Ohio Poetry Association Blog

Hocking Hills Festival of Poetry Presented by The Power of Poetry             “I have laid aside business, and gone a’fishing.”             (Izaac Walton, The Compleat Angler, ca. 1650) The Izaac Walton Lodge, up the slope from Lake Logan , is the unpretentious home for the unpretentious—and magnificent-—annual Hocking Hills Festival of Poetry, this year held on April 19–20. Alan Cohen, who says he is “the planner, cook, schlepper, dish washer, talent agent, etc.,” estimated that the Festival—whose theme, “Songs of the Other World”—brought together some 140 poets and friends from as far as California and Maryland . Special guests were poets Naomi Shibab Nye and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer and storyteller Will Hornyak, who read or performed from their work each evening. More on them below. First, we heard music, performed by pianist Evie Adelman and fl...

Sharon Olds Reading  Columbus College of Art & Design 2/28/13 As some of my fellow poets and friends know, I was fortunate enough to take part in a 5-day workshop with Sharon Olds back in 2005 at the Esalen Institute , a beautiful retreat atop a seaside cliff of northern California in Big Sur country. While one of my fondest memories of that experience is of falling asleep each night with the sound of the Pacific crashing against the rocks at the base of the cliff outside, I also will never forget the amazing workshops with Sharon. She, like her poetry, is honest, introspective, and relentless in tackling her demons—both internal and external. For those of us who love her poetry, this may be the biggest reason why. The Esalen workshops taught me a lot about my own work, such as how to take chances in my poems, and so again did the evening this past Thursday at Columbus College of Art and Design (CCAD), where Sharon gave a wonderful reading, sandwiching a “conve...

The Ohio Poetry Association is now accepting submissions for its annual High School Contests. For more information, visit the OPA website at www.ohiopoetryassn.org or click here for a flyer with complete details. Please spread the word to any Ohio high school English teachers you may know. While we have about 200 schools on our mailing list, we know this is only a small number of those that might want to participate. The more schools, the more entries. And the more entries, the better quality of submissions. Ten winners from Ohio will have their poems sent on to the National Federation of State Poetry Societies annual Manningham Trust Youth Poetry Competition. In recent years, young Ohio poets have done very well. In fact last year's Ohio winner, Erica Sallee of Briggs HS (Columbus), took second place at the national competition. We look forward to reading more great poems this year from Ohio's young poets!

ATTENTION OPA MEMBERS! Standing Rock Cultural Arts (SRCA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit cultural arts and education organization in Kent, Ohio, is holding its third annual SRCA POETRY CHAPBOOK COMPETITION. Details: Entry Fee: $9 per manuscript (via Submishmash) to defray expenses and support poetry programming. ALL ENTRANTS RECEIVE A COPY OF THE WINNING CHAPBOOK. Contest open to U.S. residents only. WINNER RECEIVES 25 COPIES AND $50 MINIMUM CASH PRIZE. Submissions accepted July 1-October 31, 2012. Electronic as well as mailed entries are accepted; electronic preferred. Guest judges will be Lynne Albert, John Dorsey , and Allen Hines. Editor Tina Puckett may judge in the finalist round. Entries are blind and the guest judges will be blind judging entries. The editor will see entries only if there is an issue with a submission at the time of receipt. See http://standingrock.net/LiterarySeries.htm for full submission guidelines, rights, judge bios, and to read about our previous winn...

As reported in the most recent edition of Workshopping Our Words,  several months of hard work by the OPA team has paid off in the form of a Community Arts Fund grant from The Columbus Foundation (TCF). After painstakingly updating the OPA profile, submitting applications, and patiently awaiting a response, the Association was awarded a grant of $500 this past summer. These funds will be used to help produce the forthcoming OPA anthology. The OPA first established a profile with TCF two years ago under the guidance of then-OPA President Doug Rutledge. The profile is part of the TCF PowerPhilanthropy program and was originally established in an effort to improve OPA's ability to secure funding via charitable giving. The first success of these efforts was achieved last fall, when OPA raised over $700 during the TCF “The Big Give” campaign. Since that time, OPA officers have steadfastly sought other avenues of fundraising. Those interested in donating to OPA may ...

Ohio Poetry Association Annual Picnic Saturday, July 21, 2012 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Dairy Lane Park, Dairy Lane, Athens, Ohio   The OPA Annual Picnic will be held at the Dairy Lane Park shelter house. The site is reserved for the entire day, so people can arrive any time from 10 A.M. on. Lunch begins about 12:30. Electricity, running water, miniature golf, and cornhole targets are available. Alcohol is not permitted. The park closes at dark. Bring your own plates, tableware, and a dish to share. Susan Glassmeyer (Cincinnati) will be our featured poet and we will have an open-mic period following the feature. Directions to Dairy Lane Park Coming from or through Columbus: Follow U.S. 33 East. At Lancaster, take the by-pass, not the business route. Stay on U.S. 33 through Nelsonville, then take the Route 682/ The Plains exit. Turn right onto OH 682 , through The Plains. After you cross Route 56, take the first right, onto N. Ridge Road. Bear right at the Yield s...