Ohio Poetry Association Blog

“I've been an Ohioan my whole life, and I'm honored to be recognized in my home state,” says Maggie Smith, the newly crowned Ohio Poet of the Year. A big congratulations is certainly due for this wonderful accomplishment, awarded by the Ohio Poetry Day (OPD) Association.     Started in 1938, this non-profit organization is interested in promoting quality writing, often through its blog, chapbooks, and contests. Long-standing member Amy Jo Zook, who functions as both treasurer and contest chairman for OPD, graciously shared the process of selecting a winner.  These books can be nominated by any well-read person, and mostly come from publishers, literary groups or organizations, libraries, or independent sources such as friends and family. A poet may never nominate oneself and will likely not know of their nomination unless told by the nominator, or until they win the title of Ohio Poet of the Year. Similarly, Smith stated “...I honestly [knew] nothi...

Ohio Poetry Day Association chartered as a nonprofit corporation News Release Ohio Poetry Day (OPD) 2016 is pleased to announce that the Poet of the Year for 2016 is Maggie Smith of Bexley, Ohio, chosen for her book The Well Speaks of lts Own Poison, published in 2015 by Tupelo Press. Smith, a native Ohioan, was born in Columbus and has degrees from Ohio Wesleyan (B. A.) and Ohio State (M.F.A.). She was for a time a lecturer at Gettysburg College and is now a freelance writer. Her previous publications include three chapbooks, Disasterology (Dream House), The List of Dangers (Wick Poetry Series) and Nesting Dolls (Pudding House), and a full length book, Lamp of the Body (Red Hen Press). She has had awards from the National Endowment for the Arts, Sustainable Arts, and the Ohio Arts Council individual excellence award. As this year's Poet of the Year, she will receive her award at the meeting at Heidelberg University on Saturday, October 15, and be the luncheon speake...

Ohio Poetry Day 2016 is fast approaching, and the list of winners of the OPD poetry contests has been released. We're excited to see so many OPA members among the winners and honorable mentions. There were more than 1,000 entries to this year's OPD contests, which are open to anyone and offer a chance to win prizes and be published in the annual Best of Ohio Poetry Day anthology. This year's OPD will take place at the University of Mount Union in Alliance, Ohio, October 14–15, 2016 . Friday evening, following his visit to Heidelberg, poet laureate of Kansas and  Associate Professor of English, Washburn University, Eric McHenry will lead an evening poetry workshop. He will also be reading from his work. Ohio Poet of the Year, Maggie Smith of Columbus will be reading from her work Saturday afternoon mostly likely sharing poems from her recent book, The Well Speaks of Its Own Poison .  It will be a high-powered two days of poetry. "All interested writers...

Feeling hungry for inspiration and freshly baked bread? The Ohio Poetry Association is teaming up with the Glass Rooster Cannery in Sunbury, Ohio, for a unique cook-and-write workshop. Space is limited, but any are welcome! In this late summer activity, you will join a group to personally make (and later lunch on) homemade bread. These sensory experiences will influence a bit of freewriting, followed by a reading of the group's poems. Art and antiques barn at Glass Rooster Cannery. To further elaborate on this event, we've posed a few questions to Terry Hermsen, editor of O Taste and See  and English professor at Otterbein University, and Robin Mullet, OPA member who writes the Muse Clues column for the newsletter and is organizer of the event. 1. Robin, what prompted this workshop to combine food and poetry?    “Our president, Chuck Salmons, had brought up the idea at an OPA meeting, mentioning that Terry Hermsen and David Lee Garrison had edited and publi...

  Share your ideas with people of like-mind and get motivated by their encouragements and experiences. ― Israelmore Ayivor , Shaping the Dream This year’s July OPA Quarterly Business Meeting and All-Star Picnic will be held at the beautiful Jeffrey Park , Memorial Shelter located at 165 N. Parkview Ave., Bexley, Ohio 43209 .    The park is a 40-acre recreation area on the east side of Columbus, complete will all the amenities—hiking trails, playground for children, kayak and canoe ramp, tennis courts, and restroom facilities—the perfect setting for this year’s annual outdoor poetry event. The picnic is open to OPA members and their friends and family, or anyone who is looking for a great afternoon of potluck and poetry. It’s that time of the year when in the beautiful out-of-doors, we can share our ideas and words with people of like-mind and get motivated . An original watercolor painting by Deb Grenert will be raffled . The program promises ...