got five bucks?
May 24, 2012
For just five dollars (but hopefully more), you can become a Copper Canyon Press Poetry Patron and get a free book of poetry. Support your local (Pt. Townsend, WA) publisher! Check it out, then make a donation to this wonderful non-profit, now celebrating its 40th anniversary.
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Don’t mail that poem!
March 28, 2012
WAIT! Don’t mail that poem!
If you haven’t mailed your poem yet, please don’t take a chance of missing the deadline — 5:00pm, Saturday, March 31, 2012. All poems must be received by that time.
Mail delivery is slower these days, but you still have time to hand deliver your poem to Mindport Exhibits, 210 W. Holly Street, in downtown Bellingham. Mindport is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from Noon to 5:00pm and Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm.
We look forward to reading your poem!
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mailbox
poetry in the news…
March 27, 2012
National Poetry Month begins on Sunday, April 1, and poetry with a local twist is already finding its way into the media. In yesterday’s Bellingham Herald, Barbara Lloyd McMichael offered recommendations for two new books in her article, Books that help you celebrate National Poetry Month. One is Plume by Poet Laureate Kathleen Flenniken; the other is Forms of Feeling: Poetry in Our Lives – Essays and Interviews by John Morgan. (Not mentioned in the article: John Morgan is the father of one of this year’s Sue Boynton Poetry Contest judges, poet Jeffrey Morgan!)
Last week, writer Craig Morgan Teicher discussed the efforts by Port Townsend-based poetry publisher, Copper Canyon Press, to adapt poetry for hand-held devices. In his Publishers Weekly article, Fitting Poetry to the Screen, Teicher describes the challenges of fitting long lines onto narrow screens with suitable line breaks while still honoring the poet’s intent. The story was also covered in Harriet, the blog of the Poetry Foundation.
show some love for community poetry…
March 19, 2012
- ‘Like’ this post (or any/every post!).
- Follow this blog by e-mail or RSS feed.
- Leave a Comment.
- ‘Like’ Sue Boynton Poetry Contest on Facebook, Like our posts, join in the conversation.
- Talk about the contest on your own website or blog and add links to this site and our Facebook page.
- Submit a poem (if you live in Whatcom County, WA) by March 31 and encourage your friends, family members and students to do the same.
- Print and post the contest guidelines on the bulletin board at your workplace, school, gym, grocery store, place of worship or favorite coffee shop. (See the 2012 Contest page for printable guidelines.)
- Reserve your place at the table now (while there still is one!) for our delicious fundraising dinner, Taste for Poetry, Tuesday, April 17, 2012.
- Make a tax-deductible donation. Make your check payable to Whatcom Poetry Series (note Boynton on the memo line) and mail it to Poetry Contest, P.O. Box 1192, Bellingham, WA 98227. Donations in any amount are appreciated. Donations of $100 or more will be acknowledged for a year on a plaque in front of the Bellingham Public Library.
- Buy a copy of Poetry Walk.
- Attend a poetry event, listen to poetry, read your own. (And leave a Comment if you have a Washington state poetry event to add to the calendar.)
- Visit the downtown Bellingham Public Library and read the poetry plaques on the Sue Boynton Poetry Walk. Grab a copy of the guidelines, inside at the reference desk, while you’re there.
- Attend the free public awards ceremony at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal on Thursday, May 10, 2012, at 7:00pm.
The Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest is a program of Whatcom Poetry Series, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.
Thank you for supporting poetry in our community!
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Photo by Katie Humes
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attention Washington State poets!
March 14, 2012
What does a Poet Laureate really do? Well, here’s one thing…
The newly-appointed Washington State Poet Laureate, Kathleen Flenniken, has assembled a detailed questionnaire to help her learn more about poets in the state. Her accompanying note and the questionnaire are included below. (An unofficial copy of the poetry questionnaire is also included here as a PDF for your convenience.)
Here’s Kathleen:
My goal as 2012 – 2014 Poet Laureate is to broaden the audience for poetry in Washington State. I hope to accomplish that goal in part by finding new opportunities for Washington poets to share their work. I hope you will consider filling out this questionnaire and forwarding it to other poets in order to help me promote poetry throughout our 39 counties and beyond.
The questionnaire is multipurpose and multipart. Fill out as much or as little as interests you. I hope it won’t take too much of your time. Please note that the information you provide will be used by the Poet Laureate program only and will not be shared with unaffiliated organizations. The Washington State Poet Laureate program is sponsored by Humanities Washington and the Washington State Arts Commission.
Return the completed questionnaire to poet@humanities.org. I’ll enter this information into a Poet Laureate program database and begin organizing accordingly.
This questionnaire is in six parts:
1. contact information
2. bio and content survey
3. travel survey
4. book donation list
5. poetry submission for PL blog, The Far Field
6. other pertinent information and feedback
1. CONTACT INFORMATION
email, postal address (please include county), phone number
2. BIO AND CONTENT SURVEY
Please provide a 50 – 100 word bio. Include your city, please.
Do you have any particular thematic concerns that appear frequently in your work (Examples: war, politics, history, violence, doctoring, health-healing, family, marriage, divorce, sex, sport, domestic life, environment, farming, aging, love)?
3. TRAVEL SURVEY
READINGS IN 39 COUNTIES
I am curating poetry readings in all 39 Washington counties over my two-year tenure. I envision a variety of readers that represent the breadth and depth of our poetry community; many will take place in remote areas. Please note too that I hope to bring new poets to the attention of local audiences, so preference will be given to poets from out of county. These events will be hosted by public libraries and well publicized. I plan to read along with 2-3 other poets; readings will last about an hour. In many cases there will be in addition a reception, workshop, open mike, or other event. I don’t yet have dates, so your answers will be theoretical for now—answer as best you can. If you want to add comments with your answers, please feel free.
EXPENSES
In some cases I will be able to reimburse readers for some travel costs or offer a small honorarium. I have a very limited budget, however.
Please note if you can ONLY consider traveling if you are reimbursed.
TRAVEL
Please note if you can only travel in certain months of the year, and which.
COUNTY BY COUNTY SURVEY
Refer to the county map and indicate on the list below the counties where you would be willing to read by marking with an X. Or, check “ALL” or a geographic region:
_____ALL
_____PENINSULA (Clallam, Jefferson, Grays Harbor, Mason)
_____NORTHEAST (Pend Oreille, Stevens, Ferry, Okanogan, Lincoln, Spokane)
_____SOUTHEAST (Adams, Whitman, Benton, Franklin, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield, Asotin)
_____NORTHWEST (San Juan, Island, Kitsap, Whatcom, Skagit, Snohomish, King, Pierce)
_____SOUTHWEST (Pacific, Wahkiakum ,Thurston, Lewis, Cowlitz, Clark, Skamania)
_____CENTRAL (Chelan, Douglas, Grant, Kittitas, Yakima, Klickitat)
* Adams_____
* Asotin_____
* Benton_____
* Chelan______
* Clallam_____
* Clark_____
* Columbia_____
* Cowlitz_____
* Douglas_____
* Ferry_____
* Franklin_____
* Garfield_____
* Grant_____
* Grays Harbor_____
* Island_____
* Jefferson_____
* King_____
* Kitsap_____
* Kittitas_____
* Klickitat_____
* Lewis_____
* Lincoln_____
* Mason_____
* Okanogan_____
* Pacific_____
* Pend Oreille_____
* Pierce_____
* San Juan_____
* Skagit_____
* Skamania_____
* Snohomish_____
* Spokane_____
* Stevens_____
* Thurston_____
* Wahkiakum_____
* Walla Walla_____
* Whatcom_____
* Whitman_____
* Yakima______
4. BOOK DONATION LIST
If you have authored a published book or books of poetry, would you be willing to donate and ship to me one or more copies for:
_____ The Poet Laureate Library, which will pass to succeeding laureates and used as an ongoing resource? (One copy only)
_____ Libraries across the state who have requested poetry donations? How many copies? _____
If you check either box, I will be in contact with you about your donation. Thank you for considering it!
5. POETRY SUBMISSION FOR THE FAR FIELD
www.kathleenflenniken.com/blog
The Far Field is a new poetry blog sponsored by the Poet Laureate program that highlights poetry written by Washington State poets. Each week I’ll publish several poems from a variety of voices. I hope to include student work, poems from the spoken word community, established and emerging poets—I want to represent the gamut. Please remember this is a site to encourage young writers too; I will be selecting poems that are suitable for a general audience. Remember too that variety is a virtue—don’t limit yourself to poems about Washington.
I will be soliciting work and accepting submissions too. You may submit up to five poems for consideration in an attachment or a separate email. Please attach all poems in a single WORD or PDF file. Your name and contact information should appear on each page.
I prefer previously published material as long as you hold the copyright. If you do not hold the copyright, you must secure permission before you submit. Your submission implies that you give permission to me and to Humanities Washington to publish. While I can’t guarantee publication, I do look forward to reading your work.
Send all submissions to poet@humanities.org.
6. OTHER PERTINENT INFORMATION AND FEEDBACK
Please let me know if there are any Washington State poetry-related events, organizations, presses, or magazines that I have overlooked in The Far Field. You know your area better than I do. List those additions below, with a URL if possible. I hope The Far Field will become a useful resource for poets and that begins with you.
Is there anything else you’d like me to know? I am planning to go into remote area schools to lead poetry workshops, focusing on 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders. Perhaps you know of an especially worthy and needy school or population? I’d like to know about them. Do you recognize a specific need in your community? Please send your suggestions along now or later.
Thank you for completing this questionnaire as soon as possible. The information you provide is important to me and to the Poet Laureate program.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Flenniken
2012 – 2014 Washington State Poet Laureate
poet@humanities.org
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reminder…
March 13, 2012
Read the guidelines.
Write a poem.
Send it in.
Easy.
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poetry projects…
March 4, 2012
The Seattle Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs has announced the individual winners of 2012 CityArtist Project grants. Poets and poetry projects include Suzanne Edison, Karen Finneyfrock, Luke Johnson, Rachel Kessler and Kary Wayson. “In 2012, CityArtists awarded $156,000 to 45 individual artists working in the visual, literary and media arts. Twenty-three of the 45 artists funded are first-time recipients, representing 51 percent of the awards. Award amounts are set at $2,000 or $4,000 and projects must be realized between May and December 2012.” Read more about the projects here.
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journal release party…
February 22, 2012
Labyrinth, the journal of Western Washington University’s (WWU) Women’s Center, will celebrate the release of the 2012 edition with an exhibit and reading at the Viking Union Gallery. The issue’s theme, Beyond the Body, is expressed through visual arts, currently on display (through Friday, March 2, Monday through Friday, 11:00am – 5:00pm), and with readings at the release party on Thursday, March 1, 6:00 – 8:00pm. Find more information about Labyrinth on Facebook.
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countdown…
February 11, 2012
The Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest does not open officially until March 1, 2012. But it’s hard to rein in those eager poets and we’ve already received our first submission!
If you’re a Whatcom County resident and you’ve written your poem, checked it against the guidelines and would like to submit it by mail, our post office box is ready for you! (Sorry, but no in-person poem deliveries until the contest is officially open.) You’ll find everything you need to know on the 2012 Contest page — dates, guidelines (to read and/or download), address and even a downloadable sample submission form.
We look forward to reading your poem!
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new poet laureate!
February 10, 2012
Congratulations to Kathleen Flenniken, who has been appointed Washington State Poet Laureate 2012-14. Among her many impressive credentials, Flenniken served as a Sue Boynton Poetry Contest judge in 2009.
“This is a dream job — speaking in support of the arts and humanities, and of poetry in particular, getting the chance to organize poetry events around the state, visit schools, reach kids and teachers and remote communities,” said Flenniken, in a press release issued by Humanities Washington and the Washington State Arts Commission (WSAC).
The Washington State Poet Laureate was established by the 2007 Legislature as a cooperative program of the WSAC and Humanities Washington. Samuel Green was named Washington’s first poet laureate, serving a two-year term from 2007 to 2009. The program was suspended in 2009, at the governor’s request, due to budget constraints.
In 2011, the governor agreed to resume the program, provided that no state funds would be used. WSAC and Humanities Washington resumed their partnership and the program is moving forward with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and private contributions.
