Celebrating Outgoing and Incoming NH Poets Laureate with PSNH — January 10, 2020

This FREE event, from 5:30 to 7:30 in the House Chamber at the Common Man in Concord, will include the following:

• Outgoing New Hampshire Poet Laureate Alice Fogel will give a summary of the programs she was involved in during her service to NH, & acknowledge those who participated in many of these projects
• Incoming New Hampshire Poet Laurete Alexandria Peary will be introduced, & share some of her plans & ideas for her tenure
• Both poets will read briefly from their work
• Bob Moore & Cynthia Chatis will entertain us with their music
• Light appetizers will be served, & there will be a cash bar
• Books in the Granite State Poetry Series from Hobblebush Books & journals from PSNH will be available
• PSNH members are invited to display & sell their poetry books
• Everyone will mingle to start off 2020 with poetry!

Please come and bring along your friends and associates for this New Year occasion.

Sincerely,

Alice B Fogel

Questions? Contact Jimmy Pappas of the Poetry Society at jpappas235@gmail.com

THE COMMON MAN CONCORD
25 Water Street, Concord, NH 03301 (for GPS use 1 Gulf Street, Concord)
603-228-3463

 

Free PSNH Poetry Workshop: Make Your Strong Poems Stronger

Sponsored by the Poetry Society of New Hampshire

Featuring John-Michael Albert, 8th Portsmouth Poet Laureate

A strong poem is a memorable poem to the reader. Strength is achievable by practicing the elements of your craft as a poet. Participants in the workshop are requested to bring ten copies each of two, original, half-page poems (or two half-page excerpts from poems), for consideration. We will use our collective resources, our “hive mind,” to practice techniques for making strong poems into stronger poems.

Date: Saturday, January 18, 2020

Time: 12 noon – 3:00 PM, light snacks will be provided

Place: Portsmouth Public Library, 2nd floor McLeod Board Room

Note: Light snacks will be provided; closed-container beverages are welcome

Workshop is limited to 12 participants; E-mail John-Michael.Albert@Comcast.net to reserve a space

John-Michael Albert was the 8^th Poet Laureate of Portsmouth, NH. He is an accomplished musician, composer, conductor, and poet, author of 10 volumes of poetry including Cardamom Cravings, The Bird Catcher, The Light and Air of our Work, and Questions You Were Too Polite to Ask. He has hosted and led numerous poetry events in New Hampshire and on Star Island. Albert holds a BA in Music from the University of the South in Sewanee, TN.

This workshop is being co-coordinated by Julie Dickson, PSNH volunteer and Jimmy Pappas, VP of the Poetry Society of New Hampshire.

 

Down Cellar Poets Meeting Date Changed for December

The meeting of the Down Cellar Poets will be changed for the month of December to the second Sunday instead of the first because of the holiday traffic which may affect members who come from far away. In January, we meet again on the first Sunday of the month, weather permitting.

We will meet on Sunday, December 8th, from 1:00 to 3:00 at the Chichester Library. If you have never been before, there is no charge to attend. Everyone is invited. It’s a great opportunity to join an open discussion about poetry and writing.

Here are some of the things we may talk about at the next meeting:

1. A list of writing tips.

2. The poetry of Wallace Stevens.

3. Tips on getting published.

4. Samples from poems the members bring in for critique or just for discussion.

5. New topics for discussion brought in by attendees.

Join us and we may have to find a bigger boat to fit us all in. It’s always fun and interesting. No need to bring anything but yourself. Food is always welcome.

If you have any questions, contact Jimmy Pappas

jpappas235@gmail.com

Home: 603-798-3410

Upcoming Poetry Workshop with Deborah Brown

The Language of Poetry

Presented by Deborah Brown, award winning poet – part one

The Slovenian poet Tomaz Salamun wrote:

The poet is a hunter, not an expresser. You express what you already have. The inexpressible is like the beast in the woods that the hunter always knows only by its tracks. The very fact that we can’t describe it adequately now, searching as we are with various metaphors and similes, shows what a powerful thing it is, what attraction it has.

In this two-session workshop participants will focus on the language of poetry, primarily image, metaphor, and simile to track our individual beasts and meanings. You will consider a few examples from contemporary poetry ( including “Tu Do” by Yusef Komunyaka) and experiment with an exercise that helps with following our own tracks in language. We’ll conclude with a prompt for you to work with; the results may, if you wish, be discussed in our next workshop.

Deborah Brown’s recent book, The Human Half was published by BOA Editions in April, 2019. Her first book “ Walking the Dog’s Shadow,” was a winner of the A. J. Poulin Jr. Award from BOA Editions and of a New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Book of Poetry. The title poem of the collection was awarded a Pushcart Prize. She edited, with Maxine Kumin and Annie Finch, Lofty Dogmas: Poets on Poetics (Univ. of Arkansas Press). With Richard Jackson and Susan Thomas, she translated the poems in Last Voyage: Selected Poems of Giovanni Pascoli (Red Hen Press). She lives in Warner, NH.

WHERE: The workshop will be held at The Ford House on the campus of SNHU (2500 North River Road, Manchester, NH 03106 — Directions and parking info here)

WHEN: Saturday, November 23, 2019, 10 am to noon ; Part Two is on Saturday, December 7th, 2019. NOTE This is a two part workshop. You must register for each part separately. Part two information is below.

COST: This workshop is $65 for NHWP members or $85 for nonmembers and is limited to 12 students. Register now to ensure your spot in the class using this URL: https://nhwp.z2systems.com/np/clients/nhwp/eventRegistration.jsp?event=796&

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The Language of Poetry, with Deborah Brown, PART TWO (Workshop)

Saturday December 7, 2019, 10:00am-12:00pm

This workshop continues the discussion of the language of poetry. Participants will look at a few more contemporary poems and then, we hope, turn to their work for discussion.

If you decide to submit a poem for critique, make sure the poem is one you are interested in working on and revising. In critique, we’ll focus on one or two aspects, diction and image, or metaphor, or unity—writer’s choice, not so much “criticizing” as analyzing what has occurred on the page.

WHERE: The workshop will be held at The Ford House on the campus of SNHU (2500 North River Road, Manchester, NH 03106 — Directions and parking info here)

WHEN: Saturday, December 7, 10:00 am-1:00 pm

COST: This workshop is $65 for NHWP members or $85 for nonmembers and is limited to 12 students. Register now to ensure your spot in the class using this URL: https://nhwp.z2systems.com/np/clients/nhwp/eventRegistration.jsp?event=797&

NOTE This is a two part workshop. You must register for each part separately. You can find Part One here.

MINT: A spoken word event by Kayla Marie (November 22)

Jupiter Hall Live! Performance Series proudly presents MINT, a spoken word event featuring storytelling, song and original work by emerging local artist Kayla Marie.

Sunday’s best never looked so good! This original production of MINT combines the musical roots of African American spiritual hymns and modern elements of spoken word to tell the story of one African American woman.

This melodic poetry fusion creates a provoking narrative while addressing the importance of telling your own story. MINT’s themes include the history of African Americans and the dialogue of societal issues regarding colorism, racism and self-acceptance in conjunction with a soul music twist.

Artist info:

Telling, singing, and even shouting what have, for too long, remained whispered realities of the black experience, Kayla Marie of Kayla Marie Poetry, a spoken word artist, shines a light onto her own struggles and story. Her work invites all peoples to claim the power that comes when an individual controls their own narrative. The combination of African American hymns and modern themes create a soul poetic fusion that aids in tackling societal issues.

Please feel free to contact Jimmy Pappas at jpappas235@gmail.com if you have any questions.

Five Years of the New Hampshire Poetry Festival

October 28-31, 2019: Poetry Bridging Continents IV

Poetry Bridging Continents IV: “Rivers … were made in heaven” (R. Frost) is a four day international gathering open to the public at New England College that brings together New England and leading Chinese New Pastoral poets, scholars, and cultural ambassadors to explore ways to build bridges between two distinct cultures and communities using Pastoral Poetry and literary scholarship as a guide.

The symposium continues the alternating annual gatherings between American and Chinese poets and scholars in the New England region and in China that builds upon the environmental creativity of the New Pastoral scholarship which the Twenty-first Century has birthed on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. The New Pastoral Poetry is evolving in the 21st Century into the poetry of The Anthropocene: The geologic period when human activity is the dominant force on the planet’s environment. Pastoral Poetry’s central focus is concerned with the ways language can be used to preserve and care for natural landscapes, history, and place, in times of human-induced change—a common need for both cultures to address.

Additional events at the AMC Highland Center at Crawford Notch take place October 31-November 1.

All events in the symposium are FREE and OPEN to the public.

For a PDF of the full schedule of events at New England College and the AMC Highland Center, click HERE —–> Poetry Bridging Continents IV Complete Schedule

For additional Information please contact: Maura MacNeil: mmacneil@nec.edu or Rodger Martin: rodgerwriter@myfairpoint.net

Free Poetry Workshop in East Kingston November 9, 2019

Attention:
Poetry Society of New Hampshire Members and non-member adult and high school poets

Poetry Workshop

Free to All! [Poetry Society Members/ others welcome to join as members]

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Location:  East Kingston Public Library – 47 Maplevale Road, East Kingston, NH

Time:  11:00 am – 3:00 pm

• Bring a bag lunch and beverage
• Bring a notebook and pen/pencil
• Experienced and beginner poets welcome!

Workshop Facilitator – Bob Moore

Bob Moore is the author of several volumes of poetry, contributor to poetry journals, a songwriter and accomplished musician, guitar instructor, has several music CDs and is a science teacher in Pelham, NH. Bob is a member of the Poetry Society of New Hampshire.

Bob will lead participants in poetry exercises including:

• Writing a persona poem
• Writing a memory poem

There will be opportunity for voluntary sharing and constructive feedback

Workshop Coordinator – Julie A. Dickson [Richter]

Julie A. Dickson is a Poetry Society of New Hampshire member, poet and writer of young adult fiction, author of several books and contributor to poetry journals.

If you are interested in attending this workshop or have questions, please email:

Jdickson55@yahoo.com

August 18: Ala Khaki at the Lakes Gallery at Chi-Lin

All readings in the Poetry Summer Sundays series are free & open to all, including poetry lovers and doubters. Directions to the Lakes Gallery at Chi-Lin

Ala Khaki:   “A Poetic Return to the Persian Garden”
August 18, at 4:00 pm
​
​In celebration of A Garden Dream Exhibit poet Ala Khaki will discuss the role of “Garden” in Persian art and life, both as a multi-dimensional metaphor and a physical place of serenity, and read thematic poems from classic and modern Persian poets in Farsi and English.

Ala Khaki, an Iranian American poet, is the author of two poetry collections, “Calling the Dawn” (“Sahar Khani” in Farsi), and “Return” (BookSurge Publishing.)  His poems have appeared in Iranian and American literary journals and anthologies including “The Book Review (Barrasi e Ketab),” “Feather (Par),” “Thought and Imagination (Andishe va Khial),” “The Poets’ Touchstone,” “The Worcester Review,” “The 2010 Poets’ Guide to New Hampshire,” and “Poets Showcase: An Anthology of New Hampshire Poets.”  In 1981, Ala Khaki was the subject of a documentary film titled “Resident Exile” by the celebrated documentary filmmaker and director Ross McElwee.

 

“Poems of New Hampshire” Poetry Contest

The contest, sponsored by the Peterborough Poetry Project, is open now, until September 30, 2019.

THEME: New Hampshire, past, present, future, or fantasy…or combination. Enter up to three poems per person.

Anyone living in, visiting, or intrigued by New Hampshire may enter by writing and submitting up to three (3) original unpublished poems for free. Submit poems by email to: peterboroughpoetry@gmail.com …or by mail to:

Peterborough Poetry Project (NH Poems)
PO Box 247
Peterborough NH 03458-0247

Additional Guidelines:

• Each poem must be at least 3 lines and no more than 28 lines; form is open. Rhyming, punctuation, and capitalization are optional. Please include the title (other than “NH” or “New Hampshire”) of each poem.
• Include your name, mailing address, and email address in the same email or on the same page as your poem(s). Poems will not be returned.
• Poems will be judged by members of the Peterborough Poetry Project.
• Writers of poems chosen for publication will be notified by email (or mail if no email address is provided).

Prizes and recognition are as follows:

1. The writers of the 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place poems will win $75, $35, and $25, respectively.
2. The three winning poems will be published on our website.
3. In addition, the three winning poems as well as other poems chosen for honorable mention will be printed in a book to be published by Peterborough Poetry Project. The writer of each poem included in the book will receive one free copy of the book and may purchase an additional copy for a reduced price.