A Common Wealth of Poetry
Newsletter of the Poetry Society of Virginia
May 2004

From the President
Ed Lull

Congratulations to all the winners in our Annual Poetry Contest in both adult and student categories. Actually, from the feedback from the judges, congratulations to everyone who entered. Apparently there were far more excellent poems than there were awards to give.

Festival time! When you examine the inserts I think you will agree that our Poetry Festival will be lots of fun for poetry lovers. The two seminars and three workshops bring varied and interesting topics and highly talented leaders.

We are very pleased that Ron Smith agreed to be our featured poet, presenting after lunch on Saturday. Ron is a nominee for Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth again this year. Brash (Lori Fraind) will be leading our slam after Ron�s presentation, and I�m sure it will be as much fun as it was at the Northern Region meeting in March. There will be three opportunities for members to present their poetry: at the Welcoming Banquet at Ford�s Colony Friday evening; at 9:30 on Saturday morning at Bruton Heights; and at the slam - if you opt to participate. The Saturday evening theater event is a particular treat for all of us. It features poetry readings by Margaret Ward Morland (Poet Laureate, 1996-1998), Joseph Awad (Poet Laureate, 1998-2000), Grace Simpson (Poet Laureate, 2000-2002), and George Garrett (Poet Laureate 2002-Current). There will be an opportunity to meet and chat with our Laureates after the presentations. Finally, don�t miss Claudia Gary Annis� program on Sunday; note on the insert about the program, you may send her poems in advance to critique.

Please - send your sign-up forms in ASAP; the sooner we know how many to accommodate for each event, the better the facilities will be. See you at the Festival

PSV Poetry Festival

A block of rooms has been set aside for PSV members and guests at The Lord Paget (Quality Inn), 901 Capitol Landing Road, Williamsburg, VA 23185. Members who have stayed there before gave it high grades. The negotiated rate is $53.10 plus tax per night. Remembering that it is late May in Williamsburg, members are encouraged to make reservations early. Call 1-800-537-2438 and identify yourself as a Poetry Society member or guest.

Live Wire Press announces its 2004 Call for Entries �
Poetry and Short Story Deadline � May 31, 2004

The deadline for the 2004 editions for both poetry and short story submissions is May 31. Poetry is theme-driven. This year�s theme is �What Happens to a Dream Deferred� taken from Langston Hughes� poem A Dream Deferred. Selections will appear in Volume Twenty-One of The Poet�s Domain. Short story selections will appear in the fifth volume of In Good Company.

Publication dates � November 2004. General guidelines follow. For more details go to www.livewirepress.net

1. Both published and unpublished poets and writers who live in or have a substantial connection to Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, W.Virginia, the Carolinas, or Ohio, or who are members of the Poetry Society of Virginia, are invited to submit poetry and/or short stories for consideration.
2. All submissions must be original, unpublished, and not under consideration by another publisher. Registration fee is $4 per poem, and $10 per short story.
3. Although poems of 32 lines or less are preferred, longer poems receive full consideration. Space available will govern the publication of longer works. All work must be titled. There is no theme for the fiction.
4. A #10 or larger envelope with sufficient postage for return of contract/rejection MUST accompany submissions. To confirm receipt of submissions, authors may also include a self-addressed, stamped postcard listing the titles of the submissions and the line: "Poems and fees received" or �Short stories and fees received.�
5. Submit one typed or computer-printed double-spaced copy of each poem. Clear photocopies are acceptable. Please put name, complete address with zip code, email address, and phone number in the upper right-hand corner. The short story editor requires a disk in WORD, WordPerfect, or an .rtf text file plus a hard copy.
6. Contracts will be issued to authors whose work is selected for inclusion in either volume. Publisher copyrights published works and retains all rights for one year after publication; then all rights revert to the author. Selected authors must furnish a brief biography (100 words) and the short story writers will be asked to send in a black and white glossy photo of themselves.
7. Payment: Authors receive one copy of the publication and share in an aggregate royalty of 10 percent on retail book sales one year from publication. Authors also receive a 25% discount on pre-publication orders and 12.5% discount towards purchase of additional copies after publication
8. Authors whose works are not accepted will be notified. Because submissions will not be returned, authors should keep copies of all work submitted
9. Mail your submission packet with fees (check or money order - please do not send cash), postmarked on or before May 31, 2004. Publisher, Live Wire Press, 2657 Jefferson Park Circle, Charlottesville, VA 22903, e-mail: padler@cstone.net , Internet: www.livewirepress.net. This publishing program uses reading/registration fees to pay for all costs of publication, printing, newsletter, and postage. Live Wire Press volunteers share a love for the written word and give of their time to make these publications possible.

Playwrights Premiere Theatre
Call for Material

Playwrights Premiere Theatre, a professional resident theatre company in Virginia, is seeking material for a new dramatic production to be presented in November at The Kimball Theatre on Merchants Square in Williamsburg.

The Project: An annual event entitled Virginia Creations whose theme changes yearly. The theme for 2004 is �Life on the Chesapeake�. The project will be a multi-media dramatic presentation in which professional actors will present original dramatic monologues by Virginia writers in a �Spoon River Anthology� type of presentation. The setting will be projected slides of artwork by Virginia artists. The artwork will tie in thematically with the monologues. Music will accompany the presentation.

Criteria for Writers: Dramatic monologues in first person point of view, strong sense of character, prose or poetry, 2-5 minutes in length. Subject: �Life on the Chesapeake�. Time Period: any. Fiction or non-fiction. Writer must be a resident of Virginia.

Means of Selection: Playwrights Premiere Theatre will select pieces based on dramatic form, content, length, literary quality, depth of character and relation to theme.

Awards: Each author of a selected piece will receive a $25 cash award, two complimentary tickets to the show and reception to follow and authorship credit in the program.

Copyright: Author will retain all publication rights of selected material and will render rights for dramatic presentation only.

Deadline: July 10, 2004.

Submission: Submit material and cover letter that includes name, address, phone number and email address to:

Virginia Creations
Playwrights Premiere Theatre
HC 75, Box 8095
Mobjack, VA 23056

For further information: pptvirginia@peoplepc.com or www.pptva.org

Members News

Ruth Holzer�s chapbook, The First Hundred Years will be available from June 1, 2004. Price postpaid until July 12 is $12.00. It can be ordered from
Finishing Line Press
P.O. Box 1626
Georgetown KY 40324
or on the web at
http://hometown.aol.com/finishingbooks/myhomepage/
Ruth won first prizes in the Edgar Allan Poe Memorial and Nancy Byrd Turner Memorial categories and a Third Honorable Mention in the A Poem with a Point of View category in the PSV�s 2004 Poetry Contest.

Sofia M Starnes� new book. A Commerce of Moments has been published (Pavement Saw Press, Ohio, 2003; Editor: David Baratier) Paper Trade: ISBN 1-886350-68-X PRICE: $12.00 6 by 9 inches, 88 pages, POETRY

Couplet by couplet, Sofia Starnes leads her readers on a poetic quest for understanding. Her perfect pitch and her acute sensitivity to the pace and nuances of language are reason enough for us to follow. A Commerce of Moments is a gathering of very special poems.�Billy Collins

Books are available through the publisher (1.614.445.0534 / editor@pavementsaw.org),
through SPD
(Small Press Distribution
1341 Seventh St.
Berkeley, CA 94710
1.800.869.7553),
and through major booksellers, such as Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com.

Signed copies of A Commerce of Moments may be obtained from the author for $12.00 plus postage (Virginia residents, please add tax). For more information, contact Sofia Starnes at whsstarnes@widomaker.com.
___________________________________________________________
PSV Festival

Sign-up Sheet

A Program Schedule (including directions) and detailed descriptions of the programs follows the Festival Sign-up Sheet

Event # Time Title Cost Nr. Attending Remittance

Friday, May 21, 2004

21-2 10:30am Poetry Seminar (Michael Mott) NA _______
21-3 12:00noon Box Lunch $10 _______ __________
21-4 1:00pm Poetry Seminar (David Partie) NA _______
21-5 2:30pm Poetry Workshop (Vivian Teter) NA _______
21-6 3:45pm Poetry Workshop (Shann Palmer) NA _______
21-7 6:30pm Welcoming Banquet/Open Reading $20 _______ __________

Saturday, May 22, 2004

22-1 9:30am Poetry Open Reading NA _______
22-2 11:00am PSV Annual Meeting NA _______
22-3 12:00pm Box Lunch $10 _______ __________
22-4 1:00pm Featured Poet (Ron Smith) NA _______
22-5 2:30pm Slam Instructions NA _______
22-6 3:00pm Poetry Slam NA _______
22-7 7:30pm Theater Event (The Poets Laureate) $10 _______ __________

Sunday, May 23, 2004

23-1 10:30am Poetry Workshop (Claudia Annis) NA _______

Cost Sub-total __________
Registration @ $20 per person __________
Remittance Enclosed __________

I wish to read in Event 21-7 (Circle one) Yes No
I wish to read in Event 22-1 (Circle one) Yes No
I wish to compete in the Slam, Event 22-6 Yes No

Name: ____________________________________________________________________

Guest(s) Name(s) (if any): ____________________________________________________

Please forward this completed form, with remittance, to:
Edward W. Lull
100 North Berwick
Williamsburg, VA 23188-6459

Mail by: May 7, 2004
Make checks payable to: Poetry Society of Virginia

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Poetry Society of Virginia

PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Annual Poetry Festival - 2004

Event # Time bsp Event Venue

Friday - May 21, 2004

21-1 10:00am-10:30am Registration A
21-2 10:30am-12:00noon Poetry Seminar (Michael Mott) A
21-3 12:00noon -1:00pm Box Lunch A
21-4 1:00pm-2:30pm Poetry Seminar (David Partie) A
21-5 2:30pm-3:45pm Poetry Workshop (Vivian Teter) A
21-6 3:45pm-5:00pm Poetry Workshop (Shann Palmer) A
21-7 6:30pm - 9:00pm Welcoming Banquet/Open Reading C

Saturday - May 22, 2004

22-1 9:30am-11:00am Open Reading B
22-2 11:00am -12:00noon PSV Annual Meeting B
22-3 12:00pm - 1:00pm Lunch B
22-4 1:00pm-2:00pm Featured Poet B
22-5 2:30pm-3:00pm Slam Instructions (Brash) B
22-6 3:00pm-5:00pm Poetry Slam (Brash) B
22-7 7:30pm Theater Event - �The Poets Laureate� B

Sunday - May 23, 2004

23-1 10:30am-1:30pm Poetry Workshop (Claudia Gary Annis) B

Venues

A = Williamsburg-James City County Regional Library at Norge

B = Bruton Heights

C = Ford�s Colony Country Club Banquet Room

Directions to Bruton Heights School

From I-64, take Exit 238 toward Williamsburg
Stay on Rte. 143, past light at Rte. 132
At fork, go right onto Rte. 5
After merge with Rte. 60, take right fork onto
Capitol Landing Road
Right on 1st St.; take to large parking lot on left.

Directions to JCC Library

From I-64, take Exit 231toward Norge
Proceed past traffic light
Just past where divided highway ends, library is on the left.

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POETRY FESTIVAL PROGRAM INFORMATION

Poetry and Landscape - Michael Mott

Why is it that one place we live in �speaks to us� as poets, while another does not? Perhaps, as the old poets believed, there is a Genius of the Place as well as the Muse. Why is it that poems we write on visits to foreign lands are sometimes �tourist poems� at best; at other times they reveal something much deeper about the country and the traveler? Michael Mott will introduce the discussion with poems he has published about North Georgia, Barbados; North London and Cornwall; Swaziland and Sicily. Bring your own poems and your ideas for the discussion.

Michael Mott has published some 300 poems, five collections and two chapbooks. Born in London, his best-selling first novel, The Notebooks of Susan Berry, was published in the U.S. He was the editor of the Kenyon Review, a professor at Emory University, and Twice Writer-in-Residence at the College of William & Mary. He retired in 1992 as Professor Emeritus from Bowling Green State University. His awards include a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Governor�s Award from Jimmie Carter, and the Christopher Award for his biography The Seven Mountains of Thomas Merton, a runner-up for the Pulitzer Prize. He was awarded the Allen Tate Prize for best poetry published in The Sewanee Review.

The Poetry of Theodore Roethke - David Partie

For the past three Poetry Festivals, Dr. Partie has presented PowerPoint seminars on the works of Dylan Thomas, Richard Wilbur, and Elizabeth Bishop. His approach to these programs, featuring interaction with the audience, have been among the most popular events at the festivals. This year, he brings a similar presentation on the works of Theodore Roethke.

David Partie is a professor of English at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is a long-time member of the Poetry Society of Virginia, and is the Vice President for the vast Western Region of the Commonwealth. For the previous three Poetry Festivals, he has presented seminars on famous poets; these programs have been extremely popular with the PSV members in that they provided unique insights into the poets� works.

Frost, Dickinson, Whitman and Others - Vivian Teter

Did you know Robert Frost first wrote �dented spider,� not �dimpled spider/fat and white,� in his sonnet Design? In this workshop we shall do hands-on exercises with early and final versions of poems by some of our best-loved poets, as well as a stimulating exercise or two for generating imagery.

Vivian Teter teaches creative writing and is Associate Professor of English at Virginia Wesleyan College. She received her MFA in poetry and poetics from the University of Arizona and her BA in English from Hollins University. She has published poetry in The Gettysburg Review, The Missouri Review, Black Warrior Review, Passages North, Artemis Online, and several other literary journals. Her full-length collection, Tulip Returning, is currently under editorial review.

Poetry of the People: The Spectacular Vernacular - Shann Palmer

The quiddity of language, where the tongue forks and poets coax words into timeless verse that reflects, infects, and predicts the human condition. Using examples from Shakespeare to yesterday�s Poetry Daily, we will examine the phrases that make our day while inflicting collateral damage in everyday poetspeak. Not quite slang, not quite jingle, but what people say.

Shann Palmer, a teacher and musician who lives in Virginia by way of Texas and Arizona, serves as a Vice President and Student Contest Coordinator for The Poetry Society of Virginia. She hosts readings and workshops in the Richmond area, and posts local event information at her website, with photos and links to online and print publications including Eclectica, Melic Review, and more. Pending publications include the 2004 Austin International Poetry Festival Anthology Di-Verse City, the Wicked Alice Print Annual and Gin Bender.

Seeking Fluency in the Language of Poetic Forms - Claudia Gary Annis

Using time-honored poems and some of our own, we shall discuss what the various forms can offer to writers and readers of poetry, and how to make them your own. Initial focus will be on sonnets and villanelles. We shall also address common pitfalls from an editor�s point of view. If you would like a poem critiqued, please send it in advance (ASAP) to Claudia Annis, claudiagary@att.net, or 111-E Prosperity Ave. SE, Leesburg, VA 20175.

Claudia Gary Annis� poems have been published in The Formalist, Light, Pivot, Edge City Review, The Lyric, Orbis (UK), Sparrow - the Yearbook of the Sonnet, and other journals. She is the former poetry editor of The Edge City Review and current Senior Editor of Vietnam Magazine. Her chapbook, Ripples in the Fabric, was published in 1996, and her new full-length collection awaits publication. Claudia is a former Vice President of The Poetry Society of Virginia.

Featured Poet - Ron Smith

Ron Smith (B.A., M.A., M.H., M.F.A.) has taught modern American poetry, the works of Edgar Allan Poe, and creative writing at Mary Washington College, Virginia Commonwealth University, and University of Richmond. He is Writer-in-Residence at St. Christopher�s School and holder of the George Squires Chair of Distinguished Teaching. Ron Smith is the author of the well-received book, Running Again in Hollywood Cemetery, judged a close second for the National Poetry Series Open Competition. The book�s title poem was awarded Southern Poetry Review�s Guy Owen Award. More than a hundred of Ron Smith�s poems have appeared in national and international periodicals, including The Nation, Kenyon Review, Southern Review, Virginia Quarterly Review, New England Review, and Kansas Quarterly, and in anthologies Published by Wesleyan University Press, Time-Life Books, University of Georgia Press, University of Virginia Press and University of Illinois Press. He was a nominee for Poet Laureate of the Commonwealth in 2002, and again in 2004.

The Poetry Society of Virginia