OPA again hosting Ohio Poetry Day Celebration in 2022

The Ohio Poetry Association (OPA) will again be hosting a virtual celebration of Ohio Poetry Day (OPD) this year, featuring the Ohio Poet of the Year and poetry contest winners. The event will be held on Zoom and broadcast live on the OPA Facebook page on Saturday, October 15 beginning at 12:30 PM. Full event details and registration info is available here.

The 2022 Ohio Poet of the year is Erica Manto-Paulson, chosen for her collection, Hunger (Finishing Line Press, 2021). Paulson’s poems have appeared in Thimble Literary Magazine, Sheila Na Gig, the Northern Appalachia Review, Slippery Elm, and elsewhere. She was a 2021 Pushcart Nominee, and her work has also been featured on NPR's "Conrad’s Corner" (WYSO).

An Ohio native, Erica is a doula and childbirth educator, which drives her ongoing obsession with birth in its many forms. She finds inspiration for her poetry in the fertile fields of her home state, drawing on a deep connection to the surrounding world. She and her husband live in Washington Township with their blended family of nine. Together they own Nurture, a perinatal women’s studio, in Hyde Park, Cincinnati.

During the celebration, Paulson will read a selection of poems and be interviewed by OPA's podcast (Poetry Spotlight) host, Jeremy Jusek.

OPD Contest Winners

The OPD Association has announced the winners of its annual contests. The winners are listed in the images below. Congratulations to all the winning poets!

Any poet wanting to read their winning poem(s) during the OPD celebration should email the OPA at team@ohiopoetryassn.org.

Ohio Underground Railroad Whistle-Stop Poetry Tour Kicks Off in Portsmouth

The Ohio Poetry Association (OPA) in partnership with Poets Against Racism & Hate USA (PARH USA) will conduct a whistle-stop poetry tour of historic Underground Railroad stations throughout Ohio. The inaugural program takes place from 10 AM to 5:30 PM on Saturday, February 24, at the Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center , 825 Gallia Street, Portsmouth. With the help of the organizations’ members and community partners, OPA and PARH USA will present a series of poetry readings at historic sites throughout 2024. Each site will feature poets and poems that honor Ohio’s legacy on the Underground Railroad and that raise awareness of issues of social justice, hate, and prejudice. A special capstone event will take place on December 7 at the Ohio History Connection in Columbus. The event will include morning poetry workshops for adults and children, followed by poetry readings and a presentation on the history of Portsmouth’s role in the Underground Railroad. A walking tour of se...

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 n...

OPA and PARH USA Receive Grant for Ohio Underground Railroad Whistle-Stop Poetry Tour

OHIO POETRY ASSOCIATION INC., in conjunction with POETS AGAINST RACISM & HATE USA, Awarded the Trillium Local Activity Grant for Program Commemorating America’s 250th Anniversary The project is one of 61 community-based projects funded through the America 250-Ohio Commission’s second round of grants, totaling $600,000 In the lead up to America’s 250th anniversary, Ohio Poetry Association Inc., in conjunction with Poets Against Racism & Hate USA, announced today that it received a Trillium Local Activity Grant from the America 250-Ohio Commission for its project titled “ Ohio Underground RailroadWhistle-Stop Poetry Tour .” This series of events takes place at Underground Railroad–related sites around Ohio and features poetry readings, social justice writing workshops, and cultural programming. The purpose of the project is to acknowledge that all of us, knowingly or not, share a history of racism that has informed art and vice versa so that we may return to our homes, office...

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