Fall 2003 Museletter

Send Museletter contributions to the Editor:
Christine Falk
9556 Upper 205th Street West, Lakeville, MN 55044
(952) 985-5375

thefalks@frontiernet.net

SEND US YOUR E-MAIL ADDRESS if you haven't already, so we can update the WFoP database. Your address will only be used for communication among members.

Remember:
If you move or change your e-mail address, please notify the Museletter editor. Bulk mail is not forwarded so you will not receive your Museletters. E-mail is the only way members are notified of Museletter deadlines.

Museletter Advertising Rates
Books for Sale in Poetry Publications section ..................... $5.00 per listing
(This price is not discounted to Members. Discount is built into the one free listing per book, per year)

Business Card ....... $25.00
Quarter Page ........ $50.00
Half Page.............. $100.00
Prices are for camera-ready advertisements. Specialty designs or advertisement setups at a price to be determined. Contact Museletter editor
if interested in purchasing advertisements.

Welcome
to the following new members of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets who have joined since the last Museletter issue.

Bryn Gross	Madison
Kristin Johnson	Appleton
Roger Mergendahl	Washburn
Lois Michaelson	River Falls
Carol Pluff	Sturgeon Bay
Alan Van Raalte	Tomahawk
Peter Whalen	Milwaukee
Charyl Zehfus	Sheboygan

New member inquiries should be directed to Karla Huston,the credentials chair. Join us!

Membership List Available to All Members
Fellowship members are entitled to receive a list of members at a cost of $2.00, which covers the postage. Please send cash or check payable to Chris Falk. If a member would like to receive the list via e-mail, the cost is free. E-mailed
lists will be sent as a .PDF which requires Adobe Acrobat Reader. Acrobat Reader is available as a free download from www.adobe.com. In order to receive the list, members must now sign the agreement and submit it with each request.

Meet Your Officers:
Karla Huston, Membership Chair
      Yikes! which is what I wanted to say when tapped for this column. What I did say was, “well maybe,” so here I am. I came to writing late, came to most every thing late. I had children after 11 years of marriage; I went back to college when I was 42. I decided to become a high school English teacher, but I was worried about getting a job. Who’d hire someone as old as I? Neenah High School did—and for that very reason. I was asked to teach creative writing, which is something I’d never done. What I didn’t know, I learned, found out, discovered. I asked questions. I wrote my student assignments. I’ve been teaching for 9 years, now, and my students are sometimes my best teachers. I also finally finished my masters degree, a Master of Arts in English with an emphasis on poetry, earning it from the University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh. This was indeed a lot of worthwhile work.
      What else do I do? I spend a lot of time complaining about having no time. This is a waste of time. September through June, I work hard at teaching, assessing papers and creating lessons plans. In the summer, I sometimes take classes or teach classes or paint walls or make soap or dig in dirt or braid lavender wands. Last summer I spent a month at Ragdale writing my master's thesis. Mostly I try to read, write, read, read, read.
      My two daughters are grown up, or mostly so. Rebecca lives and works in Philadelphia, and Kimberly lives in Milwaukee where she will be a sophomore at UW Milwaukee this fall. My husband, who also works hard, would love to spend all his time in a bass boat on a great lake, perfecting his drop shot, his Carolina rig or his flipping skills. These are technical fishing terms, so see me for definitions.
      In the summer 2003 issue of Rattle, Gerald Stern, in response to what advice he’d give to aspiring poets, says, “I would tell him or her to read, to read until his eyes pop out, until he gets pains in his head… to realize that poets are those who read and occasionally write. I would advise him or her not to publish too early. And not to lose heart, but to realize that if you’re serious about this, you give up your life to it.”
      This seems like good advice to me.

Lannan Foundation Videos Available to View
The Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets is the recipient of a complete set of Lannan Foundation Videos. This eighty-three tape series features interviews and readings by contemporary poets and writers. The videos vary in length but average about an hour each. WFOP members may borrow these tapes for two weeks for the cost of $4.00 per tape. “The cost charged covers only the postage,”said Nancy Rafal, Northeast regional v.p. Nancy had made an inquiry to the Lannan Foundation and learned that the tapes were available at no cost to non-profit organizations. She forwarded this information to Peter Sherrill who worked out the details.
“This is a great series and I hope all our members will check them out,” indicated Michael Farmer, who is assisting Nancy with distribution. Each regional vice president has a binder detailing the contents of the tapes. Additional information including brief comments about each tape is also available on lannan.org. The website also has downloadable audio interviews with a number of poets and writers. Write or e-mail Nancy Rafal, mrsticket@dcwis.com, or P.O. Box 340, Baileys Harbor, WI 54202 for more information and to order some excellent video viewing.

What's Happening in Your Region?
Central-Fox Valley Region

East Region
Margaret Benbow will be taking part in the Woodland Pattern Book Center reading on August 3rd in Milwaukee, an event held to feature 2003 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship winners.
Charles Ries was awarded first place in the rhyming division of the 30th Annual Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest sponsored by the Midwest Writing Center for his poem “Milwaukee’s First Dance.” His poems have been recently accepted for publication in Rattle, Sour Grapes, Circle Magazine, Staplegun andSNReview.
Kathleen Dale’s poem, “Bird Calls” appears in the current issue of The New River: Digital Writing and Art which can be found at www.cddc.vt.edu/journals/newriver/. Her poems “DNA Ditty” and “di-strak-tid” appeared in Poet’s Canvas at www.poetscanvas.org/frame22.htm. She also had a poem entitled “Diminished Things” published in Switched-on Gutenberg which can be found at http://faculty.washington.edu/jnh/. Her poems, “Mixing Cement”, “without desire”, and “Today She Drank from a Cup Only with Help” appeared in Chiron Review.

Mid-Central Region
Barbara Cranford will sponsor the August Free Verse poetry contest for pantoums. The prizes are copies of Barb’s book Some Quiet Place. Barb and Mary Lou Judy will conduct their eighth poemmaking workshop in August. Most of the participants will be WFOP members. The two also will be reading their poetry at Barnes & Noble Bookstore in Wausau October 17th. Three of Laurie Pech-Daley’s Byline recognitions have been published recently. “Revelations” was published in a recent issue of Free Verse. “Sarah, age 12 practices Beethoven on the summer solstice eve” and “Sisters of the Underworld” were both published in Chrysanthemum. Poets from the Mid-Central region appearing in the Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar 2004 are Linda Aschbrenner, Grace Bushman, Barbara Cranford, Bruce Dethlefsen, Phil Hansotia, Lincoln Hartford, Jeffrey Johannes, Joan Wiese Johannes, Lucy Rose Johns, Mary Lou Judy, DyAnne Korda, Edith Nash, Laurie C. Pech-Daley, and Mark Scarborough. Stratford poet Dennis Paulson was killed in an auto accident on June 20th. Area poets honored his memory by reading his poetry on June 27th at the Final Friday Poetry, Prose and Anything Goes Open Mic in Marshfield. Poets participating were Linda Aschbrenner, Barbara Cranford, Kris Rued-Clark, Doug Seubert, and Sue Twiggs. Joan Wiese Johannes gave a reading at the Montello Public Library on August 4th and will be doing a presentation on birds in songs and poems at the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Museum in Wausau at 1:30 p.m. on September 21st as part of the International Bird Art Show program. Bruce Dethlefsen's new chapbook is Something Near the Dance Floor published by Marsh River Editions. Marshfield poets host the 7 pm Final Friday Poetry Prose and Anything GoesOpen Mic at Simply From the Hearth in Marshfield, 126 S. Central Avenue. Fall dates are the last Friday of each month—August 29th, September 26th, and October 31st. The open mic will not be held in November and December, but will resume again on January 30th.

Northeast Region
Congratulations to all region members who have works in the Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar 2004: Sue De Kelver, Jude Genereaux, Annette Grunseth, Barbara Larsen, June Nirschl, Nancy Rafal, Judy Roy, Peter Sherrill, and Joey Wojtusik. Peg Nemeth presented new works at The Bridge in Egg Harbor on June 21st. David Jones read new works at The Bridge on July 19th. Sue De Kelver recently was published in the Door Voice and will have a poem in the Valley Scene in September. The Wallace Poetry Group has completed a poetry project in conjunction with the Door County Land Trust. The collection of twenty-one poems, each with a hand-stamped image, is the work of members Hanne Gault, Barbara Larsen, Harriet Murphy, Peg Nemeth, June Nirschl, Nancy Rafal, and Judy Roy. The collection is available in an easel case which allows easy display of the individual poems. The group read from Entering the Door: Images of Door County at the Neville Public Museum in Green Bay on July 30th. On Father’s Day Kathryn Gahl, Michael Farmer, and Nancy Rafal joined Madison-area poets at Olbrich Botanical Gardens for a reading. Fran Rall coordinated the program. Kathryn Gahl’s poetry appeared in the July ‘03 American Journal of Nursing . She will attend Vermont College’s 10th Annual Post-Graduate Writers’ Conference in August. On September 6th Kathryn will read her work on Wisconsin Public Radio’s Higher Ground with Jonathan Overby.
submitted by Nancy Rafal, Northeast Regional VP

Joey Wojtusik served as Artist-in-Residence for the Three Lakes Elementary School in May. On Saturday, July 12th, Brown Street Books in Rhinelander hosted a book signing for Joey. Her collection of prose and poetry is called Simply North: a Collection from the Heart.

Northwest Region
The Second Sunday Poets group is planning readings on September 14th and October 12th at 2:00 p.m. at the Drummond Public Library. Each event will include a featured reader and an open reading plus refreshments. For more information, please contact Jan Chronister at chron@cheqnet.net. Jan Chronister had three poems published in this year’s edition of the Dust & Fire Anthology published by Bemidji State University. Jan also had a poem in the latest edition of Mush, published by the University of Wisconsin-Marathon County in Wausau.
submitted by Jan Chronister, Northwest Regional VP

South-Central Region
First and foremost, an apology to my constituency. I missed the deadline for the summer Museletter, so some of the items that appear below are a bit dated. Two more semesters of graduate school, and then hopefully my performance will improve. Going all the way back to February, the Winter Festival of Poets concluded with the following WFOP members: Richard Roe, Shoshauna Shy, Lenore Coberly, Eve Robillard, Betsy Strand, Margaret Benbow, Alison Townsend, Barbara Houghton, Fran Rall, CX Dillhunt, Judith Strasser, Robin Chapman, David Scheler, and Ron Ellis. In case there is ANYONE out there who does not know about this popular event, it is held annually at Canterbury Booksellers in Madison, every Sunday afternoon from mid-January through mid-March. Lynn Patrick Smith puts it all together.
Jeannie Bergmann reports that she had poems posted online on Poems Niederngasse (no! non-intuitively, PN posted my digital artwork rather than poems. jb) and asininepoetry.com (You might have to look under her pen name, “Easter Cathay”) this spring and summer. She was also a finalist for both the Joy Bale Boone Award and the James Hearst Poetry Prize. Her poem for the former competition was published in Wind magazine; for the latter, in the North American Review. Jeannie also recently won the Mary Roberts Rinehart poetry prize for her poem “Grand Tour.” Rumor has it she was going to use the cash award to upgrade to a new version of Photoshop, and buy a digital camera ... this is for her OTHER art form ... see below.
Alison Townsend read from her new book The Blue Dress at Borders West (Madison), on April 24th. A reception followed the reading. Alison is a longtime WFOP member. She teaches English, creative writing, and women’s studies at UW-Whitewater, and offers private writing workshops for women under the name “In Our Own Voice.” She has previously published What the Body Knows.
Peg Sherry has been busy sending out her poetry—and it’s paying off. In April she learned that her poem “Getting My Prayers to God” was to be published in Chattels of the Heart; in May it was announced that her piece titled “Waiting to Move” had won second prize in the Bo Carter Memorial Poetry Contest sponsored by Waukesha Writers. (Note: Peg says she submitted to Chattels of the Heart after seeing it mentioned on the “Markets” page of the Museletter. Publicity works!)
Likewise, Susan Elbe has been garnering honors for her writing. She has recently had poems published in Crab Orchard Review, Smartish Pace, Passages North, CALYX, and Nimrod International Journal, and has had a new chapbook, Light Made From Nothing, published by Parallel Press. As I write this (June) she is ensconced at the Vermont Studio Center, doing a one-month residency awarded by the Pleasant Rowland Foundation. That competition was also announced in the Museletter.
And speaking of June, a poetry and visual art exhibit entitled “Epidemic Peace Imagery” could be seen during that month at the Speech and Hearing Clinics at the UW-Madison. An SRO opening reception was held on June 1st, with approximately half the poets reading their work; the remaining poets are scheduled to read on August 3rd, when the exhibit moves to the First Unitarian Society. WFOP members and peace activists Robin Chapman and Claire Box had the idea for, and organized and contributed to, the exhibit, which will travel around Madison and other cities over the course of one calendar year. The concept is that it will be additive, with new items blending in throughout the lifespan of the project. As of this writing, other WFOP members whose poetry is included are: Alice D’Alessio, Kenna del Sol, Susan Elbe, R. Virgil Ellis, Ellen Kort, Jackie Langetieg, Dave Meinhardt, Kathy Miner, Judith Strasser, Richard Swanson, Alison Townsend, and Fran Zell. Jeannie Bergmann contributed a visual art piece. ( I told you I would tie that in!) June also brought us the eleventh annual Invitational Poetry Marathon, held as usual on Father’s Day, June 15th, in the atrium at Olbrich Gardens in Madison. Once again, Fran Rall did a wonderful job organizing and emceeing this event. A very special treat this year was the appearance of Fran’s daughter, Alyse Rall of California, who read her own poetry! And then there were the enormously entertaining Tri Bratovchedki Singers. WFOP poets contributing to the show were Jeannie Bergmann, Lenore Coberly, Jo Bartels Alderson, Elaine Cavanaugh, Michael Farmer, Kathryn Gahl, Frank Konieska, and Nancy Rafal. Lots of good words on a beautiful sunny afternoon.
A number of WFOP members have participated in the First Thursday poetry readings at Avol’s Bookstore, 24 W. Gilman Street in Madison. These are held at 7 p.m. at the store, the first Thursday of “almost every” month, and generally feature two scheduled readers and an open mike. The store owner, Ron Czerwein, is a poet himself. To inquire about programming, call him at (608) 255-4730 or check the listings at www.madpoetry.org.
Another set of ongoing readings, these actively sponsored by WFOP and coordinated by Richard Roe, are held at Barnes & Noble on the fourth Sunday of every month, also at 7 p.m. They follow a similar format. A new combination of poetry and music made its debut in Madison in the summer of 2003. “Folk at 4” is a series of free outdoor folk music concerts, held on Saturday afternoons at 4 p.m. at Lisa Link Peace Park, located on State Street halfway between the UW campus and the Capitol Square. Area poets, many of them WFOP members, read their work at “halftime”, between the musical sets.
Madison poets Shoshauna Shy and Jeannie Bergmann have collaborated to launch a new website to help poets and poetry event coordinators connect. Please look for details elsewhere in this Museletter, and check out the site at http://www.bookthatpoet.com.
submitted by Kathy Miner, South-Central Regional VP

Jackie Langetieg, Madison, was one of the runners-up in the Wisconsin Academy Review Statewide Poetry Contest 2003. Her poem will be published in The Wisconsin Academy Review summer issue. The Prairie Fire Poetry Quartet, comprised of Shoshauna Shy, John Lehman, Richard Roe and Robin Chapman, performed the life story and poetry of Lorine Niedecker at a celebration of her 100th birthday hosted at the Hoard Museum in Fort Atkinson on May 8th. Shoshauna Shy has also had poems published by Poet’s Canvas, Moon Journal, Lynx Eye, Miller’s Pond and Karamu.
Alice D’Alessio has a book coming out in September, co-written with Doug Moe, entitled Uncommon Sense: The Life of Marshall Erdman. Erdman was a prominent Madison citizen, friend of Frank Lloyd Wright, and nationally known builder. Alice won in three categories of the Triton College competition with the poems being published in their magazine, Ariel. She has had poems published in HarpStrings, Free Verse and Moebius.

South Region

West Central Region
Spring has turned to summer with a vengeance in the West Central Region. Last night at the Writers’ Group at the Library half the poems were about heat, but poetry still flourishes. April 12th Nadine St. Louis was part of a group reading poems for peace at the Acoustic Cafe. April 30th WFOP members celebrated Poetry Month at a “Poetry Anyone?” reading at the Eau Claire L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library. Candace Hennekens attended a workshop with poet Tom Disch. Sue Thibado and Eva Mewes have been attending a weekly poetry workshop at the Loft in Minneapolis. Sandra Lindow and Nadine St. Louis have poems posted on the poetry wall of the Eau Claire Crossroads Bookstore. Sandra Lindow’s poem “Communicant’s Blessing” won third prize in the NFSPS 44th Annual Contest in a category sponsored by the League of Minnesota Poets. Lindow has poems in Say, What Time is It?, the June Asimov’s, the Magazine of Speculative Poetry , Wisconsin Press Women's Impression/Expressions Literary and Visual Arts Contest Winners Anthology, Wisconsin Academy Review and on-line at www.ravenelectric.com. She has recently become poetry editor for Kaleidoscope Magazine. The next issue will focus on aging. Alaska born, award winning poet Anne Coray will read from her work at the L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, on Wednesday, August 27th at 7:00 pm.
submitted by Sandra Lindow, West-Central Regional VP

In Memoriam

Ruby Thalke
WFOP members will be saddened to hear of the death of Ruby Thalke of Brookfield, Wisconsin. She died on May 17, 2003 and is buried in Appleton Highland Memorial Cemetery. She participated in writing classes and was a member of WFOP and WRWA. She was 92 years old. Her poetry is published in Fox Cry and Wisconsin Poets’ Calendars. Write to Elaine Cavanaugh at 2643 Mariner Drive, Hartland, WI 53029 or email at tcservices1@prodigy.net.

Chequamegon Moon

o moon
you are caught
like a child’s balloon
in branches of tall pine.
shafts of light cast shadows
on forest floor
needles crack beneath my feet
are old like me,
crush easily,
mingle and become one with earth
that shimmers beside you
chequamegon moon

Ruby Thalke
Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar 1996

celebration

in this
bud-bursting season
even I
feel young and new
I sing of spring wind
that flings me
against the sky
sun high
I celebrate earth
that shimmers
below

Ruby Thalke
Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar 2000

Dennis Paulson
We mourn the loss of Dennis Paulson, 37, of Stratford who died in a car accident on June 20. A graduate of UW-Eau Claire, Dennis was a much-admired English teacher in the Stratford School District and a highly regarded coach. Dennis was a member of WFOP and the Marshfield Area Poetry Society. His poetry was featured in the Marshfield News Herald on November 23, 2000; he gave a poetry reading at the Marshfield Public Library on June 6, 2001; and several of his poems were published in Free Verse. We remember his smile, enthusiasm, and love for family and life. Dennis is survived by his son, Alex.

Slate of Nominees for WFOP Board of Directors Announced
The following are the nominees for the WFOP Board of Directors, 2004-2007, to
be elected at the Fall Conference:

President	Peter Sherrill
Vice-President	Roberta Fabiani
Treasurer	D.B. Appleton
Secretary	Bruce Dethlefsen

Recently and/or newly Appointed positions:

Membership Chair	Peter Piaskoski (will take over for Karla Huston as of October 2003)
2005 Calendar Bus. Mgr.	Michael Farmer
2005 Calendar Editors	Gary Busha and Michael Koehler
Student Contest Chair	Yvette Flaten

BOOKTHATPOET.com

You’ve had books published…Your poems have been in prestigious journals…So, why aren’t you getting invited to literary lollapaloozas to read your work?

It could be that you’re hard to find. If a librarian, professor or bookshop owner does not know you by name, then a Yahoo search won’t turn you up.

However,
BookThatPoet.com,
a new listing service, allows poetry event organizers to discover what poets live in their region, read a sample of their work, and contact them directly. Find out how you can be listed on this site.

Retreat to the Country Near Spring Green, Wisconsin

Beautifully restored 2 story, 1 bedroom turn of the century home, 3 porches, perfect for writers, tucked in a valley surrounded by hills, bubbling springs, walking trails and trout streams. Weekly and monthly rental. Birdsongs and glorious star viewing free. Contact Bruce for more information at bruce@delta-storage.com or call (608) 279-8881.

Wisconsin Academy Review Poetry Contest
The Wisconsin Academy Review Poetry Contest has a deadline of December 1, with submissions accepted beginning September 1. Prizes are the John Lehman Poetry Award ($500), plus second- and third-place cash prizes and publication in the Wisconsin Academy Review and readings at
the Wisconsin Book Festival and Canterbury Booksellers. Look for details beginning September 1 on the Wisconsin Academy website, www.wisconsinacademy.org.

WFOP/WRWA Joint Conference: September 26 – 28, 2003

Complete info and registration form now available.

Great Location: Pioneer Resort & Marina on the shores of Lake Winnebago in Oshkosh!
Great Speakers: Including Poet/Editors Pamela Gemin and Robert Nazarene, David Schweitzer doing August Derleth, and Kathleen McGwin on Using Literature to Improve Your Writing!
Great Interactive Sessions: Including a panel discussion, Writers Helping Writers workshops, open mics and a book fair!
Great Saturday Night: The Triad/Jade Ring Awards banquet!

All this for just $60 (plus meals)—a GREAT bargain! To book a guest room at the special conference rate of $89 single/double, call the Pioneer Inn at 920-233-1980 or 1-800-683-1980 before August 27, 2003 and mention the WFOP/WRWA Conference. Watch upcoming newsletters and websites (here and at wrwa.net) for more registration info. See you in September!

Wisconsin Authors and Illustrators Speak 2003
Wisconsin Authors and Illustrators Speak 2003, a program of the Wisconsin Center for the Book, will enable qualifying communities to sponsor free public presentations by Wisconsin authors and illustrators. The Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters and the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress will fund grants of $250 each. Presentations may be scheduled between September 1, 2003 and April 30, 2004. Honoraria will be paid directly to the speakers involved. Since 1994, this program has enabled more than sixty communities—from Superior to West Allis, Sheboygan to Platteville, Amery to Chilton—to sponsor appearances by Wisconsin writers and artists. Wisconsin nonprofit organizations interested in books and reading are eligible to apply. Community groups are encouraged to collaborate in planning these events. Such groups may include, but are not limited to, public libraries; public and private elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools; service clubs; and places of worship. Applications will be judged on the basis of community outreach and collaboration, rationale for the choice of speaker, and thoroughness of planning. The Wisconsin Center for the Book is a program of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters and is affiliated with the Center for the Book at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
Timeline:
July 15, 2003—Groups must submit their completed application forms by this date. If mailed, the applications must be postmarked on or before July 15, 2003. August 15, 2003—Successful applicants will be notified by this date. Events must be held between September 1, 2003 and April 30, 2004. The successful applicant must submit a completed report within ten days of the event or the honorarium will be forfeited. Applications are available on-line at www.wisconsinacademy.org/book or by contacting:
Corissa Kasmira
Wisconsin Center for the Book
Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters
1922 University Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin 53705-4099
608/262-1692 phone 608/265-3039 fax
e-mail: clkasmira@wisc.edu

Museletter Poetry Page

A Season’s Gold:
Favorite Selections from Five Past Autumns

THE CHAMP

In those days when kids played
mibs in vacant lots,
on sidewalks and in gutters,
there arose in the neighborhood
a master gamesman
who crowned himself Marvin,
the Marvelous Marvin
of Marbles. He honed his skills
until he cleaned every
champion within hiking
distance of the drugstore
out of everything that would
roll: glassies, brassies,
aggies, steelies, and cat's eyes.
Because everyone had lost
all their marbles, no one could
play. And Marvin kept
calling and calling, “Hey—
this is crazy. You guys
are chicken.” But nobody listened.
Everyone played stickball
or mumble-de-peg instead.

—Sprague Vonier, Milwaukee

ASSUMPTION

Mid-August: all quietly covered in dust, twice-draped,
web-wrapped, encased in loose lint and brittle hair,
whispering about the edges of our frayed, unswept
summer. Unkempt children pound in and out and do not care
if unwiped grass adheres to thudding footsoles.
They loudly laugh while I pontificate to air,
forming an unvoiced argument: chaos takes hold
crashingly, gleefully, at this time of year,
when let go echoes in the willing ear.
Let go-as we let go the creeping vine,
and let go geraniums crowded with dried spears
or let go thoughts of spring design
and everything we thought we would become
undone.

—Wendy Vardaman, Madison

GRIZZLY BEARS AND YOU

What thicket of cogitation, what
brambly ursine instinct lumbers slow
and ever tends sinews toward long
winter sleep, I can never know.
Nor candent surges that drive tons
through cedar and ponderosa gaping
and yawing in spring. But I fear.
Had at seven I not read Grizzly Attack
(nor dreamt on it that night to urge it
further into cells), who knows? Maybe
mangle humps, marbly eyes, matted manes
reeking sour and thick would not haunt.
Once I read eternity in your eyes
and trembled for the truth of it. God,
what killing cold inhabits your heart!
So touch me and know I tremble still.
Two things only in this world
I fear: grizzly bears and you.

—Mitchell Metz, Oconomowoc

THE CLIMB
for Matt Welter

I climb the winding staircase
of the lighthouse
in the middle of the afternoon
the white stucco surface
of the lighthouse
is not quite as white as it was
the black door
of the lighthouse
in the shadow
of the lighthouse
was not as black
as it could’ve been
there’s oh maybe
a third of a day
left before sunset

—Bruce Dethlefsen, Westfield

MILKING METAPHOR

Appreciatively approach the rich
plumpness, tinged pink. Careful
not to tweak, twist, damage.
Work rhythmically, tirelessly;
attempt no other task.
Leave other animals at pasture;
don’t switch mammals midstream.
Milking’s hard work: early a.m.’s,
tired twilights. But, oh, the nourishment,
the satisfaction of leaving
no drop of sweet sustenance
unsavored,
uncollected.

—Laurel Yourke, Madison

HER PRESENCE

Our daughters, in their teens,
Now crawl into their mother's
Side of the bed while she is far
Away caring for her ailing father.
Having snuggled deep inside
Her years ago, they know her
Better than themselves. They
Munch cheese and chips,
Read, phone their friends. They
Do this nonchalantly. It is a
Given that her absence is just
Another sign she’s always there.

—Bill Charlesworth, Stockholm

LIVING SEPARATED FROM HIM

Celibacy elongates me, stretches me out like taffy.
My fingernails grow in spite of their memory
of my biting them, and my days
number 58 times 365—or 366—
on the Leap I never took time to
understand-rotations
of the earth around the sun meaningless
tallied against you in tenth-grade Science class—
fine white hairs on your arm
tantalizing me away from all the planets but this one.
I yearn for that feathery touch on my belly,
remembering how your toes twisted in passion.
Your days are crowded with thoughts of us
when we were new.
They glisten with false promises—
you, the only man who saw me naked,
shared the birth of our son,
looked into my eyes when I cried, held me
at the death of my parents, my own cancer.
But there was the screaming
—the screaming—
and dropping the children’s hopes like bags of trash.
Pain is easy to ignore, forgotten in these six years
of blissful quiet and separateness. Should I grow lonely
it will be remembered pleasure that keeps me here the
looming box of it
that would fly open at the merest touch of your hand.

—Jackie Langetieg, Madison

Theme for ~~Fall~~ Winter issue:
Communication, Connection—
Our Keyboards, Our Cellphones

Poems by Our Membership
Please indicate when submitting to Shoshauna if you wish your work to appear here as well as in the print version of the Museletter – separate permission is needed to publish online. Past contributors are welcome to notify the webmaster at demiurge@fibitz.com in order to have their poems posted on this site.

Shoshauna Shy, Editor
222 S. Bedford Street, Suite F
Madison, WI 53703
(please include SASE)

or e-mail: shaunshy@netscape.net
(NO attachments, please!)
Please note new email address

Dues Payment
Dues for the 2003 membership year were due January 1, 2003. You are past due on your dues if your mailing label says (01) or (02) after your name. If your label says (02), you simply need to pay this year’s dues; if it says (01), you need to pay both this year’s and last year’s dues. Just remit the proper amount to renew your membership and mail to:

D.B. Appleton
720 E. Gorham Street #402
Madison, WI 53703

Be sure and include your Name, Address, City/State/Zip, E-mail address, and Amount Enclosed:

Active $25.00 (Associate Members are now classified as Active)

Student $12.50

2004 Calendar Notes
The Calendar is available for purchase. Please use the order form to place your 2004 Calendar order. A correction needs to be made for the poem written by Josephine Zell. Please note that line 6 of her poem should read “and leaves like Passion palms”, not “Passion psalm” as was written in the Calendar. Also, Calendar co-editor, Alice D’Alessio, has been alerted by one member, claiming that page 100 in her Calendar was blank. If you should run across this situation, please contact Alice D’Alessio at adalessio@aol.com/(608) 231-1939 or Jackie Langetieg at jackielang@charter.net/(608) 271-9072. The printer should be notified if blank pages exist in multiple issues.

Remember!
The next Museletter DEADLINE
is November 7th, 2003

How to reach the Museletter Editor:

Christine Falk
9556 Upper 205th Street
West Lakeville, MN 55044

(952) 985-5375

email: thefalks@frontiernet.net