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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
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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Heat and Happiness
As I write, bees are abuzz, grass is growing almost too quickly to maintain, and temperatures are soaring into summer degrees. Our 2023-2024 anthology is in process. We held our first member meeting this year, where we recognized volunteers for their time, energy, and passion. I reiterate my endless gratitude here. The blend of volunteers and participating members is the not-so-secret recipe for success. We held our first board meeting, too, with PST leaders eager to start on long-standing programs and new initiatives. The shifting PST year and season seep happiness into every cell. I’m looking forward to the coming summer vibe and what lies ahead for PST.
I’m also preparing for a trek to Roswell, Georgia, in early June to attend the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS) Convention. It will be the first I’ve attended in person. I’m excited to meet people I’ve only interacted with via email and Zoom meetings (including PST members!), and I look forward to the programming. During the convention, I’ll provide an annual report during the President’s meeting, and several fellow members will join me as delegates during the NFSPS Plenary session. Many thanks to Russell Strauss, Cynthia Storrs, and JoAn Howerton for volunteering to represent us.
Last month I reported we would end our year on April 30 with 113 members. I was a little low. It was 116 (for those keeping count, that’s a 52% growth over last year). Many thanks to those of you who have already renewed, and a warm welcome to our new members. We’re working on some wonderful opportunities for you this year. A big thank you also to the folks who have stayed in or stepped into volunteer roles for our society: you make member opportunities possible. For those still considering renewal or new membership, we welcome you. Join us for our 71st year.
As our 70th year cools to a close, I feel the heat of what’s coming and the energy of poets across Tennessee. During this past year, several of you had books published (some were first collections; one was an 8th!). Many of you had poems published. (We already have more to celebrate!) This also means we have collected many rejections. And while they sometimes sting a bit, they mean we are doing the work. So let’s celebrate those, too.
Looking ahead, we’re gearing up for monthly members-only contests: to sponsor a contest, get information here. This summer join Jane Hicks and Jim Minick for generative writing workshops. (More great programs are in the works.) Join our new open mic on 1st Tuesdays in Johnson City, Tennessee, a partnership with Poetry Writers Workshop and The Philosopher’s House. Discover more in PST newsletters, on social media, and in meetings.
Here’s to a sizzling summer of poetic practice and a wonderful year for PST. We want you to have a positive experience. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out. I hope to see you soon at a PST event.
With warmth and excitement—
Lisa Kamolnick
President, Poetry Society of Tennessee -
PST Seeks Sponsors for 2024-2025
Members, poets and poetry lovers: as our 2024-2025 program year begins, we are seeking sponsors for our monthly members-only poetry contests. Help shape our next edition of Tennessee Voices Anthology with your thoughtful selection for a contest.
If you are interested in supporting our organization and promoting poetry in Tennessee and beyond, this is a great opportunity. You do not need to be a member to sponsor a contest.
We currently have 8 contest sponsorship openings for our members-only contests. We offer two ways to submit your sponsorship applications: by mail (get sponsorship form here) or online. Should applications exceed our capacity, we will return funds / undeposited checks to you.
Got questions? Reach out to poetrytennessee@gmail.com with subject line SPONSORSHIP.
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Join us for 2024-2025
If you’re already a member, you know about the opportunities Poetry Society of Tennessee (PST) offers. When you choose to join PST, you discover how we hold space for poets across Tennessee and beyond. PST helps poets of all experience levels develop and practice their craft, from page to stage. Our hands-on approach includes educational programs, critique sessions, regional gatherings, readings, contests and festivals. Through these activities, PST strives to create a vibrant community for poets and poetry lovers and help poets pursue excellence no matter where they call home. Learn more.
If you’re 18 or older, you’re welcome. High school students can join with a student membership, too! Learn more about PST membership. When you join PST, you also become a member of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.
Renew or join soon to experience all PST has to offer during its 71st year: the upcoming program year runs May 2024 – April 2025. Ready to join or renew now? You can renew now online or mail in an application.
Got questions? Contact us using our website contact form or by emailing poetrytennessee@gmail.com.
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An Ending and an Invitation
As I write, the dogwoods are in full bloom, the end of April nears, and only a few days of our program year remain. I’m grateful for simple pleasures, like a dogwood bloom, and for complex ones, like the deft coordination that delivers educational programs (and replays), or the work that creates festivals and contests, or the effort behind publishing an anthology.
Congratulations to poet contestants and winners and to all who published poetry this year. As for our top PST contest winners, our anthology board has begun work, and we anticipate releasing our newest edition in late summer. I look forward to the anthology, more of your published poems, and a growing personal collection of your collections.
As I reflect upon the wisdom our program presenters shared this year, two things stand out:
- We must make space in our lives to create and grow (and there are so many ways to do this!).
- Being part of a community can help us grow faster and go further.
To those ends, our society works to provide programs and highlight opportunities to help you to pursue excellence and connect with a community. It’s exciting to watch poets grow their knowledge, skills, and confidence. It’s fun to share in the excitement of publication (and rejection goals, too!). It’s meaningful to be part of a workshop or peer review group. It’s a joy to read your work.
We will close our program year with 113 members, and I hope we see more poets join us next year. My dream is that Poetry Society of Tennessee (PST) will become a hub for poets, connecting you to PST-sponsored activities and other community activities or groups that support you in your work. If you are so moved, I invite you to help us reach that goal.
For each of our current members, my wish is that you found something of value in our programs this year. I hope you will renew for 2024-2025. For those considering membership, I invite you to explore our website, reach out to us: visit with us as a guest and see if PST is for you.
A big thank you to members for your vote of confidence in our proposed leadership board. We are already working on plans and projects for the coming year. As we move forward, we’d love to know what is working well for you and where we might improve. We welcome your feedback.
I invite you to join us May 11 at our next monthly member meeting. This will be the last meeting of our 70th year, and we will celebrate with some fun activities! But before that, we will recognize the people who powered the society and made last year possible: our volunteers. (Members will receive a link in the near future. If you are not a member and are interested in attending, reach out.) I hope to see you at a meeting soon.
With gratitude and anticipation—
Lisa Kamolnick
President, Poetry Society of Tennessee
PST News
Poetry Society of Tennessee 