MEMBERS OF THE AUSTIN POETRY SOCIETY,

You are among those members already renewed for the coming year
(either as a life member, an honorary member, or a dues-paid member).
The early responses are wonderful, enabling the Board to plan a really
good year.

We already have a good and growing list of sponsored contests for the
spring Annual Awards, and we’re grateful if you have sent in a contest
sponsorship.

There's still time to submit contest sponsorships. A sponsorship form
is attached. Print it out, complete it, and mail it in with your
sponsorship check. As you know, you may name a contest for your Aunt
Gertrude or someone else you want to honor, your favorite teacher,
your favorite poet, your cat, your dog, your favorite form of poetry,
or almost anything else. You may specify a particular form of poetry
for your contest, and you may specify a particular subject for poems,
thus inspiring the writing of fresh poems. Experience shows that the
more difficult the poetic form, the fewer the entries. Also, contests
which allow broad subjects or “any subject” draw a lot more entries
than those with very specific subjects. In the spring, a contest with
fewer than five entries will be cancelled, and the prize money will be
returned to the sponsor.

Notice these decisions by the Board about the contests:

1. Like last year, the Board wants to have as many
winning poets as possible. Therefore, we ask that you allocate your
prize money among first, second and third prizes instead of giving
just a first place prize. In addition, judges will have the option of
giving credit to distinguished poems with honorable mentions (but with
no cash prize).
2. Only two eligibility groups are possible: you can make your
contest available only to Texas residents, or you can make it
available to all members of the society without regard to where they
live. We have 150 members, five of whom are out-of-state. The
Austin-only eligibility category was eliminated because those contests
have drawn very few entries lately.
3. In May this year and the previous year, we heard a lot of
praise for the high quality of our judges. Contest judges do not know
the identities of the poets, but some poets felt local judges throw
the objectivity of judging into question. In any case, the Board
asks that sponsors leave the selection of judges to the Annual Awards
Committee, chaired this year by George Klawitter.

For a contest to be listed, the prize money must be in our hands by
the deadline for the Yearbook, August 15. We would appreciate your
sending in your check along with your contest sponsorship form.

DON’T FORGET TOMORROW’S FOURTH THURSDAY OPEN MIC:

Herman Nelson will host our APS Fourth Thursday Open Microphone,
featuring Dillon McKinsey, editor of Ardent, and Barbara Carr, author
of the Ancestor Series of poetry books. As always, the Fourth Thursday
Open Mic runs from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m., with an open mic for everyone
after featured readers; bring your poetry and sign up to read.
NeWorlDeli, 4101 Guadalupe.

Elzy Cogswell, Treasurer
Austin Poetry Society
P.O. Box 684672
Austin, TX 78768
poetryplease@mail.utexas.edu

OTHER UPCOMING EVENTS (other recurring events are listed on our web
page under Resources, www.austinpoetrysociety.org:

July 21, TODAY, 6:00-7:00 p.m. Catch a preview of tomorrow's
Borderlands reading on Dillon McKinsey's weekly program, "Writing on
the Air," KO-OP radio, 91.7 FM.

July 23, Friday, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Come to hear a selected group of poets
from the latest Borderlands (Issue # 34). The reading is at La Peña,
227 Congress Ave., in downtown Austin. Guest editor Liliana Valenzuela
will emcee readers from this special translingual issue. Featured
poets include Rachel Jennings, Marcelle Kasprowicz, Pat LittleDog,
Jenny Molberg, Trey Moore, and Nick Norwood. Details:
www.lapena-austin.org and
www.borderlands.org, or (512) 477-6007.

July 25, Sunday, 4:00 p.m. The Community of Poets, organized faithfully by Deb
Akers, goes open mic this month only. Come and read. Basic rules are the usual
for Barnes & Noble (family venue--children present--keep it clean). No
chapbook sales in the store. Bring yourself! Bring friends! Bring poetry!
Barnes & Noble Sunset Valley, 5601 Brodie Lane.

July 31, Saturday, 11:00 a.m. The Austin Poetry Society Critique Group
meets on the last Saturday of each month in the upstairs dining room
at Central Market, Lamar and 38th Street. (Go up the stairs beside the
coffee bar.) Bring eight copies of one of your poems for discussion by
friendly poets. This month the nudge is to list some physical actions
you have taken, choose one of them, and write a poem about it. It's
optional, but fun to try. Host: Beth Kropf.

August 7, Saturday, 7:00 p.m. start, doors open at 6:00. A Night for Peace
in the 10-year-old Expressions open microphone series. Bring your own
peace poems and join the music. Featured poets include Kathy Rowell,
Chris the Future, Daniel Cioper, Elzy Cogswell, India Rassner-Donovan,
Lili & Walter, and surprise guests. Hosted by Tom Yum. Austin Baha'i
Center, 2215 E.M. Forster Ave. Admission: a dish for the Potluck
Supper at the interval
and cans of food for the poets pantry. An all ages reading.

Join the Austin Poetry Society group on Facebook. Go to www.facebook.com. From
the row of icons at the bottom left of the homepage, select the "groups" icon.
In the upper right corner, enter a search for Austin Poetry Society. Open to
all.