landscapes or landmarks of America) / Form: free verse
    Prizes (1/2/3): $25/$15/$10 / Sponsor and judge: Rose Klix
    Open for entries: Oct 1-15
    December: 
    Subject: From the Old Family Album Memories, Christmases Past / Form: any Line Limit: 40
    Prizes (1/2/3): $25/$15/$10 . Sponsor: JoAn Howerton / Judges: JoAn Howerton and Jesse Robbins
    Open for entries: Nov 1-15
    January
    Subject: the baton  Form: any  Line limit: 40
    Prizes (1/2/3): $30/$20/$10 / Sponsor and judge: Dr. Diane Clark 
    Open for entries: Dec 1 - 15
    February *CRAZY FOR CLICHES*
    Subject: any / Form: any
    Special instructions: Use those trite ideas we've all been warned to avoid. Focus on a poetic cliche. 
    Prizes (1/2/3): $25/$15/$10 Sponsor: Sally Boyington / Judge: Claudia Stanek 
    Open for entries: Jan 1-15

    March: TBA

    May  **TWO CONTESTS**
Please note clearly on your entry which contest(s) you are entering.

1. Subject: Friends /  Form: any / Line Limit: 40  
Prizes (1/2/3): $15/$10/$5  / Sponsor and judge: Emory Jones
Open for entries: April 1-15

2. Subject: Any humorous subject  / Form: rhymed and metered / Line Limit: 5-20 lines 
Prizes (1/2/3): $25/$15/$10 / Sponsor and Judge Russell H. Strauss
Open for entries: April 1-15

NOTE: (If not specified, line limit is the shorter of 40 lines or the form required.)

    Get details on forthcoming contests as they develop at our website contest page.

    Contest Guidelines

    Be sure to follow PST contest guidelines, as failure to follow them may result in your disqualification. Get details. (A special reminder from our contest chair: remember to single-space your entries. Need help with that? Contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com.)

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  • Voices Set Free

    Voices Set Free

    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

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  • July 2024 with Jim Minick

    ABSTRACT TO CONCRETE AND BACK AGAIN

    Poems often build emotional tension and humor as they weave abstract ideas with concrete objects. In this workshop, we’ll explore these two concepts, consider examples, and attempt several different drafts, all hopefully with abstract empathy and joy, and concrete pencils and keyboards. 

    About the Presenter

    Jim Minick is the author or editor of eight books, including Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas (nonfiction), “The Intimacy of Spoons” (poetry), Fire Is Your Water, (novel), and The Blueberry Years: A Memoir of Farm and Family. Minick’s work has appeared in many publications including The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Oxford American, Orion, Shenandoah, Conversations with Wendell Berry, Appalachian Journal, Wind, and The Sun. He serves as Coeditor of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel.

    Minick’s honors include the Jean Ritchie Fellowship in Appalachian Writing and the Fred Chappell Fellowship at UNC-Greensboro. Minick has also won awards from the Southern Independent Booksellers Association, Southern Environmental Law Center, The Virginia College Bookstore Association, Appalachian Writers Association, Radford University, and elsewhere. His poem “I Dream a Bean” was picked by Claudia Emerson for permanent display at the Tysons Corner/Metrorail Station. He’s garnered grants from the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, Augusta University, Georgia Humanities Council, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

    MEETING INFORMATION

    This program will be presented during our upcoming PST member meeting, to be held July 13, 2024, from 2:00 – 4:00 pm Eastern / 1:00 – 3:00 pm Central via Zoom. Members will be provided a link a few days prior. If you are interested in learning more about PST, check out our website. If you’d like to attend our meeting as a guest, contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com.

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  • NFSPS Announces 2024 Contest Winners

    The National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) has announced winners of their 2024 contests! Several PST members received prizes and/or honorable mentions in the contests.

    Winning Poems

    Seven members’ poems placed in 10 contests and will be published in an upcoming edition of Encore, NFSPS’ anthology of winning poems:

    • Jonathan Bennett: Poetry Society of Oklahoma Award, 2nd for “By the Water”
    • Jerry Buchanan:
      • Florida State Poets Association, Inc,. Award, 1st for “Walking in Sand”
      • Poetry Society of Indiana Award, 3rd for “Fulgurate”
    • John Crawford: The Margo Award, 2nd for “The Path Back”
    • Stephanie DuPont: Mildred Vorpahl Baass Remembrance Award, 2nd for “A Scratched Symphony”
    • Connie Green: Poet’s Work Award, 2nd for “Song of the Empty Flower Pot”
    • Lorraine Jeffery: Lucille Morgan Wilson Memorial Award, 3rd for “Kaleidoscope”
    • Russell Strauss:
      • Jim Barton, Bard of the Pines Award, 3rd for “Passing Through the Pines, 1831”
      • The Countee Cullen Poetry Prize, 3rd for “Voice from God’s Garden”
      • Missouri State Poetry Society Award, 3rd for “The Show-Me Shake-up”
    Jerry Buchanan, former Regional Connections Committee Chair and longtime PST critique group participant, took home the only 1st place poem in a contest from among PST entrants, for his poem “Walking in the Sand,” along with a 3rd place for “Fulgurate” and an honorable mention.

    Honorable Mentions

    Twelve members received a total of 26 honorable mentions for their poems:

    • Jonathan Bennett: Mildred Cummings Memorial Award, HM3
    • Jerry Buchanan: Land of Enchantment Award, HM5
    • Stephanie DuPont: Miram S. Strauss Memorial Award, HM1
    • Sara Gipson:
      • Donald Stodghill Memorial Award, HM1
      • Jim Barton Memorial Award, HM1
      • League of Minnesota Poets Award, HM1
      • Social Critique Poetry Award, HM4
      • Jessica C. Saunders Memorial Award, HM6
    • Connie Green:
      • Morton D. Prouty & Elsie S. Prouty Memorial Award, HM4
      • Stone Gathering Award, HM7
    • Cathy Hollister: Land of Enchantment Award, HM2
    • Lorraine Jeffery: Jessica C. Saunders Memorial Award, HM4
    • Dr. Emory Jones:
      • Land of Enchantment Award, HM3
      • Massachusetts State Poetry Society Award, HM6
      • Illinois State Poetry Society Award, HM7
    • Lisa Kamolnick:
      • Poetry Society of Oklahoma Poetry Award, HM1
      • Save Our Earth Award, HM3
      • Stone Gathering Award, HM5
    • Harvey Stone: The Poets Northwest Award, HM2
    • Cynthia Storrs: Mildred Cummings Memorial Award, HM4
    • Russell Strauss:
      • Poet’s Work Award, HM1
      • Illinois State Poetry Society Award, HM1
      • Poetry Society of Tennessee Award, HM1
      • Florida State Poets Association, Inc. Award, HM2
      • The Listening Poem Award, HM5
      • Mississippi Poetry Society Award, HM6

    Members Serving as NFSPS Judges

    Many thanks to PST members Diane Clark, Connie Jordan Green, and Russell Strauss who served as judges for a contest each.

    NFSPS Winner List

    Congratulations to all poets who were honored in the 2024 contests. Get a complete list of winners and honorable mentions here.

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  • 2024-2025 Leadership

    PST is pleased to present this year’s Board and leadership team. On April 11, 2024, Poetry Society of Tennessee members ratified Board nominations for the 2024-2025 membership year. The new membership year takes effect on May 1, 2024, and runs through April 30, 2025.

    Members interested in joining a committee may contact PST at poetrytennessee@gmail.com. In addition to open positions, we are currently looking for someone interested in taking on the Regional Connections Committee Chair position for 2025-2026.

    BOARD OF DIRECTORS

    Elected board members will serve a two-year term in accordance with updated PST policy.

    • Lisa Kamolnick, President
    • Howard Carman, Treasurer/Membership Chair
    • Meygan Cox, Secretary
    • Patricia Hope, Director
    • Jake Lawson, Director
    • Cynthia Storrs, Director
    • Russell Strauss, Director

    COMMITTEES

    Committee members manage the society’s programmatic undertakings and support the board. Members serve a one-year term.

    Anthology Editorial Board

    • Howard Carman, Chair
    • Janet Qually
    • Kayla Nichols
    • Patricia Hope

    Communications

    • Matthew Gilbert, Chair
    • Michael Ramey, Web Master
    • Lisa Kamolnick, Publicity (interim)

    Contests

    In addition to our three contest traditions, this year PST will explore and possibly launch a contest for Tennessee Voices Anthology cover art and a collegiate level contest.

    • Cynthia Storrs, Art Contest Chair
    • TBD, Collegiate Contest Chair
    • TBD, Festival Contest Chair
    • Russell Strauss, Member Contest Chair
      • Cynthia Storrs, Digital Entry Coordinator
    • Seth Grindstaff, Student Contest Chair

    Continuity

    • Claire Webb, Historian
    • Claudia Stanek, Member Liaison
    • TBD, Assistant Treasurer

    Festival

    • Festival committee will be announced in the coming months.

    Programs

    • Jake Lawson, Chair

    Regional Connections

    • Patricia Hope, Chair (Knoxville)
      • Claudia Stanek
    • Ruby Jones (Memphis)
    • Fred Tudiver (Northeast TN)
    • Deborah Adams (regional development)
    • Cynthia Storrs (regional development)
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  • Poetry from Danita Dodson

    Danita Dodson’s third poetry collection, Between Gone and Everlasting  (Wipf and Stock Publishers), launched in May 2024 and is now available for purchase. Her previous titles include Trailing the Azimuth (2021) and The Medicine Woods (2022).

    About Between Gone and Everlasting

    Between Gone and Everlasting is an exploration of life, love, and the light that remains after loss. In this skillfully crafted collection, Danita weaves past and present, inviting the reader to join a reverent space honoring and celebrating people and place in love songs, eulogies, odes, and psalms.

    Praise for Between Gone and Everlasting

    “In Between Gone and Everlasting, Danita Dodson crafts love songs to counter mourning, to remember and travel old roads, and to recollect mementos both tangible and heartfelt. Quilts fluttering on a line beckon the reader to stand in the present and revisit a world and loved ones now dead and to worship in cathedrals of green, draw strength from the earth, and perhaps receive a trailside baptism.”—Jane Hicks, author of The Safety of Small Things

    “In Between Gone and Everlasting, Danita Dodson’s voice captures the magic of the ordinary, where‘the real miracle was that I noticed.’ These poems celebrate a lifetime of experiences imbued with humor, sorrow, and love that come from insight learned (sometimes too late). Offering a poignant reminder of both the joys and insecurities of growing up and growing old, the poet recognizes loss in all its forms as she honors the truth of ‘leaving a signature of what you’ve lived, / just like trees and rocks leave marks.’ This well-crafted collection is one the reader will reach for again and again.” —KB Ballentine, author of Spirit of Wild

    book cover, Between Gone & Everlasting
    Danita Dodson

    Between Gone and Everlasting  (Wipf and Stock Publishers) is now available. Learn more about Wipf and Stock Publishers.

    About the Author

    Danita Dodson is an educator, literary scholar, and the author of three poetry collections: Trailing the Azimuth (2021), The Medicine Woods (2022), and the recent Between Gone and Everlasting (2024). She is also the co-editor of the pedagogical book Teachers Teaching Nonviolence. Her poems are anchored in the landscape and people of East Tennessee and have appeared in Salvation South, Amethyst Review, Tennessee Voices Anthology, and elsewhere. At the Poetry Society of Tennessee’s annual festival in April 2024, her poem “Bits and Pieces” was awarded the Best of Fest prize. Danita has a PhD in English from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is a native of Sneedville, Tennessee, where she hikes and explores local history connected to the wilderness. Read more at http://www.danitadodson.com.

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  • June 2024 with Jane Hicks

    EVERYDAY PLACES WITH EVERYDAY WORDS

    In PST’s June 8 meeting, Jane Hicks will guide members through a generative workshop focused on everyday places and everyday words. With the aid of her favorite and recently devised prompts, this workshop’s purpose is to break writer’s block, or the feeling that a poet is writing the same poem over and over.

    About the Presenter

    Jane Hicks is a teacher, poet, and fiber artist. Winner of the Appalachian Writers Association 2006 Book of the Year Award in Poetry, she is the author of Blood and Bone Remember: Poems from Appalachia and Driving with the Dead: Poems. Her most recent collection, The Safety of Small Things (The University Press of Kentucky), is now available.

    MEETING INFORMATION

    This program will be presented during our upcoming PST member meeting, to be held June 8, 2024 from 2:00-4:00 pm Eastern / 1:00-3:00 pm Central via Zoom. Members will be provided a link a few days prior. If you are interested in learning more about PST, check out our website. If you’d like to attend our meeting as a guest, contact us at poetrytennessee@gmail.com.

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