Frank Moulton WWisconsin FFellowship founded 1950 OOf PPoets Museletter President Vice-President Secretary Treasurer Membership Chair Lester Smith B.J. Best Richard Swanson Nancy Rafal Gillian Nevers W7955 Creek Rd. Lot 307 4535 Arbor Vitae Drive 7320 Cedar Creek Trail P.O. Box 340 2022 Jefferson Street Delavan, WI 53115 West Bend, WI 53095 Madison, WI 53717 Baileys Harbor, WI 54202 Madison, WI 53711 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Fall 2010 www.wfop.org Editor: Christine Falk ○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○○ President’s Message Recently I had the opportunity to review Bruce Dethlefesen’s breather and Karla Huston’s An Inventory of Lost Things for Verse Wisconsin. Huston’s Welcome to the new members of collection opens with a quotation from Philip Larkin’s “High Windows”, which the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets got me to thinking about differences between that worthy English poet’s work and that have joined since the Summer the worthy work of Huston and Dethlefsen. issue: Certainly I’ve loved Larkin’s verse ever since stumbling across “Days” in Museletter college. I’d note that there are few things more pleasurable than reading aloud Marilyn Annucci Madison “The Whitsun Weddings”, the way it picks up steam, chugs along through images Phyllis Beckman Onalaska from English farms and towns, and finally slows to an end, following the poet’s Ross Boone Twin Lakes train ride across the countryside to end in London. And to be honest, in “Sunny J. Roderick Clark Cambridge Prestatyn” I always choke at the line “She was too good for this world”, even Reva Schlonsky Glendale though “she” is simply an image on a billboard advertising a holiday camp. Of New member inquiries should be directed to course, I also admire the subtle composition of this poem-so subtle one has to read Gillian Nevers, the membership chair. Her it specifically for structure to notice those masterful end rhymes. contact information is listed in the masthead. All that having been said, I do eventually tire of Larkin’s nearly unrelenting Welcome to all! dreariness. Although his verse demonstrates the continual liveliness of a master’s artistry, the mood conveyed is universally weary. Larkin’s sophisticated ennui simply cannot allow itself relief from sadness. (Larkin said he wrote sad poems because he believed most people are sad.) Even at his lightest, Larkin is bitingly sardonic. Reading Dethlefsen and Huston in this context, I was suddenly struck with how differently Midwestern poets such as these two convey sadness. Neither Dethlefsen nor Huston shy away from pain or grief. Much of their work is specifically about the disconnect between people, the hurts we inflect upon one another, the ways in which negative emotions can swamp us. What’s more, these poets communicate those emotions frankly, genuinely, and artistically. But unlike Larkin, they cannot help but to hope, it seems. That is to say, much of their verse is playful. Sometimes their language simply laughs. And those moments of humor are infectious—the honest grin rather than the wry, self-conscious smile of the “sophisticate.” This, I suspect, is a gift creatives from the heartland of any nation can offer to the world-weary intellects of the coastal cities. If we pledge ourselves to weep frankly and to laugh genuinely—in equal measure—perhaps we may break Museletter through the artificial shell of sophisticated ennui, and make a truly human Deadline connection with our readers. November 5, 2010 Les For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad.—Edwin Way Teale 2 the writer’s interpretation of a work of Poets and artists have been working hard What’s art, as well as the poet’s reaction to the to prepare for September’s The Vision art. The Merton Town Hall Library is and the Word collaborative show at Eau Happening in close to the junction of Highways VV Claire’s Phillip’s Memorial Library. The and 83 in North Lake. opening will be September 12th with Your Region? P.C. Moorehead had five poems followup readings/presentations on the published in Empty Shoes: Poems on the 19th and 26th. East Region Hungry and Homeless, an anthology Peg Lauber’s poem, “The Caterer”, published by Popcorn Press in 2009, and appeared in the Spring Verse Wisconsin Carolyn Vargo, East Regional Co-VP a poem of hers appeared in the Spring- and her “Land of Geometrics” was 6147 West Stack Circle Milwaukee, WI 53219-3054 Summer 2010 edition of Echoes. Her accepted for the spring online “Alternate [email protected] poems have also appeared in the Spring Realities.” David Blackey’s poem, or 2010 Museletter and in the 2011 “Odessa” appears in the Summer 2010 Janet Leahy, East Regional Co-VP Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar. A short Verse Wisconsin. Sandra Lindow’s 13480 W. Fountain Drive New Berlin, WI 53151-3968 story of hers appears in the Goose River poem “Apostles of the Interstate” will [email protected] Anthology, 2010. appear in Verse Wisconsin On-line. Sr. Irene Zimmerman was awarded July 3rd, Sandra Lindow conducted The Wisconsin Library Association Third Place for Best Original Poetry a poetry workshop at Convergence named Margaret Rozga’s book, 200 2010 by the Catholic Press Association Science Fiction Convention in Nights and One Day an outstanding of the United States and Canada for her Bloomington, Minnesota. August 1st, achievement in poetry for 2009. poem “Pieta”, which was published in she also participated in a speculative Jane Kocmoud has a poem “The St. Anthony Messenger. Her poem poetry reading at Diversicon Science Assumption” published in the July online “Gamble” recently appeared in Review Fiction Convention in Saint Paul. Her issue of Verse Wisconsin. Her haiku for Religious. poem, “Nothing Given to a Child Is Ever “apple-red berries” will appear in the Was”, was selected for a themed poetry fall issue of The Aurorean. Northwest Region chapbook that will be published by Inglis Members of The Poetry People of House. Waukesha presented a program of poetry Jan Chronister, Northwest Regional VP Bruce Taylor’s poem, “Poetry, at Bookfest held at UW-Waukesha in 3931 S. County Road O Booze, Sex, Music, Love and Death,” Maple, WI 54854 appears in the New York Quarterly Vol. June. Participants were: Paula [email protected] Anderson, Barbara Bach-Wiig, Jo 66, “Middle-aged Man Smoking” in the C. Dahlen had a poem appear in the most recent issue of Light Quarterly. Balistreri, Katy Phillips and Ginny Summer issue of the online journal, The Scholtz. “Our Body” and “In Class Exercise” are Road Not Taken: A Journal of Formal in Verse Wisconsin and are available Karen Kerans, Janet Leahy and Poetry. Katy Phillips had poems accepted for online as read by the author in the Verse Ann M. Penton, of Sarona, WI and Wisconsin Audio Supplement. “A Whole the 75th anniversary celebration of The Green Valley AZ, participated in two Clearing in Door County. Their poems Day” was featured on the Your Daily poetry classes at School of the Arts in Poem and “Saint Bruce” appears with will be on exhibit at The Clearing through Rhinelander WI this July. Earlier this summer of 2011. Janet also read at the audio in the winter 2009 issue of Able year she attended a weekend poetry Muse. Olbrich Garden Poetry Marathon in June. workshop in Tubac, AZ and was one of submitted by submitted by Janet Leahy and Carolyn Vargo, East Regional the poets and book sellers at a public Sandra Lindow, West-Central Regional VP Co-VPs poetry reading in Green Valley at the conclusion of a poetry course. Some of A submission of Phyllis Beckman’s CJ Muchhala has poems published her work was included in a newsletter appears in the literary journal Essential or forthcoming in Sacred Journey, and in a book of poetry by members of Inklings, Summer 2010 published by Summer 2010, the 2011 Wisconsin the Unitarian Universalist Congregation The Franciscan Spirituality Center (La Poets’ Calendar, and the fall issue of of Green Valley. Crosse, Wisconsin). The price is $10.00 Verse Wisconsin online. and can be ordered from P.C.Moorehead has six poems West-Central Region [email protected] (extra charge for displayed in the ekphrastic poetry postage). The journal celebrates the 25th exhibition, “Juxtaposition”, now Sandra Lindow, West-Central Regional VP anniversary of the Franciscan Spirituality 1308 16th Ave. E. Center. showing through September at the Menomonie, WI 54751 Patrick T. Randolph and his wife, Merton Town Hall Library in North Lake. [email protected] The poems accompany six watercolor Gamze, published a poetry anthology, paintings of flowers by Teri Peterson, August in the Chippewa Valley has Empty Shoes: Poems on the Hungry and owner of the Lakes Gallery of Fine Arts brought huge crops of green beans. The the Homeless. All proceeds are going to in North Lake. Ekphrastic poetry gives hardy hibiscus has just begun to bloom. What’s Happenin’ continues on page 3 Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.— Albert Camus 3 What’s Happenin’ from page 2 interesting news: a tanzaku poem of hers Heads) read from their works at Avol’s benefit homeless shelters and food was accepted and hung on a tree in a Bookstore on July 22nd. pantries across America. Thus far, $1,203 Phoenix project in May. The name of the Russell Gardner has put together an was donated to Feed America and another park is Encanto and this is done every art-and-poetry exhibit called “The Art $200 was sent to shelters in cities where spring.