Ohio Poetry Association Blog

In the spring and fall, Ohio Poetry Association sponsors a poetry retreat at Malabar Farm , in Lucas, Ohio. Participants stay at the hostel on the property, a wonderful old farm house managed by OPA member, Mark Sebastian Jordan. The retreats are now in their fifth year. It’s a time of writing, reflection in a peaceful pastoral setting, and reconnecting with other OPA members who share a passion for poetry. During each retreat a workshop leader directs the group in Friday evening and Saturday morning sessions on a specific topic with prompts. Individuals who want to, read their drafts and ideas. The group enjoys an evening potluck meal together and a scrumptious breakfast prepared by OPA Treasurer, Rinda Sansom in the large farm house kitchen. After the evening session, many gather in the basement living area to share poems in a round-robin fashion that can go late into the night. It’s nothing short of 18-20 hours of artistic bliss with poetry comrades in an idyllic setting. ...

An Announcement from Ohio Poetry Day 2014: The 2014 Ohio Co-Poets of the Year, Dzvinia Orlowsky , (of Marshfield, Massachusetts) and David Lee Garrison (of Dayton, Ohio) have been named by the Ohio Poetry Day Association. This award has been given annually since 1976 to a poet or poets on the basis of a book published in the previous year or two years.   The award consists of a money prize, an honorarium as speaker, and a plaque commemorating the event.   In addition, a poem by each poet will be included at the beginning of the Ohio Poetry Day 2014 prize poems collection, Best of 2014 . For 2014, Orlowsky's collection is Silvertone and Garrison's is Playing Bach in the D.C. Metro .   The winners are invited to speak and to read from their work at Ohio Poetry Day, which will be observed on October 24 - 25 at the Troy-Hayner Cultural Center in Troy, Ohio.