NC Poetry Society Winter 2003 Winter meeting Saturday, January 17 A Wintry Feast Weymouth Center Southern Pines for Mind and Soul 9:15 Registration, order and pay for lunch A new adventure… (cut-off time is 10:15) Don’t miss the gathering The Gilbert-Chappell on January 17! 10:00 Business meeting Distinguished Poet Series Three distinguished poets—Mark 10:15 Mark Smith-Soto For information about this Smith-Soto, Gail Peck, and Lynn exciting new series, see page 4. Veach Sadler—will present an en- 11:00 Break gaging and informative program at our next meeting on January 17, IMPORTANT NOTICE 11:15 Gail Peck just what you need to jumpstart the The 2004 May meeting (Awards Day) new writing year. You may want to 12:00 Box lunch ($8.50) will be held May 22 (the 4th Saturday, bring pen and paper to take notes. or bring your own not the 3rd as usual). The three guest poets will include The 2004 Sam Ragan Poetry Festival 1:15 Lynn Veach Sadler will be held on June 19 some of their own work in the ses- (the 3rd Saturday). sions and will come together for a 2:00 Panel discussion panel discussion in the afternoon. 2:30 Open mike THE NEWS INSIDE There will be opportunities for you to purchase books and have (one poem, one page) 2 President’s message them signed. As usual, we’ll top 3 Winter program January 17 off the day with open mike. Please LUNCH note the schedule and lunch infor- INSTRUCTIONS 4—5 Distinguished Poet Series mation to the left. 195 will provide a box lunch for 6 Welcome, new members! $8.50 (tax included) See page 3 about the guest 7 Program Endowment, Kudos! Choose: chicken salad sandwich poets and the program or tuna salad sandwich 8 Interview with Gail Peck or vegetarian salad. Sweet iced tea is included. 9 Poetry Society award endowments NOTICE Order and pay for lunch until 10:15. Election of Poetry Society officers You will receive a lunch ticket. 10—11 NCPS contest guidelines will be held at a brief business meeting 12—13 NCPS 2004 contest judges at the January 17 meeting. 13 “Growing Young Poets” flourishes See page 14 for the slate 14—15 Notices, Elon & NCPS workshops 16 Officers and committee chairs of nominations. Winter 2003/2004 North Carolina Poetry Society President’s message Dear friends in poetry, available at meetings and on the and so many others work hard to website for volunteer teacher to go make Pinesong happen. Reward You make the Poetry Society into classrooms. (See page 13.) them by sending in your poems. what it is today. Thanks for your time, energy, dues, and dona- The third spoke is outreach to com- A very special thanks to Gail tions and, especially, your crea- munity poetry groups, and this is Peck and Pepper Worthington. tive presence. We’ve come a where all of us can help the Poetry Each recently endowed a poetry long way in 71 years and it is Society the most. We want to link contest category. See the article indeed on your shoulders that the public with local poetry groups on Gail Peck in this issue, and future Poetry Society members around the state by providing con- look for one on Pepper in the fu- will stand. I predict they will be tact information for those groups in ture. Their gifts will free up money grateful and appreciative. If you our newsletter and on the web site. for other needed areas, such as have thoughts or energy to share, helping to keep our meeting home please contact one of your board A key feature of these outreach at Weymouth safe and secure. members or me. Our contact in- efforts is that they are stand-alone formation is listed on the back items and, for the most part, they Finally, if you’re a new member, page of every newsletter. will be financially self-sustaining. we hope to meet you January 17 at For instance, we have full funding Weymouth. Please join us for the Your board, with the volunteer for the Distinguished Poet Series, fun. If you are a long- time mem- professional help of member thanks to the beneficence of Marie ber, come to renew your friend- Mary Santiago of Elon Univer- Gilbert. ships, meet new members, and sity, has formulated a new long- learn from our January program range plan. The essential ele- A new item some of you may al- presenters Mark Soto-Smith, Lynn ments are gradual growth, con- ready know about is that we are Veach Sadler, and Gail Peck. tinuation of our fine tradition and planning an e-mail contact system programs, and three new with intermittent e-mail messages Warmly, Bill Blackley “spokes” of outreach to further from the president or vice-president. our mission. A copy of the long- We won’t inundate you with news § § § range plan will be available at but want to stay in electronic touch, the January meeting. as well as continue our regular con- Important notice about getting tacts by means of the newsletter. If your copy of the 2003 Pinesong The first spoke is the Gilbert- you have e-mail and want to be in- Chappell Distinguished Poet Se- cluded and if you do not receive an If you don’t already have your ries, described on pages 4-5. e-mail from me in December, please copy of Poetry Society’s 2003 anthol- Three distinguished poets from contact e-mail coordinator Faye ogy, Pinesong, you or a friend can three different geographic areas Dozier at [email protected]. pick one up at a Poetry Society meet- of the state will mentor a total of ing. Doing so will save expenses for the organization. As a service to nine students a year in poetry Now is the time to enter the Pine- members who are unable to pick up and then read with them at a song poetry contests. Be bold and their copy of the 2003 Pinesong, your public event, one each in the enter the Poet Laureate category, as board recently voted to mail copies to eastern, middle and western re- well as many of the others. Dust off those who request that service. gions of the state. your poems, buff them up, or write If you or a friend are unable to pick new ones. You have until January 8 up your copy, please contact Jan Hil- The second spoke is increased to get contest entries to John Ferree. ton she will mail the anthology at no outreach to schools. Libby Encourage young poets to enter the expense to you. Jan’s address is: Campbell and Caren Stuart have contests as well. Contest Chairs 1005 Marilyn Dr., Raleigh NC 27607. developed teacher lesson plans Libby Campbell and John Ferree Or, email [email protected] The NCPS Winter Gathering—January 17 Three distinguished poets will present an engaging and informative program Please note the schedule and lunch information on the first page “Poetry and Politics: “How Does a Poet Know “Crafting the Poem Never Mix, Never What to Send Where?” of Grief” Worry?” Lynn Veach Sadler, of San- Gail Peck, of Charlotte, will Mark Smith-Soto, Costa ford, will speak on every speak about the transformation Rican-American poet, play- poet’s marketing conundrum. of emotion into something art- wright, and professor of Formerly a college president in ful. Peck is a graduate of the Spanish at UNCG, will Vermont, Sadler has won The MFA Program for Writers at speak on the relation of po- Pittsburgh Quarterly’s 2001 Warren Wilson College and etry and social and political Hay Prize; tied for first place has taught creative writing for concerns. in Kalliope’s 2002 Elkind Con- the adult education degree He is the author of two test; was runner-up for the program at Queens University books and many scholarly 2002 Spoon River Poetry Re- of Charlotte. Her chapbook articles, and his poetry has view Editor’s Prize; and won New River won the NCWN appeared in numerous publi- the Poetry Society of Amer- Harperprints Poetry Chapbook cations. His chapbook ica’s 2003 Hemley Award and Competition; and her chap- Green Mango Collage won Asphodel’s 2003 Poetry Con- book Foreshadow, published the Persephone Press Book test. Her chapbook Poet Geog- in 2003, was a finalist in Main Award (now the Mary Belle raphy won the Lee Witte Po- Street Rag’s Contest. A full- Campbell Poetry Book Pub- etry Contest and was published length collection, Drop Zone, lication Award) in 2000, and in the Mount Olive College won the Texas Review Break- he was the winner of Chiron Poetry Series, 2003. Mothers through Contest. Her poetry Review’s Poetry Contest in of the Disappeared, a full- has appeared in many maga- 2000. Another collection, length collection, was a finalist zines and anthologies, includ- Shafts, won the NCWN for the 2000 Bakeless Prize of ing Word and Witness: 100 2001 Randall Jarrell/ the Bread Loaf Writers’ Con- Years of Poetry in North Harperprints Poetry Chap- ference. Her short stories, Carolina. She has received book Competition. His first plays, and unpublished novel grants from both the Vermont full-length collection of po- have won numerous awards. Studio Center and the Virginia etry, Our Lives Are Rivers, She also has received an Ex- Center for the Arts. was recently published by traordinary Undergraduate An interview exploring Florida University Press. Teaching Award and Distin- Peck’s life in poetry can be Smith-Soto has conducted guished Women of North found on page 8.