Chaparral from the California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc. serving Californiaupdr poets for over 60 yearsaftsVolume 64, No. 5 • September, 2003 President James Shuman, PSJ Louise Glück appointed new Poet Laureate First Vice President Librarian of Congress James H. Billington has announced the appointment of Louise Jeremy Shuman, PSJ Glück as the country’s12th Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry. She will take up her duties Second Vice President in the fall, opening the Library’s annual literary series on October 21 with a reading of her Katharine Wilson, RF work. Glück succeeds Robert Penn Warren, Richard Wilbur, Howard Nemerov, Mark Strand, Third Vice President Pegasus Buchanan, Tw Joseph Brodsky, Mona Van Duyn, Rita Dove, Robert Hass, Robert Pinsky, Stanley Kunitz Fourth Vice President and Billy Collins. Eric Donald, Or The literary series will continue on October 22 Treasurer with a Favorite Poem reading featuring Frank Bidart Meadowlands (1996); The Wild Iris (1992), which re- Ursula Gibson, Tw and former Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky. In addition ceived the Pulitzer Prize and the Poetry Society of Recording Secretary to programming the new reading series, Glück will America’s William Carlos Williams Award; Ararat Lee Collins, Tw participate in events in February and again in May at (1990), which received the Library of Congress’s Corresponding Secretary the Library of Congress. On making the appointment, Rebekah Johnson Bobbitt National Prize for Poetry; Dorothy Marshall, Tw the Librarian said, “Louise Glück will bring to the and The Triumph of Achilles (1985), which received Members-at-Large Chair Library of Congress a strong, vivid, deep poetic the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Boston Frances Yordan, FG voice, accomplished in a series of book-length po- Globe Literary Press Award, and the Poetry Society etic cycles. Her prize-winning poetry and her great of America’s Melville Kane Award. Glück has also pub- Monthly Contest Chair interest in young poets will enliven the Poet lished a collection of essays, Proofs and Theories: Pegasus Buchanan, Tw Laureate’s office during the next year.” Essays on Poetry (1994), which won the PEN/Martha Convention Chair, 2004 Glück is the author of nine books of poetry, in- Albrand Award for Nonfiction. This fall, Sarabande Marjorie Voigt, Tw cluding The Seven Ages (Ecco Press, 2001); Vita Books will publish in chapbook form a new, six-part Convention Program Chair Nova (1999), which received the Boston Book poem, “October.” Pegasus Buchanan, Tw Review’s Bingham Poetry Prize and was awarded In 2001 Yale University awarded Louise Glück its Adult Contest Chair The New Yorker magazine’s Book Award in Poetry; Bollingen Prize in Poetry, given biennially for a poet’s Lisabeth Shuman, M@L lifetime achievement in his or her art. Other honors Youth Contest Chair Contest Info now Online include the Lannan Literary Award for Poetry, the Sara Norma King Green, VW In this issue you will find the contest information Teasdale Memorial Prize (Wellesley, 1986), the M.I.T. Children’s Poetry Fair for both annual contests, the Junior-Senior Contest, Anniversary Medal (2000), and fellowships from the Betty Jean Reynolds, PSJ open to all California students in grades 7 through Guggenheim and Rockefeller foundations and from Publications Chair 12, and the “regular” contest for adults. Please feel continued on page two: ‘Poets Laureate’ James Shuman, PSJ free to duplicate these information sheets and share Roster and ByLaws Chair them as widely as you can, since both contests are Board set to meet in Jeremy Shuman, PSJ “open to the public.” It’s especially helpful if you Archivist and Librarian contact teachers and administrators in the junior high Oakland October 25 and high schools in your area, providing them with Katharine Wilson, RF The next quarterly meeting of the CFCP, Inc. Board copies of the student announcement, since it is so dif- Millennium Poetry will be held at Horatio’s Restaurant, 60 San Leandro ficult for us to reach every school and every teacher. C. Joy Haas, RF Marina (aka S. Dike Road), San Leandro, CA, 94577- Web Site Also, we have placed the flyers online at our web 4001. The telephone number is 1-510-351-5556. site. Interested persons may go directly to <http:// www.ChaparralPoets.org All state officers, committee chairs, and chapter www.ChaparralPoets.org/contests.html> where presidents are urged to attend, since they are voting they can download a PDF version to print out and FEDERATION members and their input is needed in planning events copy. We intend to follow that up soon with a set of for the future. In addition, all other CFCP members tips and suggestions for teachers who may wish to of are welcome to attend, especially members of the lo- offer the contest but need help in assisting their stu- cal area and regional chapters. CHAPARRAL dents. If you have any suggestions, please contact <[email protected]> and share them Plan to meet at 11:30 am for a luncheon/working with us! We need lots of good ideas! Watch for fur- meeting. There is no private meeting room, but we poets CALIFORNIA inc. ther developments of that web page! continued on page eight: ‘Meeting’ Copyright 2003 California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc. Chaparral Updrafts, Volume 64, No. 5, September 2003. All rights reserved. Poets retain rights to their poems. Copyright 2003 California Federation of Chaparral Poets, Inc. All rights reserved. Poets retain rights to their poems. Glück appointed to Poets Laureate post Chaparral continued from page one of poetry in our national updrafts the National Endowment life. Maxine Kumin ini- tiated a popular wo- for the Arts. Editor & Publisher .......James Shuman men’s series of poetry 2521 Meadow Rue Drive She is a member of the workshops at the Poetry Modesto, CA 95355-3910 American Academy & In- and Literature Center. 209-523-6954 FAX 209-521-8778 stitute of Arts & Letters, Gwendolyn Brooks met Treasurer .................. Ursula T. Gibson and in 1999 was elected a with groups of elemen- Chancellor of the Academy P O Box 806, Tujunga, CA 91043 tary school children to of American Poets. In 2003 818-353-7174 encourage them to write she was named as the new poetry. Howard Nemerov Corresponding Secretary judge for the Yale Series of ........................... Dorothy Marshall conducted seminars at the Younger Poets and will Library for high school 948 E. Phillips Blvd, Pomona, CA 91766 serve in that position English classes. 888-308-7488 through 2007. Most incumbents have Please send news and information items to photo © Star Black A resident of Cambridge, furthered the develop- the editor one month in advance of intended Louise Glück publication date. Massachusetts, Glück has ment of the Library’s Ar- taught at Williams College since 1983 and chive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. Jo- For questions involving membership, either new or renewal, please contact the treasurer. teaches courses in the writing of poetry and seph Brodsky initiated the idea of providing in contemporary poetry as the Margaret poetry in public places—supermarkets, ho- Be sure to visit our new web site: Bundy Scott Senior Lecturer in English. tels, airports, and hospitals. Rita Dove http://www.ChaparralPoets.org Background of the Laureateship brought a program of poetry and jazz to the Library’s literary series, along with a read- Meeting Dates The Library keeps to a minimum the spe- ing by young Crow Indian poets, and a two- cific duties required of the Poet Laureate in day conference entitled “Oil on the Waters: Quarterly meetings of the Executive order to permit incumbents to continue to work The Black Diaspora,” featuring panel discus- Board have been established. Board mem- on their own projects while at the Library, but sions, readings and music. bers, committee chairs and Chapter presi- each Laureate is encouraged to bring new em- Robert Hass sponsored a major confer- dents are strongly encouraged to attend. phasis to the position. Allen Tate (1943-44) ence on nature writing called “Watershed,” The dates and locations are set as: served as editor of the Library’s publication which continues today as a national poetry • October 25, 2003 – Oakland, CA of that period, Quarterly Journal, during his competition for elementary and high school •January 24, 2004 tenure and edited the compilation “Sixty students entitled “River of Words.” Robert • April 30 – May 2, 2004, next year’s American Poets, 1896-1944.” Some consult- Pinsky initiated the Favorite Poem Project, Convention, at the Ontario Marriott ants have suggested and chaired literary festi- which energized a nation of poetry readers Location for the January meetings is open. vals and conferences; others have spoken in a to share their favorite poems in readings across Any member or chapter interested in host- number of schools and universities and re- the country and in audio and video record- ing this meeting (there is no charge to the ceived the public in the Poetry Room. ings. Most recently, Billy Collins instituted local chapter), contact President Shuman to Increasingly in recent years, incumbents the Web site Poetry 180, designed to bring a initiate the necessary arrangements. have sought to find ways to broaden the role poem a day into high school classrooms. Vijay Seshadri receives prestigious ’03 James Laughlin Award for second book The Academy of American Poets announced The Long Meadow is a casually brilliant collec- able of divine injustice with the freedom of a dog in late August that Vijay Seshadri had been se- tion of poems. Vijay Seshadri is a writer of subtle, unleashed in the Long Meadow of Brooklyn’s lected as the recipient of the 2003 James elastic and unblinking intelligence. His poetic Prospect Park. Profound and delightful, The Long Laughlin Award for his second collection of vision telescopes effortlessly from the molecu- Meadow well deserves the high distinction be- poems, The Long Meadow (Graywolf Press, lar to the cosmic, and his formal range incorpo- stowed upon it by the James Laughlin Award.