Ohio Poetry Association Blog

In our 75th year, Ohio Poetry Day offers a competition for the Diamond Webb chapbook award in lieu of our usual Poet of the Year. Open to Ohio natives or residents who have never been named Poet of the Year, the award is publication of a 36-page chapbook to be produced in time for Poetry Day, October 19–20. Manuscript must be submitted on standard 8½ x 11 paper, but the book will be printed in the usual 5½ x 8½ size, so be aware of format. Individual poems may have been previously published, but not the manuscript in its entirety, nor may it be under consideration elsewhere. The award will consist of 75 books to the winner, a plaque as the Poet of the Year and an invitation to speak at the Ohio Poetry Day luncheon, as other Poets of the Year have done. Manuscript must be sent with two title pages, one with no poet identification, the other with name, address, and phone number (e-mail will not help the submission process, though it may assist in publication of the win

This year's high school winners are in, and they are an amazing set. 1. Whoppers, spons. by Springfield Writers Club: 1st - Griff Bludworth, Purcell Marian HS 2nd - Lou Suer, Purcell Marian HS 3rd - Mike Gilb, Purcell Marian HS HM - Eloydia Garza, Ashley Billings, Benjamin Perlmutter, Faymiette Lee, Matthew Troemner – Sylvania Southview HS; Rachel Hunt, Megan Hustmyer, Dustin Joosten – Purcell Marian HS. 2. Fantasy, spons. by Catherine Callaghan: 1st - Mike Gilb, Purcell Marian HS 2nd - Griff Bludworth, Purcell Marian HS 3rd - Rachel Hunt, Purcell Marian HS HM - Elijah Davis, Purcell Marian HS 3. Jailhouse Talk, spons by Laura Hilton Memorial Fund: 1st - Megan Hustmyer, Purcell Marian HS 2nd - Mike Gilb, Purcell Marian HS 3rd - Sheila Shahri, Sylvania Southview HS HM - Brandon Sinram, Scott Gaither, Jessica Miksanek, Smitri Gupta, Niket Parikh, Mackenzie Pickering, & Faymiette Lee – Sylvania Southview HS; Cassandra Feher – St

Publishing Workshop with M. Scott Douglass, Publisher Main Street Rag If you’ve ever wanted to publish a book or chapbook of poetry but felt completely overwhelmed by the thought of doing so, then the OPA has a must-attend event for you. To celebrate National Poetry Month this year, OPA members are invited to attend a publishing workshop where they can get great ideas and advice to help them compile a manuscript. We will welcome M. Scott Douglass, Publisher and Managing Editor of Main Street Rag Publishing Company. The company has been publishing a print magazine, Main Street Rag, which features poetry, short fiction, photography and graphic images, essays, commentary; and it publishes poetry collections through an annual chapbook contest as well as The Main Street Rag Poetry Award for full-length collections. The publishing workshop will focus on: ·    Strengthening poems for submission. ·    How to compile a manuscript. ·    Process of publishing. ·    Artwork (e.g.,

March 17th 2012, the Ohio Poetry Association welcomes one of the most successful poetry groups in Ohio—the Greenville Poets . This group of award-winning writers from southwestern Ohio has published 12 books of poems, including Heartwood , by Miriam Vermilya, which was published posthumously and nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. The work of the Greenville Poets appears in the top tier of literary magazines, including Poetry , Ploughshares , TriQuarterly , and New England Review . They meet regularly to critique manuscripts and to support each other in efforts to publish their work. They also give readings, conduct workshops, and encourage young writers who might also want to form their own writing groups. For the March OPA meeting, Greenville Poets members Cathy Essinger, Myrna Stone, and Belinda Rismiller will discuss the longevity of their group, analyze how some of their poems and books made it into print, and conduct a “roundtable critique” of OPA member poems. OPA members are