2022 PSI Fall Rendezvous
PSI's 2022 Fall Rendezvous (FR) weekend convention was Friday October 07 through Sunday October 09 at Turkey Run State Park Inn.
We enjoyed poetry-related workshops, presentations, the announcement of our PSI Annual Poetry Contest categories winners and our PSI Young Voices Annual Poetry Contest winners, and a lot of Round Robin poetry sharing. The annual conference is open to the public to register and attend.
Weekend Programming included
Keynote Speaker
Presentation
by Indiana Poet Laureate Matthew Graham
(Saturday 1:00 - 3:00PM)
During his 35 years in southern Indiana, Matthew Graham has been a respected and recognized writer, teacher, and advocate for poetry and the arts. Having recently retired from the University of Southern Indiana (USI), he has taught all levels of creative writing, contemporary literature, and worked with multicultural and international students in freshman composition. Among other community service Graham has worked with diverse writing groups such as high school students and community writing groups.
Matthew Graham is the author of four books of poetry, most recently The Geography of Home (Galileo Press, 2018). His work has earned numerous national, regional and local honors and awards, including a Pushcart Prize, an Academy of American Poets Award, two grants from the Indiana Arts Commission, and the Artist of the Year Award from the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana.
While at USI, Matthew co-founded and co-directed (with Thomas Wilhelmus) The Ropewalk Writers' Retreat, a summer program that brought national and international writers to New Harmony, Indiana for 22 years, and the Ropewalk Visiting Writers Series, which brought prominent fiction and non-fiction writers and poets to the USI campus for free public readings. The list of participating writers includes the present U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo.
Presentation
by Indiana Poet Laureate Matthew Graham
(Saturday 1:00 - 3:00PM)
During his 35 years in southern Indiana, Matthew Graham has been a respected and recognized writer, teacher, and advocate for poetry and the arts. Having recently retired from the University of Southern Indiana (USI), he has taught all levels of creative writing, contemporary literature, and worked with multicultural and international students in freshman composition. Among other community service Graham has worked with diverse writing groups such as high school students and community writing groups.
Matthew Graham is the author of four books of poetry, most recently The Geography of Home (Galileo Press, 2018). His work has earned numerous national, regional and local honors and awards, including a Pushcart Prize, an Academy of American Poets Award, two grants from the Indiana Arts Commission, and the Artist of the Year Award from the Arts Council of Southwestern Indiana.
While at USI, Matthew co-founded and co-directed (with Thomas Wilhelmus) The Ropewalk Writers' Retreat, a summer program that brought national and international writers to New Harmony, Indiana for 22 years, and the Ropewalk Visiting Writers Series, which brought prominent fiction and non-fiction writers and poets to the USI campus for free public readings. The list of participating writers includes the present U.S. Poet Laureate, Joy Harjo.
Guest Presenter Sajjad Jawad
(Saturday 10:00 - 11:15AM) Sajjad will present on Arabic poetry, Arabic culture, the role of storytelling through poetry, and how we might foster better relationships with peoples from other cultures through poetry. Sajjad's presentation will also include readings of his poetry in both English and Arabic. |
PSI Premier Poet Presentation
celebrating our outgoing PSI Premier Poet, Sarah E. Morin, and announcing our newly-selected Premier Poet. (Friday 6:30PM) |
Announcement and readings of PSI Annual Poetry Contest categories winners:
Friday evening session & Saturday sessions
Announcement and readings of PSI Young Voices Annual Poetry Contest winners:
start time Saturday 6:00PM
Brief PSI business meeting:
Saturday 8:30-9:30AM
Presentation on Juliet Strauss, with writing exercise:
Sunday, 09 October 9:30AM to ?
Round-Robin poems sharing times:
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Free time throughout the weekend to enjoy the park and/or socialize
Time for breakfasts, lunches, & dinners
Poetry Society of Indiana Fall Rendezvous Heritage Poetry callout
PSI President John Hinton headed up this callout. Anyone attending PSI's 2022 Fall Rendezvous was eligible to share their Heritage poems during the Round Robin session Friday evening.
Goal: Writing down our family stories/histories to pass down legacy through poetry.
A note from John:
I would like for everyone to write at least one poem that would be a poem you’d pass down to your family as a keepsake. These poems can be shared during one of our 2022 Fall Rendezvous Round Robin Sessions. As an example, below is a poem my uncle Marion Rhine wrote about his brother. Marion recently passed away at 101 years of age. He was my last living uncle or aunt. I never even knew he wrote poetry until my cousin mentioned it a couple of weeks ago. Now, I’m not judging the quality of the poem ~ this is a poem written by a farmer/factory work writing a tribute to his only brother. Just a common man, expressing his heart in words. It’s an example of telling our stories through poems to pass on; this is what I want to encourage for the Heritage poems that can be shared at Fall Rendezvous. Here’s my uncle’s poem:
I want you to meet my little brother
he is also my big one, because I have no other
we were raised down on the farm
where we work early by the alarm
there was always work to do
for our dad and us too
after several years on the farm
he quit because the dust did him harm
he has three girls and a wife
which brings him joy to his life
he also has some grands to name a few
which altogether would fill a pew
that is the story of my little brother
for now I have no other
Poetry Society of Indiana membership information can be found here: https://www.poetrysocietyofindiana.org/psi-membership.html
PSI President John Hinton headed up this callout. Anyone attending PSI's 2022 Fall Rendezvous was eligible to share their Heritage poems during the Round Robin session Friday evening.
Goal: Writing down our family stories/histories to pass down legacy through poetry.
A note from John:
I would like for everyone to write at least one poem that would be a poem you’d pass down to your family as a keepsake. These poems can be shared during one of our 2022 Fall Rendezvous Round Robin Sessions. As an example, below is a poem my uncle Marion Rhine wrote about his brother. Marion recently passed away at 101 years of age. He was my last living uncle or aunt. I never even knew he wrote poetry until my cousin mentioned it a couple of weeks ago. Now, I’m not judging the quality of the poem ~ this is a poem written by a farmer/factory work writing a tribute to his only brother. Just a common man, expressing his heart in words. It’s an example of telling our stories through poems to pass on; this is what I want to encourage for the Heritage poems that can be shared at Fall Rendezvous. Here’s my uncle’s poem:
I want you to meet my little brother
he is also my big one, because I have no other
we were raised down on the farm
where we work early by the alarm
there was always work to do
for our dad and us too
after several years on the farm
he quit because the dust did him harm
he has three girls and a wife
which brings him joy to his life
he also has some grands to name a few
which altogether would fill a pew
that is the story of my little brother
for now I have no other
Poetry Society of Indiana membership information can be found here: https://www.poetrysocietyofindiana.org/psi-membership.html
Registration Form for 2022 PSI Fall Rendezvous:
| 2022 Fall Rendezvous Rgistration_download_or_fill___submit.pdf |
NOTE: if you have any trouble with the blue "Click Here" submit buttons in the above PDF, please download the form, fill it out, and email it to PSI at poetrysocietyofindiana@gmail.com.
Annual Registration: PSI Members $20; non-members $30.
You may pay securely using PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/poetrysocietyindiana
PayPal payments and emailed Registration Forms are allowed anytime up to Friday, October 07.
You may also register and pay at the door.
Regular MAIL-IN Registration & Payment must be received by Saturday, October 01.
You may pay securely using PayPal: www.paypal.com/paypalme/poetrysocietyindiana
PayPal payments and emailed Registration Forms are allowed anytime up to Friday, October 07.
You may also register and pay at the door.
Regular MAIL-IN Registration & Payment must be received by Saturday, October 01.
If you wish to make a free-will donation to PSI to offset the costs of this event and sponsor upcoming ones, donations may also be made via Paypal using www.paypal.com/paypalme/poetrysocietyindiana.
You may also send a check made out to “Poetry Society of Indiana” to:
Chuck Kellum
PSI Treasurer
1430 N 200 E
Anderson, IN 46012
You may also send a check made out to “Poetry Society of Indiana” to:
Chuck Kellum
PSI Treasurer
1430 N 200 E
Anderson, IN 46012