Vermont Poetry Newsletter • May 15 2010

[The Vermont Poetry Newsletter is not issued by me but by Ron Lewis, by whose permission I post this. PLEASE NOTE: I have edited his newsletter so that links are provided rather than text. If I cannot find a link, I will either omit the relevant portion of the newsletter to avoid copyright violations, or I will provide an alternate link. Please contact Ron Lewis if you would like to receive his Newsletter in full. All images are linked.]

Vermont Poetry Newsletter

Your Poetry & Spoken Word Gateway in the Green Mountain State
May 12, 2010 (Previous issue: 04/20) – In This Issue:

1. About VPN/How To Print
2. Newsletter Editor’s Note
3. Writing Assignment/Suggestion/Exercise/Prompt
4. One in 8,700: Leonard Gibbs
5. Hunter, Fargnoli & Mayo reading: RSVP!
6. Burlington Poetry Journal: Mud Season Issue Available
7. Angela Patten’s Writing Memoir Course
8. Joni Cole’s Workshops
9. April Ossmann’s Workshop
10. Poetry Advice Column: How can you be a poet every day?
11. Haijinx: The Quarterly is back!
12. Haijinx: Do Metrics Matter? Notes on Renku.
13. Haijinx: About John Carley
14. Robert Hass: On Whitman’s ‘Song of Myself’
15. Song of Myself by Walt Whitman
16. In a Small Town, the Giants of Poetry for 20 Years
17. Poetic Connections: Art as Aphrodisiac
18. Metapoetry
19. It’s Only Rhyming Quatrains, But I Like It
20. Did You Know? Bread Loaf Poet Jennifer Grotz
21. Ponderings: Greetings from Robert Frost
22. Poetry Quote – Margaret Atwood
23. Failbetter Poem
24. Linebreak Poem
25. Copper Canyon Press Poem
26. American Life in Poetry Poems
27. US Poets Laureate List
28. Vermont Poet Laureates
29. US Poet Laureates From Vermont
30. New Hampshire Poet Laureates
31. US Poet Laureates From New Hampshire
32. Contact Info for Publisher of VPN: Ron Lewis
33. Vermont Literary Journals
34. Vermont Literary Groups’ Anthologies
35. Vermont Poetry Blogs
36. State Poetry Society (PSOV)
37. Year-Round Poetry Workshops in Vermont
38. Other Poetry Workshops in Vermont
39. Year-Round Poetry Writing Centers in Vermont
40. Other Writing Groups in Vermont
41. Poetry Event Calendar

1.) About the Vermont Poetry Newsletter Network

The Vermont Poetry Newsletter Network is made up of people of all backgrounds, ages and skills who appreciate the craft of poetry and want to promote it in the beautiful state of Vermont. The network consists of a free e-mail list, an eventual web site, workshops, open mics, poetry performances and other literary events.  The network provides opportunities to meet local poets, talk about and enjoy poetry, and motivate and inspire yourself in whatever writing projects you are involved.

The mission of the Vermont Poetry Newsletter is to foster the poetry arts community in the Green Mountain State. Its goals are to serve as a resource for and about VT poets; to support the development of individual poets; and to encourage an audience for poetry in Vermont.

2.) Dear Friends of Poetry:

Many of you are now receiving my email that alerts you to when a new Vermont Poetry Newsletter is ready for viewing, along with a fully updated Poetz.com calendar of events. This procedure seems to be working beautifully, and seems to have had an invigorating effect on Vermont’s poetry “scene” as well as for Patrick Gillespie’s poetry blog: https://poemshape.wordpress.com/.

Well, that was one great National Poetry Month! I did not go to nearly the number of readings that I had planned on, but I did go to some memorable ones, nonetheless. The greatest gift of poetry that I gave to myself over this month of madness was a go hear Donald Hall in the small setting of Arlington High School’s Mack Performance Arts Center. For those of you who still don’t believe that big things can happen in small venues, then this would have been an eye-opener for you. This tiny high school, with the leadership of Hank Barthel, an English teacher with foresight and determination, coupled with the school’s supportive Principal, Kerry Csizmesia, bringing the talents of big-name poets has become reality. From the first invitee, Robert Creeley, who read before a dozen people in the cafeteria, to Donald Hall, who packed a new performance center, Hank has brought 13 renowned poets to this setting in rural Vermont. Unfortunately, Hank is retiring in June, after 28 devoted years to the teaching of English literature. He will be sorely missed, but not forgotten, as Kerry made sure of that – he had a huge framed display erected in the hallway, just outside the doors of the performance center, that had photos of each of the 13 poets, plus that of Hank’s, along with brass plaques of their bio’s. From all of us who love poetry here in Vermont, thank you, Hank!

Ron Lewis
VPN Publisher
247-5913

Poetry in Vermont ❧ Inkblot Complex with Clara Rose Thornton

• This just in. I received an E-Mail from Bellows Falls native, Clara Rose Thornton, asking me to spread the word, which I’m glad to do. If you’re a high school or college student, enjoy poetry and want to learn more, the following might be of interest.
  

The innovative, six-part InkBlot Complex Poetry Workshop aims to lift poetry from the page and reveal how it is a living force in daily life. Originally taught at the University of Illinois at Chicago to great acclaim, its interactive nature and inclusion of multiple art forms leaves dry, academic notions of poetry behind. The anticipated New Hampshire debut is geared toward high school and college-age participants. The workshop culls from the rich legacy of Chicago’s underground poetry scene, while universalizing its methods and practices. It functions through three tenets: 1) Presentation of the art form as a living element of our daily world, 2) individualized, personal enrichment and free range of expression for each student, and 3) artistic cultivation through unexpected means. Taught by seasoned arts journalist, cultural critic, and poet Clara Rose Thornton, this six-session event explores the poetry we encounter all around us—in the songs we hear, the ways we express ourselves, even the advertisements we see. In the final session students then create their own works with an increased sense of connection to the way words construct meaning. All materials will be provided, and fresh, local, organic refreshments served. Instructor Clara Rose Thornton is as an internationally published film, wine, and visual arts critic; music journalist; poet; and book and magazine editor. Originally hailing from Chicago, she has been active in the national performance poetry milieu for ten years, acting as a judge in slam competitions in two states (Oregon and Illinois)—including at the legendary Green Mill jazz lounge in Chicago, where the first poetry slam took place in 1986—and as a judge in the 2010 New Hampshire Poetry Out Loud. Her writings on culture and the arts have appeared nationally in Stop Smiling: The Magazine for High-Minded Lowlifes, Honest Tune: The American Journal of Jam, and Time Out Chicago. Currently residing in an artists’ colony in Windham County, she acts as the weekly arts columnist for the Rutland Herald, staff writer for Southern Vermont Arts & Living, and a regional correspondent for ArtScope. A portfolio, bio, and roster of writing and editing services can be found at WWW.CLARAROSETHORNTON.COM. The InkBlot Complex Poetry Workshop is presented by The Starving Artist, and happens every Thurs. in May—6, 13, 20, 27—and the first two in June—3, 10—from 4 to 5 p.m. at Starving Artist, 10 West Street in Downtown Keene. $100 early registration, $120 after April 15. * Partial attendance negotiable.

Press Release (Contact Information)

Poetry Workshop Flier (Contact, Dates & Pricing)