Skip to main content

OPA Awarded a Greater Columbus Arts Council BOOST Grant

Funding will provide new audio/visual equipment

The Ohio Poetry Association (OPA) is pleased to announce it has been awarded a BOOST grant from the Greater Columbus Arts Council. The BOOST program is designed to help arts and cultural organizations with capacity building.

A total of $2,992 will be provided to OPA for the purchase of audio/visual equipment. The organization, its poets, and audiences will have the means to streamline poetry recording processes, improve the audience experience through better sound and image, and present poetry at both indoor and outdoor public venues, such as auditoriums, farmer’s markets, and festivals, especially where this equipment is not readily available.

“The support of the Greater Columbus Arts Council will afford OPA the means to expand its reach in the virtual community and provide our members the resources to hone their craft and ability to perform for an audience,” said OPA President Chuck Salmons. “This technology will help OPA build capacity for years to come.”

OPA will also be able to make audio recordings of its members and other guest poets for submission to contests and prospective venues. Basic video recordings of OPA’s public performances and workshops can be used for archival, demo, and marketing purposes. And attendees can take part in an educational workshop series (The Bootleg MFA), which equips poets with the tools and knowledge to maneuver the ever-growing technological aspects of poetic artistry.

This is the second grant awarded to OPA by the Greater Columbus Arts Council in 2019. Earlier this year, OPA received funding for its weekend-long National Poetry Month celebration featuring Angie Estes and Mark Irwin.

The Ohio Poetry Association is extremely grateful to the Greater Columbus Arts Council, the City of Columbus, and Franklin County for its generous support. For more information about the Greater Columbus Arts Council, visit its website at www.gcac.org

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

CREATING POETRY CHAPBOOKS

Adapted from a workshop delivered for the AOCI W.R.I.T.E.R.S. Group by Chris Minton What is a chapbook? Chapbooks were originally known as "street literature" because they were primarily sold on the streets by traveling salesmen known as chapmen. These small, inexpensive booklets contained a variety of content like ballads, folk tales, and religious tracts, and were a popular form of reading material for the common people, particularly those with limited access to more expensive books (for example, in rural areas). Today, chapbooks are normally used by poets to accomplish a specific objective, which may include: To create a sample of their work for publishers or other parties To target a specific, interested audience To get their work into circulation quickly To make it more affordable (for both the author and reader) To create enough work over time to warrant a full-length collection To demonstrate their commitment to the craft To give as gifts to family and friends Features of...

OPA Partners with Kelton House, PARH USA to Sponsor Juneteenth Celebration

Columbus,OH – The Kelton House Museum & Garden will host a special Juneteenth Event focusing on drumming and poetry to lift the spirit and soul. The celebration will feature the drumming of Akwaaba , led by founder BabaaRitah Clark who is also a dancer at Djun'kendafala Dance Company. Ohio Poetry Association (OPA) and Poets Against Racism & Hate ( PARH)   USA will feature the following four award-winning and renowned poets: Susann Moeller,  a bi-lingual eco- and social justice poet, serves as Vice President of the Ohio  Poetry Association (OPA) and Chancellor of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies  (NFSPS). Chiquita Mullens Lee, acclaimed playwright and poet, serves as Arts Learning coordinator at  the Ohio Arts Council, performs with Columbus-based Wild Women Writing and leads Word  Warriors creative writing ministry. Karen Scott , published in anthologies, reviews, and zines, keeps her fingers on the pulse of all- things...

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...