Missed it? Listen!

If you missed the Sue Boynton Poetry Contest awards ceremony this week, all is not lost! You can now listen to a podcast of the proceedings, thanks to Boris D. Schleinkofer and poetrynight. The links have been added to the Boynton poems & poets sidebar, at right, as well as the voluminous poetrynight podcast page. To listen now, click on Part 1 or Part 2.
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Chapbook design: Ellie A. Rogers
Chapbook cover artwork: Sheila Sondik

gratitude and congratulations

The awards ceremony for the Sue Boynton Poetry Contest felt like a real celebration. Extra chairs had to be added to accommodate the crowd, the poets read beautifully, and the supportive and enthusiastic audience got to hear from two of Sue C. Boynton’s granddaughters, Jan Crook Pierson and Marie Boynton (above, left and center, respectively) as well as contest founder, George F. Drake (above right).

As in years past, Egress Studio displayed the beautiful and near-final drafts of the placards that will be placed in buses around Whatcom County and a handsome chapbook of the winning poems featured cover art by former contest committee member Sheila Sondik. A good time was had by all.

Over the coming months, the winning poems and placards will be featured on this site. To make sure you don’t miss them, please subscribe.

P.S.: Lost and found…a black seat cushion was left behind by one of the awards ceremony attendees. If you are or know that person, please leave a comment here or send an email to boyntonpoetrycontest@hotmail.com and we’ll reunite you with your lost item.

 

conferences and festivals…

What do you have planned for the coming months? Here are a few options worth exploring (in Washington unless otherwise specified):

May 31-June 2 – Whidbey Island – VORTEXT: A Weekend Salon for Women Writers

June 21-22 - Bellingham – Chuckanut Writers Conference

July 7-21 – Port Townsend – The Port Townsend Writers’ Conference

July 8-14 – Wallowa Lake, Oregon – Summer Fishtrap

July 25-28 – Seattle – PNWA writer’s conference

August 14-18 – Long Beach, California – Haiku North America

August 24-25 – Seattle – Seattle Anarchist Bookfair

September 6-8 – Newport, Oregon – Poets on the Coast Writers Retreat

September 27-29 – Tieton – LiTFUSE

October 4-6 – Edmonds – Write on the Sound Writers’ Conference

October 25-27 – Coupeville – Whidbey Island Writers Conference

To see more options for your literary calendar, visit the NW Lit Events page!

We’re saving you a seat!

Tonight’s the night! Please join the winners of the 8th Annual Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest and their families, friends and fans at the Awards Ceremony: 7:00pm at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal, 355 Harris Street in Fairhaven. The ceremony is free and there’s plenty of free parking.

The winning poets will read their poems and this year’s two judges, Bruce Beasley and Mary Gillilan, will present award certificates to Walk Award winners Angela Belcaster, Mariah Brown-Pounds, Susan Chase-Foster, Kayla Donovan (11th grade), Malcolm H. Kenyon, Mike Long, Matt Malyon, Betty Scott, Emily Spector-Van Zee (kindergarten) and Liam Veitch (6th grade); and Merit Award winners Luther Allen, Maddy DeFreest (8th grade), Victoria Doerper, Deborah Lutz, Andrew Shattuck McBride, Jim Milstead, Marina Murphy (10th grade), Bassam Najib Boulos (8th grade), Joe Nolting, Timothy Pilgrim, Colleen Schwartz, Kristin Smith (11th grade), Tom Villa-Lovoz, Richard Widerkehr and Margarethe Zubler-Keller.

A chapbook of winning poems will be available for purchase and all poems entered in this year’s contest will be on display.

This is a wonderful community event. Please join us!
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photo by Cyndi Bennett

poetry in space…

In case you’ve been distracted by the moon or the sun or the stars this spring, we call your attention to this lofty opportunity: send a haiku to Mars.

The Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) spacecraft launches in November. But right now, until July 1, 2013, you are invited to craft and submit a haiku that could be one of three sent to along for the ride.

The contest rules specify a strict five-seven-five haiku style. It’s free and open to all ages. All you have to do is register (participants under 18 must be registered by a parent or guardian). Visit the Going to Mars website for more information.
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NASA image of Mars

poetry and film

Interested in the intersection of poetry and film? If you’re intrigued by the idea of poetry films that go beyond people reading poems on screen, have a look at the growing film archive at Moving Poems.

Started by Dave Bonta as a way of learning more about making videopoetry, the site features an extensive and international list of poets and filmmakers. There’s a forum, lists of resources and film after film after film. You can drop in at Moving Poems or subscribe.

If you’re interested in cinepoetry and you’re on Facebook, you may also want to visit or join the Visible Verse Festival group.

celebrate books

2013 marks the 94th annual celebration of Children’s Book Week, the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Why not take this opportunity to read some poetry aloud with the child or children in your life? (And speaking of children and poetry, be sure to come support the readers of all ages at the Sue Boynton Poetry Contest Awards Ceremony this Thursday, May 16.) Here’s more about Children’s Book Week.