Ohio Poetry Association Blog

Here's another reason to come to the picnic and stay for afternoon: following the readings and open mic, there will be a raffle for lots of super items. Check it out!            -        OPA memberships             -       Poetry books galore including anthologies and                 Common Threads issues        And, the grand prize… A framed watercolor painting by the wonderfully talented Wooster artist, Deb Grenert . You will recall that Grenert did the paintings used for the anthology cover and the past two Common Threads covers.This painting has not yet been used as a cover image. A special thanks goes to OPA member Sandy Feen who provided the framing.  The Ohio Poetry Association annual picnic will be held on Saturday, July 18,  from noon to 3 pm,  at Jeffrey Park, Mem...

The Ohio Poetry Association annual picnic will be held on Saturday, July 18, at Jeffrey Park, Memorial Shelter,  1965 N. Parkview Ave., Bexley, Ohio 43209 . A short business meeting will be conducted from 10:30 am - 11:30 am. The carry-in style picnic will be from noon until 3. At 1 pm, poets Kerry Jensen Trautman, Steve Brightman, and Wendy McVicker, as well as Student Voices winners and other special guests, will read poetry. There is an open mic too, so bring a poem or two to share. You won’t want to miss the fellowship with other Ohio poets and the wonderful readings by featured poets. We’ve asked each of them to answer some questions about their poetry so we could get to know them better. We’ve already shared responses provided by Kerry Jensen Trautman and Steve Brightman . In this post, we get a small glimpse into the poetry life of Wendy McVicker.   Do you draw inspiration from other poetry? If so, whose and why? Poets who inspire me include Willi...

Last week, we shared responses provided by Kerry Jensen Trautman, one of the three featured poets who will be reading at the 2015 Ohio Poetry Association Picnic, to our five questions about the writing process. This week, we’re sharing responses from poet, Steve Brightman.  Steve Brightman Do you draw inspiration from other poetry? If so, whose and why? I draw inspiration from whatever is willing to offer its vein(s) to me: poetry, the weather, baseball, people I know, people I don't know, historical personae, the trees (my family's and the ones outside my window), words, numbers... What three words best describe your own poetry?   taut, accessible, concrete Do you have a writing routine? If so, describe it briefly. I do have a routine. I write every day. literally. Last week was the 2000th day in a row I've written a poem. Not all of them are good or deserve to see the light of day, necessarily, but they're poems. And they are strung toge...

The annual picnic is a favorite OPA event. Poets from all over the state gather in one of Ohio's beautiful parks for food, fellowship, and poetry. It's like a family reunion where every member of your family cares about poetry as much as you do. This year's event promises to once again deliver that spirit of camaraderie along with great poetry. It will be held at, Jeffrey Park, Memorial Shelter, 1965 N. Parkview Ave., Bexley, Ohio 43209 . A short business meeting will be conducted from 10:30 - 11:30 am. The carry-in style picnic will be from noon until 3:45. At 1 pm, poets Kerry Jensen Trautman, Steve Brightman, and Wendy McVicker, as well as Student Voices winners and other special guests, will read poetry. There is an open mic too, so bring a poem or two to share. As a lead up, we have asked each of the three featured poets to answer some questions about their poetry. We'll share their individual responses each week before the event. Kerry Jensen Trautman ...