Michael Koehler

Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets PR Coordinator Cathryn Cofell sends the following news:

The Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP) Fox Valley Poetry Series meets at Harmony Cafe in Appleton (233 E. College Ave) on the third Monday of most months.  Each evening begins at 6:30 p.m. with the featured reader(s), followed by an open mic open to anyone who wishes to read 1-2 poems.

Monday, January 21, 6:30 p.m. – Brent Goodman and David Graham

Brent Goodman is the author of Far From Sudden and The Brother Swimming Beneath Me. His poems have appeared in Pleiades, Sou’wester, Pank, Poetry, Barn Owl Review, and elsewhere. Brent lives in Rhinelander WI, where he works as a creative professional and serves as an assistant editor for the online journal Anti-.  For sample poems and more, visit www.brentgoodman.info/ 

David Graham has published six collections of poetry, including Stutter Monk (Flume Press) and Second Wind (Texas Tech University Press).  He also co-edited (with Kate Sontag) the essay anthology After Confession: Poetry as Confession from Graywolf Press.  Essays, reviews, and individual poems have appeared widely for over thirty years.  Recently anthology appearances include Seriously Funny: Poems about Love, Death, Religion, Art, Politics, Sex, and Everything Else; Aspects of Robinson:  Homage to Weldon Kees; Poetry from Paradise Valley:  Poems from the First Decade of Valparaiso Poetry Review; and 180 More:  Extraordinary Poems for Every Day.  He has served on the Advisory Board of Verse Wisconsin, as poetry editor for Blue Moon Review and as poet-in-residence at the Frost Place, in Franconia, New Hampshire.  He is Professor of English at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin.  For more on David, visit http://www.ripon.edu/faculty/grahamd/

ON DECK AT HARMONY – 2013 

Feb 18           FICTION LIKE POETRY:  Abby Frucht and Don Wydeven

Mar 18           Bobbie Lovell and Michael Koehler

Apr 15           Marilyn Annucci and Susan Elbe

OTHER KEY HAPPENINGS 

FOOT OF THE LAKE POETRY COLLECTIVE READING AT THE WINDHOVER:  NO EVENT IN JANUARY – RETURNING FEBRUARY 12

JANUARY 9 (WED), DICKINSON POETRY SERIES FEATURES ESTELLA LAUTER:  Since her retirement from teaching in the UW System, Estella has published two chapbooks with Finishing Line Press in Georgetown, KY.  Some of her latest work may be seen online at www.versewisconsin.org in Issue 110, “It’s Political.”  She will read at 7:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Door County, 10341 Water Street, Hwy 42, Ephraim (On the south end of the Shops of Green Gables) An open mic for other poets will follow.  New poets and listeners are welcome.

JANUARY 22 (TUES), APPLEBLOSSOM BOOKS, OSHKOSH FEATURES MARILYN ZELKE-WINDAU:  A retired art educator who lives in Sheboygan, Marilyn likes to paint with words.  Her work has been published in many journals including Brawler Lit, Qarrtsiluni, Your Daily Poem, Verse Wisconsin, Seems, and Stoneboat. Marilyn will be giving a poetry reading at 6:30 pm at Apple Blossom Books, 200 E City Center, Oshkosh.  An open mic will follow where participants may read one or two of their own poems or poems by others that they love.   Come early and enjoy a meal or grab a cup of coffee at Caramel Crisp and Café whose inner doors connect with the bookstore.

CONTESTS

Wisconsin Writers Awards Contests Open

Contact: Robin Chapman rschapma@wisc.edu   608-238-6932

For the 49^th year, the Council for Wisconsin Writers sponsors its contests for work published by Wisconsin writers in the prior year.  Entries published in 2012 are invited in the categories of book-length fiction, nonfiction, and poetry; short fiction and nonfiction; a set of five poems; outdoor writing; and children’s literature.  The Council contests open November 1, 2012 and will close January 31, 2013 (postmark deadline).  Authors who enter must be current Wisconsin residents. The entry fee is $20. Out-of-state judges will make the selections. Awards will be presented in a banquet at the Wisconsin Club in Milwaukee in May 2013. First-place winners will receive $500 and week-long writers’ residencies at Shake Rag Alley Center for Arts and Crafts or Maplewood Lodge in Mineral Point. CWW also sponsors an Essay Award for Young Writers (1500 word maximum) for Wisconsin high school students; there is no entry fee, and the award is $250 this year. Members of the board will judge. Postmark deadline for the student essay contest is also January 31, 2013. Nominations are also open for the $1000 Major Achievement Award, which is given to recognize a Wisconsin writer who deserves special recognition for literary merit. Specific guidelines, entry forms, and important additional information for each award category are available on the website, www.wiswriters.org.  CWW is a nonprofit organization dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of published Wisconsin writers and encouraging an appreciation of Wisconsin writing.

WFOP 2013 CHAPBOOK PRIZE:  The Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets is dedicated to promoting poetry in Wisconsin and seeks to expand its contest offerings by honoring the best chapbook published in the previous year by a Wisconsin resident.  DEADLINE:  2/1/13.  Visit http://wfop.org/contests.html for details.

WFOP MUSE PRIZE FOR POETRY:  Open to any Wisconsin resident (you don’t need to be a member of the WFOP).  DEADLINE:  2/1/13.  Visit http://wfop.org/contests.html for details.