PSI was honored to be a part of Indiana's bicentennial celebration in 2016.

Poetry is the Language of Legacy
 
Our poets of Indiana present
a multi-part project for the celebration
​of 200 years of the State of Indiana. 

This project has been officially endorsed by the Indiana Bicentennial Commission as a Legacy Project. 
Summary of Multi-part Plan:
 * Educational – Schools, at libraries, during poetry meetings, and mentoring
*  “Inclusive” of learning challenged, young people, seniors, various demographics and geographic locations in Indiana
* Festivals, Parks and Community-centered
* Workshops - presentations by our members to communities throughout Indiana, as well as bringing Workshop Speakers (experts) into our poetry meetings for educational purposes
* Creative and collaborative nature: book production, digital production, poetry writing/creating, working with Arts organizations and Indiana libraries
*  Display educational/ interactive: Having the Libraries worth with our organization for authors/poets of Indiana featured in their library display for Indiana’s bicentennial section
*  Culminating with the James Whitcomb Riley Boyhood Home & Museum event – presenting poetry about Indiana, and that which was produced through the above bicentennial efforts, were read at the Festival on Friday and Saturday, October 7th and 8th, 2016, in Greenfield, Indiana.

Project Reads

Weeks of March 20th, and 27th, 2016, poets assist children at Literacy Alliance's "Project Reads", in learning of Poetry and writing Indiana poems (K-4th grade)​

ACPL Collaboration

Sunday, April 3rd, 1-4 p.m. Allen County Public Library collaboration with Indiana Humanities, working entrance table, and fulfilling a challenge: writing poems on Indiana​
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Poetry Week in Lafayette

April 23rd, teaching middle-school aged children and Tippecanoe County Public Library general public basic poetry writing, and celebrating Poetry Week events, Lafayette, Indiana. From 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. we will help budding poets to write poetry on Indiana, for their own learning and success and to showcase their literary art at our peak bicentennial event at the Riley House, in October.

Spring Meet at Fox Island

May 14th, History Center staff will speak at the ISFPC Spring Convention at Fox Island, workshops, entertainment, Indiana history writing project, and hiking nature trails in this one-day state poetry celebration (75 years of ISFPC). The event is open to the public, but please register in advance.

Contest and
​Taste of the Arts

July-August, 2016, Poetry Contest of ISFPC, presentation of poetry at Taste of The Arts Festival in Fort Wayne, and collection of poetry for presentation, also for publication of a book. These poems shall be shared at peak events in the Fall of the Indiana Bicentennial year (Riley Fest, and Fall Rendezvous weekend at Spring Mill 14-16 Oct 2016).

Riley Boyhood Home

October 7th and 8th, 2016, at poetry event and unveiling of James Whitcomb Riley statue, poets will read poetry on Indiana, and those by Indiana poets, including those from the poet laureates of Indiana, since ISFPC began, in 1941. This will take place at the James Whitcomb Riley Boyhood Home and Museum, in Greenfield, Indiana.
Check out our IBC Poetry Group on Facebook.

Special thanks to our Bicentennial Event Committee:
Sandra Nantais, ISFPC President
Caroline Dewey, ISFPC Coordinator
Jenny Kalahar, ISFPC Treasurer/Membership
Deborah Petersen, NI POETS Treasurer/Membership
Joe Celarek, NI POETS Board Member
Ralph Scantlin, NI POETS President
Robert (Bob) Ummel, NI POETS VP

​Some images on this page courtesy of Poulsen Photo and phanlop88 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net.