From the City to the Lakes: An Interview with Dionne Custer Edwards

Tomorrow is the official start of the 2019 Sun & Moon Festival, and the Ohio Poetry Association is honored to host Dionne Custer Edwards as a workshop leader! Click here to learn more about Dionne and her workshop, "reWrite."

In the following interview with the Ohio Poetry Association's treasurer, Sayuri Ayers, Dionne shares her insights on the craft of poetry and the natural world.

SA: May you tell us about a memorable experience you’ve had with the natural world?

DCE: A few summers ago, my family and I went to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We spent time on Lake Michigan and on Lake Huron. I loved getting my three kids out of the city to breathe different air and to move with a different rhythm and pace. I loved staying on the lake and watching the sky change over the water in the mornings and evenings. So beautiful.

SA: Is your poetry influenced by the natural world? If so, please tell us how.

DCE: Not all of my work is influenced by the natural world, but I do write a lot about nature and the environment.

SA: If you could introduce yourself to others through a poem, which poem (yours or one by another poet) would you choose?

DCE: I like “blessing the boats,” by Lucille Clifton. I also often return to the poem “Harness,” by Jane Hirshfield.

SA: What element(s) of craft do you focus on in your poetry?

DCE: I often pursue sound and rhythm.

SA: How would you encourage poets who are navigating the current political/cultural climate? Is there a poem that has helped you?

DCE: I encourage poets to continue to read, write, and exist on this earth as best as one can. Be safe. Be well.

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Casting a Line for Susan Glassmeyer's 'Invisible Fish'

by Chuck Salmons If you haven’t heard by now, OPA member and Cincinnati poet Susan Glassmeyer is the winner the Ohio Poetry Day Association’s 2018 Poet of the Year award, for her first full-length collection, Invisible Fish (Dos Madres Press, 2018). On the heels of her winning, I corresponded with her to find out more about the collection and her writing process. CS: First of all, congratulations on the award! Having read Invisible Fish, I know this is an honor that is well-deserved. How does it feel to have your name among past winners such as Mary Oliver, David Baker, and David Citino? SG: I was truly surprised to win this award, Chuck. I did some research after the fact and learned about the history of the award. What an honor to be part of this venerable Ohio poet lineage! I already own a few of the books on the list, not realizing the authors had previously won the award. And although I have many of Mary Oliver’s books, Twelve Moons (winner in 1980) was not among

Ohio Poetry Day Association names 2021 Poet of the Year and Contest Winners

The Ohio Poetry Day Association (OPDA) has selected Quartez Harris as its Ohio Poet of the Year for 2021. Harris was selected for his book of poems, We Made It to School Alive (Twelve Arts Press, 2020). Residing in Cleveland, Ohio, Harris is a second-grade teacher at Michael R. White Elementary School. We Made It to School Alive, his second collection of poetry, was inspired by his work as a teacher and gives voice to the experiences of the children he works with every day who deal with issues of gun violence, poverty, educational challenges, and more. Harris’ first book, N othing, But Skin, was published in 2014 by Writing Knights Press. He is the first recipient of the Barbara Smith Writer-In-Resident at Twelve Literary Arts and a 2020 Baldwin House Fellow. He has been featured in the Plain Dealer, IdeaStream, and City Club of Cleveland, and recently signed on to be represented by Mckinnon Literary Agency. His works in progress are a young-adult novel and picture book biography.

OPA 2023 Student Contest Winners

The Ohio Poetry Association (OPA) is pleased to announce the winners and honorable mentions of the 2023 High School Poetry Contests. Eligible poems were sent to the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Inc. Manningham Trust Student Poetry Contest. All winning poems receive monetary awards and publication in an OPA chapbook. The grand prize-winning poem will be published in the 2024 issue of Common Threads , OPA's annual anthology. We sincerely thank each contest sponsor and judge and congratulate the teachers from each school with student winning poems and honorable mentions. Special thanks to contest coordinator Jessica Weyer-Bentley for all her hard work to coordinate this year’s contests. GRAND PRIZE WINNER "Dementia" - Austin Blake, Buckeye Local H.S. Teacher: Stephanie Crust Category 1. Ethos Sponsor and Judge: Chuck Salmons 1st: "I Set Myself to Sound" - Diana Zhang (The Seven Hills School) 2nd: "Dora" - Anna Kunkel (The Seven Hills

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