Information in this post provided by poetryunlockedappleton@gmail.com.
Monday, February 14
LOVE & ANTI-LOVE POEMS FEATURING
THE WOMEN OF POETRY UNLOCKED
7:00 pm
Virtual – see link below
We can’t think of a better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than a feature of our own lovable crew from Poetry Unlocked. We’ll be sharing our poems on love and not-love and hope you’ll share yours too during the open mic!
Katie Chicquette is one of the newest members of Poetry Unlocked but has quickly become our hosting goddess! Her work has appeared in First Review East, Bramble, Wallopzine, and Portage Magazine, and in the anthology, Halfway to the North Pole: Door County Poetry. One of her poems was a recent “Honorable Mention” for the 2022 Wisconsin People & Ideas Writing Contest. She is a live storyteller and emcee with Storycatchers, and works as an English teacher for at-risk young adults at Appleton’s public alternative high school, with hopes they will remake their own stories, and become friendly with at least one poem.
Cathryn Cofell is one of the founders of Poetry Unlocked and is our PR maven. She has a history of poetry activism in Wisconsin, as founder and former Chair of the WI Poet Laureate Commission, VP of Letters with the WI Academy of Sciences, Arts & Letters, and in multiple leadership roles with the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets. She’s the author of two full full-length collections including Stick Figure With Skirt, winner of the 2019 Main Street Rag Poetry Award, six chapbooks, and a music/poetry CD called Lip. www.cathryncofell.com
Sarah Gilbert began hosting the twice-monthly poetry readings at Conkey’s Bookstore when the host went on maternity leave in 2007. The readings became once per month and moved to Harmony Cafe, Copper Rock Cafe, then morphed into Poetry Unlocked at The Draw, and in pandemic times, Zoom. She is much relieved to now be part of such a vibrant group of women poets who share the hosting and all that goes on behind the scenes. Sarah has one chapbook, Tendril (Finishing Line Press) and is very lazy about submitting her work. Quite happily married to Pete, she celebrates Valentine’s Day with family RARVABs,* some of which will be shared at this reading.
*Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue…
Bobbie Lee Lovell is the graphic design guru for Poetry Unlocked. Her poetry honors include Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations, and she won the 2020 Janet Dee Wullner-Faiss Memorial Prize for Poetry from The Mill: A Place for Writers. Her chapbook, Proposition at the Walk-In Infinity Chamber, was published in 2017 by Finishing Line Press. She works in a corporate marketing department, is the mom of two teenagers and loves a challenging hike. More at bobbieleelovell.com.
Laura Winkelspecht is a newish member of Poetry Unlocked who has brought some exceptional ideas for readers and featured programming. She’s a poet and writer from Wisconsin who writes with the hope of finding lightning among the lightning bugs. She has been published in Anti-Heroin Chic, One Sentence Poems, Rat’s Ass Review, Poets Reading the News, and others. She is a Pushcart Prize nominee.
A limited open mic will follow (one piece, two if they are short).
TO REGISTER FOR THE CALENDAR READING, CLICK ON THIS ZOOM LINK:
https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwude-grTMuH9OFqzWo4fM6jIwroBsikGiA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
ON DECK FOR POETRY UNLOCKED:
3/14/22: Elizabeth Keggi and Cristina Norcross (virtual)
4/11/22: MaryAnn Hurtt and Lisa Vihos (fingers crossed, in person at Acoca Coffee!)
These events are brought to you, in part, by the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP), an organization founded for the creation, promotion and enjoyment of poetry throughout the state of Wisconsin. To learn more, visit www.wfop.org.
OTHER READINGS & EVENTS IN THE AREA
Belonging Through Poetry at the Appleton Public Library
Every 4th Wednesday, the library is supporting a monthly, virtual group that will explore life’s big topics in poetry with the hopes of creating connections and a sense of belonging in the community.
Register in advance for this meeting:
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZwoc-qhrj8iGdxObAwqie5iqvYkbKKGobjX
CONTESTS & SUBMISSION OPPORTUNITIES
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Looking for something different, maybe a little challenging, to fuel your creative practice?
ArtAsPoetryAsArt (coordinated by the Lakeshore Artists Guild) could be just the thing.
Here is how it works:
· Artists and poets enter by submitting 1 piece of work between now and February (digital file of artwork/poem)
· Artists look at the “submitted” poems, and poets look at the “submitted” art, and choose the ‘Top 3’ works that appeal to them
· Each artist is paired with a poem and must create a new art work “inspired” by the poem
· Each poet is paired with an art work and must create a new poem “inspired” by the art work
· In June 2022, all the “submitted” and “inspired” pairs of art and poetry will be exhibited online and at the Manitowoc Public Library in Manitowoc, WI
Entries are due on February 6, 2022.
Details about the event and forms to register to participate are at this link:
ArtPoetryArt 21-22 Entry Form
What does this end up looking like? Here are the art and poetry pairings from last year:
ArtPoetryArt 20-21 Online Exhibit
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2023 WFOP Poets’ Calendar Is Now Open For Submissions, through February 1, 2022
The theme is the “Mythos of Wisconsin,” with guest editors Tom & Ethel Davis and Michael Orlock. Check out the detailed Submission Guidelines & How to Enter.
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2022 WFOP Chapbook Prize is now open, through February 1, 2022
A contest for chapbooks published in 2021 by Wisconsin authors. This year’s judge is Margaret Haase. For guidelines, visit here.
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Muse Prize for Excellence in Poetry is Now Open to Wisconsin Poets, through February 1, 2022
Check out the detailed Submission Guidelines & How to Enter.
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WFOP Student Contest is Now Open through February 1, 2022
For Wisconsin students grades 6 – 12. Check out the detailed Submission Guidelines & How to Enter.
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Council for Wisconsin Writers Contest, deadline Jan. 31, 2022!
Wisconsin writers are invited to enter work published during the 2021 calendar year in multiple categories, including book-length poetry and a set of five poems.
First-place winners in all categories except the Young Writers Award will receive $500 and a one-week writer’s residency at Shake Rag Alley in Mineral Point WI. Honorable mention recipients will receive $50 and a one-week writer’s residency at the Painted Forest Study Center Valton WI.
Specific guideline, entry forms and important additional information for each award category are on the CWW website.