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.

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

New member inquiries should be directed to Peter Piaskoski,the credentials chair. Join us!

Revised Conference Info & Rotation
Schedule Here.

Statewide Poetry Contest Winners Read at Avol’s in Madison

     The three top winners and several runners-up from the Wisconsin Academy Review Poetry Contest 2005 read their winning poetry at Avol’s Bookstore in Madison on Thursday, April 7th. A reception followed the reading.
     The three winners are Sheryl Slocum, Lake Geneva (first prize); Kathleen Dale, Milwaukee (second prize); and Richard Merelman, Madison (third prize). Their winning poems are featured in the spring issue of the Wisconsin Academy Review.
     Jean Feraca, the lead judge of the contest, provided comment, along with contest sponsor John Lehman. Runner-up Judith Strasser read that evening also.
     This year’s Wisconsin Academy Review Poetry Contest drew a record number of 424 participants who submitted a total of more than 1,000 poems.
     Now in its fourth year, the contest was judged by Jean Feraca, along with Bill Stobb, Rick Ryan, and Shoshauna Shy. It was sponsored by John Lehman, with additional support from Avol’s Bookstore and in-kind support from Abella Studios and McKay Nursery.

Keep Your Dues Current
      Please remember that membership dues are payable January first of every year. We no longer offer a “grace period” after nonpayment of dues. Members must be current with their dues to enjoy membership benefits such as:

• the opportunity to be published in the Museletter’s “Poetry Page”
• listing of recent publications in the Museletter
• free “chapbook” ad, and reduced advertising rates for other ads in the Museletter
• eligibility to enter the “Triad” poetry contest
• reduced entry fee for the “Muse” contest
• free “member” web page on the Fellowship’s web site
• and, of course, the Museletter itself.

In Memoriam

Duane Powers
     Duane Powers passed away on March 29, 2005 at the age of 82. He is survived by his wife, Star, of 61 years, four children, eight grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren. Duane served as a bomber pilot in the United States Air Force during World War II. He flew in 33 bombing missions. Duane spent 33 years as a dentist in Rib Lake, Wisconsin and was a member of the WFOP since 1976.

Creating Time / Setting Goals to Write by Diana Randolph

Are you a member of a writing group? Writing groups can be catalysts for setting goals and getting your work published. If you aren’t in a writers’ group, would you like to start one?

Avid Readers Are Often Writers
Perhaps you’re in a reading group with members who would like to write and share their work. Years ago I was in a book group who met once a month. After reading and discussing Natalie Goldberg’s Long Quiet Highway, some
members decided to meet on a regular basis to try Goldberg’s five-minute writing practice exercises described in the book.

We averaged 6 people at each session and met numerous times in the evening at our local library. Sitting around a
long, wooden table we jotted down topics of interest to write about on little slips of paper and placed them in a jar. We’d take turns pulling one slip of paper out of the jar at a time, then wrote about the same topic non-stop for five minutes. We read our writing aloud gaining confidence as writers. Months later two women from the group, Jeanne and Sylvia, asked me to join them, forming a new group, meeting twice a month during morning hours. We wanted to pursue writing with a different intention—to critique each other’s writing to submit for publication.

Decide The Number Of Members/Meeting Place
I was once invited to the first meeting of a new evening writing group twenty miles away. I went just for fun to meet other writers. Ten people showed up and though it was a fun, social event, I have never returned.

Another time I took a writing class with Jeanne and Sylvia which had a dozen people in it. Though we didn’t critique poetry, we met twice a month for several months. We had to sign up for 3 class times to share our writing. During the other sessions we critiqued other class members’ writing. We brought copies of our work two weeks prior to our critique day, passing them out to class members, to allow ample time for reading the piece and making notes. Though I learned a lot about writing fiction and non-fiction stories during this class I much prefer the smaller writing group. Sometimes new writers can become confused by too much input and suggestions.

The instructor of that class shared stories of a large writing group he had been a member of in Colorado before moving to Wisconsin. What strict rules they had! If writers showed up without something to critique on their assigned day, they were kicked out of the group. I prefer a more flexible arrangement.

If you’d like to meet for a couple of hours maximum at each session, keep your group members to 3 or 4 so you’ll each have time to share your work. The three of us have met now for nine years and have found the small group size is just right for us. I prefer meeting during daytime hours when my energy is at its peak. I also enjoy the convenience of our meeting location—my own home studio.

Select A Group Name And Intention
Jeanne, Sylvia and I call ourselves a “Publishers Group.” What keeps us together and focused is our group intention—which we’ve written down in our “Publishers Group” notebook. Now and then we add a new sentence to our group intention. It now reads “Our group intention is to come together to support, inspire and encourage each other in our writing; to help shape or polish up each other’s writing before submitting them for publication; to boldly go where no writer has gone before;” and most recently we’ve added: “to be rewarded financially for our creative endeavors—$1,000,000 each, minimum.” How our imaginations have grown over the years!

During the first half hour of each session we catch up on news. Then we light three candles while one of us reads our group intention aloud from the notebook. We each have around half an hour to share some writing. We also share marketing ideas and report on where we’ve submitted our works. It’s a good idea to hand out copies of whatever you’d like critiqued. Read poetry aloud and read longer pieces silently. Does the writing communicate clearly to you? If not, give suggestions of how the writer can improve the piece. A red pen is helpful for editing.

Be Open To Editing Ideas
Recently I met a poet at a reading who doesn’t like to partake in writing groups because he refuses to take suggestions for changes in his writing. My eyebrows raised up in surprise when he told me this.

I must admit to sometimes holding my breath and cringing when my work is critiqued, especially for brand new pieces which are newborn and flawless (in my eyes) and charged with energy. But then I remember our group intention: “to help polish up each other’s writing before submitting them to publications.” You don’t have to make all the changes your writing group members suggest. However, it’s great practice in “letting go” by revising words that don’t communicate well or paint a clear picture to the reader.

A theater group in my region recently selected four one-act, 10-minute plays to produce. I didn’t meet the deadline for submission but submitted my play anyway to one of the producers who offered to critique it. They had already begun rehearsals for the four plays. She phoned me the next day telling me that one of the playwrights yanked his play out of production because he refused to make script changes. That playwright closed the door of an opportunity for himself, but it opened for me. The producer wanted to use my play to fill the empty slot.

Keep A Writing Group Notebook
Besides containing your group intention, use your writing group notebook for recording titles of your poetry and other writing pieces and the dates they are critiqued during each session. Our writing notebook reads like a journal of our creations. This has been helpful over the years when applying for grants when you sometimes need to list the dates of completion of writing samples.

Stay Inspired
We usually end our sessions by reading aloud several pages from a book about writing. Over the years we’ve inched our way through Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott, The Writing Life by Annie Dillard and we’re currently reading Writing Past Dark by Bonnie Friedman.

Recently I came across a fascinating concept in an article by Ann Dee Allen titled, “Working a Conference” (from The Writer Magazine’s book The Writer’s Survival Guide). She shares how Kris Conover, the contest cochair in 2001 for South West Writers, says that getting together with other writers is like making a connection with the “tribe.” What a great way to stay inspired and on track!

Diana Randolph lives in rural Drummond and is author of In the Heart of the Forest (Savage Press), a chapbook of her poetry and landscape paintings. Her paintings are included on the on-line gallery www.portalwisconsin.org. “Rituals of a Writing/Publishing Group” will be her next column. You may contact Diana at oiabms@cheqnet.net.

From the Calendar Business Manager—Summer 2006
      For those who missed getting extra copies of the 2005 Calendar, I have a few unsold returns from retailers for $3.00 each, which includes postage. What a great calendar! It sold out in less than 3 months. Gotta be the poetry!
      Our ’06 Calendar is on schedule and should hit the streets by late June or early July. I am now accepting early reservations for copies. You may pay in advance if you like. We can save a bundle in postage by consolidating orders. With a minimum of 10 copies, the calendars can be shipped directly from the printer when they are ready, getting them to you sooner as well. Get your friends together; VP’s, get your regions thinking about this. Smaller orders will be handled through me. This bulk drop shipping is also available to those who have accepted poems in the calendar and who are ordering 10 copies. You may pay the $7.00 each plus postage in advance, or I can invoice when the books get shipped. Ordering details are on site here. Thank you all for your submissions, your purchases and your support. This calendar supports many of the WFOP projects we provide annually. Keep up the good work and remember, the judging is often in the blind. The Editors do their best and it is so difficult to make selections with such great work to choose from.
      REMEMBER! Follow the rules for all of the contests. The judges don’t have time to go back and check grammar, spelling, layout, etc. That is your job as a submitter… follow the guidelines to improve your chances. Congrats to all who bless the pages for the new calendar. Well done.

Michael Farmer
920-839-2191
mfarmer@dcwis.com

2007 Calendar Editors Announced
      President Peter Sherrill announced at the Racine Conference that he invited, and Michael Belongie accepted, the editorship of the Wisconsin Poets’ Calendar: 2007.
      Michael announced at the General Meeting on April 30th that he has selected Josey Zell as the co-editor. Michael and Josey both have long teaching careers in writing and teaching of creative writing. As Peter Sherrill stated, “The Editorship of the Calendar is reserved for Fellowship members who have established themselves as
talented poets and astute judges of others’ work.” Peter recommended to the 2006 editors, Cliff Dillhunt and Ron Czerwien, to include the submission guidelines for the 2007 Calendar in the soon-to-be-published 2006 Calendar. Michael and Josey have forwarded those guidelines to them. Submissions will be accepted beginning December 15, 2005 through February 13, 2006. Complete guidelines will be in the Winter issue of the Museletter.

Highlights of the Spring Board and General Meetings
Membership Approves New Dues Structure
     At the spring conference, the WFOP membership formally approved a new dues structure that allows more flexibility for members. We retained the current annual dues of $25 per year. However, effective January 1, 2006, members will also have the option of paying $100 for five years. This provides a cost savings to members (you get 5 years of membership for 4 years worth of dues), but saves the Fellowship the time and expense of sending out so many dues reminders. We hope this will prove valuable to our many “long term” members.

Board Clarifies Membership Renewal and Non-Renewal Policies
     At the Spring Conference, the Board affirmed its policy on membership renewals. Memberships are renewed on January 1st: either annually, or every 5 years, depending on which method of dues payment you chose. Members whose dues are in arrears are not eligible for membership benefits such as your Fellowship-sponsored web page; membership rates for conference registration or Museletter advertising; entry into members-only poetry contests; Museletter subscription; publication in “Poetry Page,” and so on.
     Previously, the Fellowship would “carry” a member for a year to avoid redoing the cumbersome “credentialing” process we used to use. A member who rejoined after an unpaid year would be asked to pay the “back” dues as well as the current year. We no longer “credential” new members; we no longer “carry” a member in arrears; and we no longer ask for back dues. We feel this makes the bookkeeping much simpler. For the same reason, we do not pro-rate dues paid midyear.
     A member who is unable to afford dues may ask the Board to grant “continued” membership. This allows dues to be waived annually until the member’s financial status improves.
     Bottom line: keep your dues current! We just held a drawing for members who renewed before the year’s end, so there is a reward for early renewal. Please do so!

WFOP Considering Online Payment
     At the Spring Conference, the Board asked our webmistress, Jeannie Bergmann, to gather information on the details of online payment. The most well-known onlineprovider is PayPal, which handles on-line payment via credit card and bank debit for a small service fee. This would allow members to renew memberships by visiting our website and using PayPal to forward payment directly to us. We may also be able to sell Fellowship items such as mugs, T-shirts and sweatshirts using PayPal.
     No decision has been made yet. This will be discussed at the fall Board meeting. We welcome input from members on this issue.

Literary Fund Investment to Remain As-Is
     The Board of Directors considered a suggestion by one of our members that the Literary Fund be moved from its current investment (several bank Certificates of Deposit) into a mutual fund administered by the Community Foundation for the Fox Cities. The rationale was that the mutual fund generated a better rate of return.
     The Board requested, received, and reviewed the information. After careful consideration, the Board decided that the current investment strategy is satisfactory. The WFOP Literary Fund will remain in bank CDs.

Writers Have No Age: Creative Writing for Older Adults, 2nd ed., by Lenore McComas Coberly, Jeri McCormick, and Karen Updike; The Haworth Press: Binghamton, NY; 2005. 114 pp.; softcover ($19.95) and hardcover ($29.95)

      There is no substitute for sitting in person under the teaching of Lenore McComas Coberly, but this book comes close. The wit, clarity, wisdom, and compassion one expects from Coberly are all there, and without a drop of pretense or obfuscation.
      The comprehensiveness of this little book is truly astonishing. Everything from freewriting to copyediting gets
covered, and there are even a few marketing suggestions. Although billed as a resource for beginning to advanced
writers, true novices will likely be intimidated. Instruction is accurate and clear, but most real beginners will need more personal direction and encouragement than any book could provide. More advanced writers and writing teachers, however, will be delighted by both breadth and depth. The Appendix, “Resources for Writers,” and the list of sixty-six books of “recommended reading” provide reason enough to add this book to one’s library.
      Sound pedagogy is only the beginning of the book’s charm. All three authors take readers inside the creative
process and give actual experiences of the writer at work. They capture both the emotional and intellectual excitement of being a writer.
      As Coberly says, in the chapter “Marketing Adventures,” “However you decide to get your writing and readers
together, the rewards will be great. You will hear from people you have forgotten and those you have never met. Reviews and commentary, good and bad, are exciting. Holding your published work in your hands is transcendent. Then you will lose interest and be ready to write again. I am seventy-eight, and I promise you this is so.”
      This reviewer is only sixty-two and has been writing professionally for only forty years. Nevertheless, neophyte that he is, he seconds this promise and many of the other promises made in Writers Have No Age.

Written by David Trembley

Fellowship Sponsors Workshops by Louis Jenkins
      The Fellowship recently sponsored two workshops by Minnesota prose-poet Louis Jenkins. These were held at Avol’s Bookstore in Madison (formerly Canterbury Books). The first, in April, was a sellout success. The second is
pending at the time of this writing (see Events page).
      The opportunity to sponsor Jenkins came up suddenly. Ordinarily, the Fellowship’s Board of Directors must meet and approve such sponsorship. However, the time frame for this event fell before the next Board meeting. There was general consensus among Board members that this was a good idea, so the event was approved without a formal face-to-face Board meeting.
      At the spring Board meeting, it was agreed that the Fellowship would not ordinarily approve such events without a formal meeting and vote; but the Board also agreed to develop a policy that would allow for “exceptional” opportunities to be considered with some sort of “fast track” process if a Board meeting cannot be scheduled in time. This will be discussed further at the fall Board meeting.

Writing Workshop: Summer Exercise Program
Want to keep your muse in shape this summer? Check this out: Angela Rydell will teach a Summer Exercise Program the 2nd and 4th Sundays of the month, June-August, from 1-2:30
p.m. It is a “come and go as you please” series that will meet every other Sunday at Avol’s Bookstore, 315 W. Gorham, Madison for an hour and a half of concentrated exercises ($12/session at the door, $10/session if you pre-register at
least a week in advance of the day(s) you want to attend). It’s for writers (of all kinds) to get together and write in a group setting. We’ll do a mix of exercises that generate ideas and exercises that emphasize revision techniques; topics chosen based on the interests and genre preferences of the group we have that day. To sign up or find out more, email Angela directly at ajrydell@wisc.edu, or call (608) 251-6679. She is
also available for private tutorials.

Milwaukee Poet Laureate to Host Poetry Workshop
      Beginning May 24th, Marilyn Taylor, Milwaukee’s Poet Laureate, will be leading a once-a-month poetry workshop at the Muskego Public Library, which will meet on the fourth Tuesday evening of every month from May to November. Anyone interested in finding out more should contact Jane Genzel at jgenzel@ci.muskego.wi.us or at (262) 971-2101.

Book Festival to Feature the First Annual Wisconsin Poetry Roundtable
      All poets are invited to join an open discussion about the state of poetry in Wisconsin. The free event, to be held 11 am–12:30 pm, Saturday, October 15th, will be part of this year's Wisconsin Book Festival to be held in Madison. Wisconsin Commended Poet John Lehman (founder of
Rosebud, poetry editor of the Wisconsin Academy Review and publisher of Cup of Poems) is organizing the Roundtable.
      Wisconsin poetry editors and publishers, representatives from the three state writers’ organizations, creative writing teachers, librarians who purchase books and booksellers will be formally invited. “But we really want all interested poets who want to come and participate,” Lehman says. “The agenda is open and we welcome ideas from everyone.” Among possible items for discussion are:

1. A state “Poetry Wall of
   Fame” in the Capitol;
2. How to increase the presence of
   Wisconsin poetry books in schools, libraries and bookstores;
3. Publicized state-wide library readings selling books and chapbooks by Wisconsin poets;
4. Better communication among poets, libraries and Wisconsin publishers.

The goal is to generate activities easily communicated through the media that enhance the role of poetry in the lives of all people in Wisconsin.