OPA March Quarterly Meeting will feature the Greenville Poets

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 encouraged to bring several copies of a poem they are willing to share with the group.

This will be a great opportunity for OPA members to work with their peers and improve their craft.

For more information about the Greenville Poets, visit the group’s website: www.greenvillepoets.org

Quarterly Meeting Details:

Bexley Public Library
2411 E. Main Street
Columbus, OH 43209
www.bexlib.org

Saturday, March 17

SCHEDULE:
        OPA Business Meeting    10:00–11:30 A.M.
        Open Mic                   11:30 A.M.–12:00 P.M.
        Lunch Break                    12:00–1:00 P.M.
        Greenville Poets Workshop    1–4:00 P.M.

Comments

OPA Ambassadors Report: NE Ohio with Ray McNiece

From the frozen tundra of the Firelands, through the rusty blast furnace of Cleveland, along the Crooked River’s ice chattering shallows of Kent, down to the worn rubber slushy tire churn of Akron, to the gritty grey clang of Youngstown there’s hot stove poetry cooking this winter all across the Northeast corner of Ohio. We boast a plethora of venues from bookstores, libraries, coffeehouses, cocktail bars and clubs where you can hear the varied carols of our poets should you dare venture out into our perpetually grey climes. Here’s a few highlights, some upcoming features and a reminder of ongoing workshops and reading series. In early December Billy Collins read at CWRU’s Maltz Center to a packed house. He often visits Cleveland thanks to George Bilgere of JCU. John Burroughs had a front row seat. The Tongue in Groove Poetry Music Jam (every third Sunday at the Millard Fillmore on Waterloo hosted by Ray McNiece) featured Mwatabu Okantah reading from his new book A Black Voice in t...

Odes of October 2024 Contest Winners Announced

OPA is pleased to announce that our judge for 2024, Karen Scott, has chosen the three winners and three runners-up for the 2024 Odes of October contest. First prize is awarded for "Restless Peace," by Jo Anne Moser Gibbons. First prize includes an award of $65 and inclusion in the 2025 issue of Common Threads, as well being published below. Second prize goes to "Scarecrow," by Dr. Anna Cates. This prize includes an award of $25 and appears below. Third prize goes to "Fall," also by Jo Anne Moser Gibbons. This prize includes an award of $10 and appears below. Honorable mention poems were: "Rite of Passage," by Claire Scott Rubin "Alone in Silence," by Jonathan Smith "Assassination Attempt Haiku," by Susan Glassmeyer Karen said she found her task made more difficult by the high quality of submissions, so each participant should be congratulated for their work. We thank them for participating and being a member of the OPA. A spe...

Barbara Sabol and Erica Reid named 2024 Ohio Poets of the Year

The Ohio Poetry Day Association has selected Barbara Sabol and Erica Reid as our 2024 Ohio Poets of the Year. Congratulations to these two amazing writers! Barbara Sabol was selected for her book of poems, WATERMARK: Poems of the Great Johnstown Flood of 1889 (Alternating Current Press, 2023) . The poems in WATERMARK follow the path of the “great flood,” from the time prior to the perfect storm of events resulting in the disaster to the devastating aftermath and the reclamation of a bustling industrial city. The book is a poetic testimony of the great flood story through voices of the unidentified victims; their circumstances and lives imagined from morgue entries. The narrative also paints the backdrop of recovery and renewal, in the voices of survivors, telegraphers, aid workers, and historical figures such as Clara Barton. Watermark is a lyric narrative of this country’s largest and most dramatic flood of the 19th century, told from the perspective of those whose lives it ...

Ohio Poetry Association Blog

Search This Blog