Poetry Society of Indiana's Premier Poet
Check here for news and updates from our Premier Poet, including winning poems from each of the PSI Indiana Poet Newsletter Premier Poet Poetry Contests! Each newsletter contest is hosted and judged by the PSI Premier Poet, and is open only to PSI members.
The PSI Premier Poet has been a position of honor within our organization since 1945. In recent PSI tradition, the Premier Poet serves for three years, from Fall Rendezvous to Fall Rendezvous. A list of past Premier Poets can be found at the bottom of this webpage.
Selection of PSI's Premier Poet is made by a committee of the current President, First Vice President, and the serving Premier Poet. Members in good standing may nominate another PSI poet member (and/or may self-nominate), and/or the committee may select members they feel are deserving of the three-year position.
Basic Duties:
The Premier Poet conducts the PSI Members Only Newsletter Contest with each issue of newsletter, awarding First Place $9, Second Place $6, and Third Place $3, and three Honorable Mentions. Premier Poet sends each first place poem to the President and Website Coordinator to publish on the website and in the next newsletter. Winning poems may be published in PSI's annual Ink To Paper. Traditionally the Premier Poet has presented workshops at the Fall Rendezvous and Spring Fling Conventions.
Selection of PSI's Premier Poet is made by a committee of the current President, First Vice President, and the serving Premier Poet. Members in good standing may nominate another PSI poet member (and/or may self-nominate), and/or the committee may select members they feel are deserving of the three-year position.
Basic Duties:
The Premier Poet conducts the PSI Members Only Newsletter Contest with each issue of newsletter, awarding First Place $9, Second Place $6, and Third Place $3, and three Honorable Mentions. Premier Poet sends each first place poem to the President and Website Coordinator to publish on the website and in the next newsletter. Winning poems may be published in PSI's annual Ink To Paper. Traditionally the Premier Poet has presented workshops at the Fall Rendezvous and Spring Fling Conventions.
Changing of the Guard: PSI Announces a New Premier Poet, Jenny Kalahar
Congrats to PSI's new Premier Jenny Kalahar! The following remarks are from outgoing Premier Poet, Sarah E. Morin, saying goodbye and announcing our new Premier Poet. You can view it as a video or download the transcript.
new_premier_poet_announcement_2022_parting_remarks.pdf | |
File Size: | 97 kb |
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Inspired by Ogden Nash: Poems by Poetry Society of Indiana
At Spring Fling 2022, Sarah hosted a workshop about how to write in the style of Ogden Nash. Attendees wrote poems inspired in the moment based on Nash's themes and style. This video is the result. Enjoy!
PSI's Indiana Poet Digital Newsletter Members-Only Poetry Contest is hosted by our Premier Poet!
Contest Guidelines are the same for each contest; download the Guidelines file below.
PSI Members-Only Indiana Poet Poetry Contest.pdf | |
File Size: | 68 kb |
File Type: |
Look for the current Newsletter in your Inbox to find out the latest contest information.
Newsletter contest winning poems may be published in the next Indiana Poet, PSI’s annual Ink to Paper, on the PSI website (Premier Poet page), & PSI’s public Facebook page.
Newsletter contest winning poems may be published in the next Indiana Poet, PSI’s annual Ink to Paper, on the PSI website (Premier Poet page), & PSI’s public Facebook page.
The winner of the last newsletter contest is Nancy Simmonds! The theme was "vacation."
FIRST PLACE
Vacation
A Tricube Poem
by Nancy Simmonds
from the car
to the sand
in the surf
castle play
in the sun
oh, the burn
end of day
in the car
almost home
SECOND PLACE
Dozing In A Lounge Chair On An Indiana Summer’s Day
by Alys Caviness-Gober
Dozing in a lounge chair
on an Indiana summer’s day,
droning lawnmowers and planes
and dancing leaves overhead become
crashing waves and humming bees that thrum
behind my closed eyes, mere echoes
from summers long ago:
I am there, a kid again, seeing the sweet
faces of my mom and dad smiling
as they wave me into an airplane and
their smiles make me brave enough to go,
and then I’m off, to Oregon . . .
sitting with my father’s mother in her lush
and fragrant garden, nestled in her loving presence,
where sandwiches tasted better than anywhere else,
and droning bees sang lullabies as butterflies
rested gently on rose petals near my elbow;
I feel wet sand squelching between my toes,
waves are kissing my ankles, I’m oceanside
with my mother’s parents, running ahead
and turning back waving and squinting
as sunlight blurs their beloved figures . . .
the crashing waves still call to me . . .
the humming bees still sing to me . . .
dozing in a lounge chair
on an Indiana summer’s day,
sudden tears seep slowly from the corners
of my closed eyes, mere remnants
of reverie and heartache, for I had thought
my world would contain them forever,
but now they are all gone from me.
I could not know:
those were hallowed and halcyon days.
Congratulations, Nancy and Alys!
FIRST PLACE
Vacation
A Tricube Poem
by Nancy Simmonds
from the car
to the sand
in the surf
castle play
in the sun
oh, the burn
end of day
in the car
almost home
SECOND PLACE
Dozing In A Lounge Chair On An Indiana Summer’s Day
by Alys Caviness-Gober
Dozing in a lounge chair
on an Indiana summer’s day,
droning lawnmowers and planes
and dancing leaves overhead become
crashing waves and humming bees that thrum
behind my closed eyes, mere echoes
from summers long ago:
I am there, a kid again, seeing the sweet
faces of my mom and dad smiling
as they wave me into an airplane and
their smiles make me brave enough to go,
and then I’m off, to Oregon . . .
sitting with my father’s mother in her lush
and fragrant garden, nestled in her loving presence,
where sandwiches tasted better than anywhere else,
and droning bees sang lullabies as butterflies
rested gently on rose petals near my elbow;
I feel wet sand squelching between my toes,
waves are kissing my ankles, I’m oceanside
with my mother’s parents, running ahead
and turning back waving and squinting
as sunlight blurs their beloved figures . . .
the crashing waves still call to me . . .
the humming bees still sing to me . . .
dozing in a lounge chair
on an Indiana summer’s day,
sudden tears seep slowly from the corners
of my closed eyes, mere remnants
of reverie and heartache, for I had thought
my world would contain them forever,
but now they are all gone from me.
I could not know:
those were hallowed and halcyon days.
Congratulations, Nancy and Alys!
Congrats to Alys Caviness-Gober, winner of the Winter 2021-2022 newsletter members-only poetry contest!
Alys is a member of PSI and affiliate local poetry group, Noble Poets. The contest theme was beverages, and here’s Alys’ winning poem:
Alys is a member of PSI and affiliate local poetry group, Noble Poets. The contest theme was beverages, and here’s Alys’ winning poem:
Zoom In, Zoom Out
I zoom in
to better see the screen,
to see faces clearer,
to better hear words of worth
and wisdom, or any visionary viewpoints
that float away in the background noise
of barking dogs and TVs chattering from other rooms
and (worst of all)
the meeting’s unmuted cross-talk
don’t people know by now
that we cannot all talk at once?
Or, I should say I try to, because
when I say I zoom in,
that just means I lean forward,
hoping for better focus as if
leaning in is like the twisting of a camera’s lens,
un-resting my aching back
(and punishing bladder)
from the pillowed back
of my comfy chair
doesn’t anyone else’s back ache?
doesn’t anyone else need to pee?
Leaning in doesn’t help;
colleagues’ voices still float away
and boxy faces still slightly blur
as if my aged eyes are
an old Hollywood vaseline-covered lens,
so I lean back with a silent sigh (I’m muted)
for my back and bladder
as the cacophony continues.
I’m Zoomed out; this meeting
has lasted way too long.
I zoom in
to better see the screen,
to see faces clearer,
to better hear words of worth
and wisdom, or any visionary viewpoints
that float away in the background noise
of barking dogs and TVs chattering from other rooms
and (worst of all)
the meeting’s unmuted cross-talk
don’t people know by now
that we cannot all talk at once?
Or, I should say I try to, because
when I say I zoom in,
that just means I lean forward,
hoping for better focus as if
leaning in is like the twisting of a camera’s lens,
un-resting my aching back
(and punishing bladder)
from the pillowed back
of my comfy chair
doesn’t anyone else’s back ache?
doesn’t anyone else need to pee?
Leaning in doesn’t help;
colleagues’ voices still float away
and boxy faces still slightly blur
as if my aged eyes are
an old Hollywood vaseline-covered lens,
so I lean back with a silent sigh (I’m muted)
for my back and bladder
as the cacophony continues.
I’m Zoomed out; this meeting
has lasted way too long.
Congrats to Alys Caviness-Gober, winner of the Late Summer 2021 newsletter members-only poetry contest!
Alys is a member of PSI and affiliate local poetry group, Noble Poets. The contest theme was beverages, and here’s Alys’ winning poem:
I Thirst
I thirst sometimes
for the insouciant G&Ts
of long-ago summers ~
when day or night
I floated,
as if to exotic scenes
courtesy of brand names
like Bombay Sapphire,
Boodles British,
and green-bottled Tanqueray;
I still taste the echoes.
I thirst sometimes
for the peppery delights
of a Bloody Mary ~
day or night when
original V8 and gin
(never cared for vodka)
filled a tall glass
propping up an even taller
drunken and crunchable
stalk of celery.
I thirst sometimes
for the velvet salvation
of a Kahlúa & Cream ~
day or night as
the ice cubes clinked
and the buttery liquid
warmed my blood
and let my two left feet
dance like Ginger Rogers
with fluid abandon
and grace.
I thirst sometimes
in this hoary time
of age and medications,
and how my dryness yearns
in this desert called life
for the intoxicating days and nights
of my youth.
© Alys Caviness-Gober
I thirst sometimes
for the insouciant G&Ts
of long-ago summers ~
when day or night
I floated,
as if to exotic scenes
courtesy of brand names
like Bombay Sapphire,
Boodles British,
and green-bottled Tanqueray;
I still taste the echoes.
I thirst sometimes
for the peppery delights
of a Bloody Mary ~
day or night when
original V8 and gin
(never cared for vodka)
filled a tall glass
propping up an even taller
drunken and crunchable
stalk of celery.
I thirst sometimes
for the velvet salvation
of a Kahlúa & Cream ~
day or night as
the ice cubes clinked
and the buttery liquid
warmed my blood
and let my two left feet
dance like Ginger Rogers
with fluid abandon
and grace.
I thirst sometimes
in this hoary time
of age and medications,
and how my dryness yearns
in this desert called life
for the intoxicating days and nights
of my youth.
© Alys Caviness-Gober
Past PSI Premiere Poets
Mary Hagler LeMaster (1945)
Florence Marie Taylor (1946)
William Chitwood (1947)
Effie Lydia Fisher (1948)
Mina Morris Scott (1949)
Ollah Eloise Toph (1950)
Alma C. Mahan (1951)
Mable Newman (1952)
Myrl G. New (1953)
Thelma Howell Porter (1954)
Nellie Baldwin Rudser (1955)
Samuel S. Biddle (1956)
Gwen Robert Boyer (1957)
Jeannette Vaughn Konley (1958)
Clarence O. Adams (1959)
Carl Stader (1960)
Carl Stader (1961)
Mildred Musgrave (1962)
Mable Skeen (1963)
Lloyd Whitehead (1964)
Glen Galbraith (1965)
Frances Brown Price (1966)
Elsie Startzman (1967)
Mildred Musgrave Shartle (1968)
Paul Startzman (1969)
Dr. Earl Marlott (1970)
Marjorie Sea Fortmeyer (1971)
Mary Simmons (1972)
Florence Helen McGaughey (1973)
Frances Brown Price (1974)
Laverne Hanson Brown (1976 – 1977)
Arthur Franklin Mapes (named 1977 by House Concurrent Resolution 63)
Glenna Glee Jenkins (1979 – 1980)
Vivian Pierson Ramsey (1981 – 1982)
Esther Alman (1983 – 1984)
Kay (Kinnaman) Sims (1985 – 1986)
Dena Adams (1987 – 1988)
Paula Fehn (1989 – 1990)
Dr. J.C. Bacala (1991 – 1992)
Jeanne Losey (1993 – 1997)
Esther Towns (1998 – 2000)
Glenna Glee Jenkins (2001 – 2003)
Carol Ogdon Floyd (2004 – October 2007)
Peggy Martin (October 2007 – October 2010)
Cecil Tresslar (October 2010 – October 2013)
Mary Couch (October 2013 – October 2016)
Michael Erdelen (October 2016 – October 2019 )
Sarah E. Morin (October 2019 – October 2022)
Mary Hagler LeMaster (1945)
Florence Marie Taylor (1946)
William Chitwood (1947)
Effie Lydia Fisher (1948)
Mina Morris Scott (1949)
Ollah Eloise Toph (1950)
Alma C. Mahan (1951)
Mable Newman (1952)
Myrl G. New (1953)
Thelma Howell Porter (1954)
Nellie Baldwin Rudser (1955)
Samuel S. Biddle (1956)
Gwen Robert Boyer (1957)
Jeannette Vaughn Konley (1958)
Clarence O. Adams (1959)
Carl Stader (1960)
Carl Stader (1961)
Mildred Musgrave (1962)
Mable Skeen (1963)
Lloyd Whitehead (1964)
Glen Galbraith (1965)
Frances Brown Price (1966)
Elsie Startzman (1967)
Mildred Musgrave Shartle (1968)
Paul Startzman (1969)
Dr. Earl Marlott (1970)
Marjorie Sea Fortmeyer (1971)
Mary Simmons (1972)
Florence Helen McGaughey (1973)
Frances Brown Price (1974)
Laverne Hanson Brown (1976 – 1977)
Arthur Franklin Mapes (named 1977 by House Concurrent Resolution 63)
Glenna Glee Jenkins (1979 – 1980)
Vivian Pierson Ramsey (1981 – 1982)
Esther Alman (1983 – 1984)
Kay (Kinnaman) Sims (1985 – 1986)
Dena Adams (1987 – 1988)
Paula Fehn (1989 – 1990)
Dr. J.C. Bacala (1991 – 1992)
Jeanne Losey (1993 – 1997)
Esther Towns (1998 – 2000)
Glenna Glee Jenkins (2001 – 2003)
Carol Ogdon Floyd (2004 – October 2007)
Peggy Martin (October 2007 – October 2010)
Cecil Tresslar (October 2010 – October 2013)
Mary Couch (October 2013 – October 2016)
Michael Erdelen (October 2016 – October 2019 )
Sarah E. Morin (October 2019 – October 2022)