The following Poetry Society of Tennessee (PST) news items include regular monthly updates as well as makes notes of special events over the last 12 months. Looking for something further back? Contact us! We'll be happy to provide some additional information!
Note that contest winners are identified in each month's news.
June-July -August 2020
Many of our members are on "summer break". Check with chapter news for specifics on meeting information. Remember that physical, in-person meetings and readings have been suspended due to COVID-19. Chapters will be scheduling virtual/online meetings for the foreseeable future.
64th Annual Festival Announcement -- We will be holding a Virtual Festival this year, due to COVID-19. Please see our Festival Page for more details on our workshop leader, dates, and times.
Summer news:
July News
June News
May 2020
Thank you to PST-NE outgoing President Rose Klix for this history of the PST-NE Chapter. Please read and celebrate the success and growth of PST-NE!
May 2020 news
Congratulations to the boards of PST chapters elected for the upcoming 2020/2021 year! See the May news link (above) for additional details.
Remember that membership dues were due on May 1. Please return the membership registration form (click here for a copy) to your local chapter.
Members may submit PATRON POEMS for inclusion in our annual anthology, Tennessee Voices. For $15, patrons may submit up to 3 poems to the selection committee. Submission requirements for 2020:
April 2020
April 2020 news
Due to coronavirus, the National Convention in Kansas City in June has been cancelled. Please click here for a link to the NSFPS letter discussing the cancellation. Please note that:
April 2020 Quarterly Board Meeting Minutes
March 2020
Congratulations to our 2019/2020 Student Contest Winners (click to see results). Teachers/students, if you have not heard from our Student Contest Coordinator (Frances Cowden) yet, please contact her by clicking here. Check back in August 2020 for our 2020/2021 student contest.
COVID-19 announcement
PST-West Tennessee is suspending regular monthly meetings (at the White Station Public Library) and poetry readings (at Café Eclectic) until further notice in accordance with the COVID-19 safety measures being implemented in Memphis/Shelby County. Please note that this includes April’s Student Poetry Contest Awards. We will post winners on our Student Contest Page and on Facebook awards will be mailed to students.
PST-Knoxville and PST-NE have also modified their meetings due to coronavirus; please see their webpages for current/future plans.
March News
PST-West Tennessee Board Meeting Minutes
Remember we still need festival sponsors click here for Festival Contest Sponsorship Forms
It's time for all chapters to have Board elections. Click here for the West Tennessee Board 2020/2021 Ballot -- Return at the April meeting!!
Note -- PST-NE and PST-Knoxville, please see your website/Facebook page for information on your Board elections. Click here for Northeast and Knoxville.
Note for West Tennessee's April meeting (Saturday, April 4) -- this will be our Student Awards. No meeting at the White Station Public Library. Please meet at Colonial Park United Methodist Church, 2-4 PM. Members -- bring cookies and drinks for our student guests!
February 2020
February news
It’s that time again…we need sponsorships for our annual festival contests, to be held in conjunction with our 64th annual festival. The due date for all sponsorship submissions is March 15th. Click here for a sponsorship form. We had a lot of very positive feedback from out-of-town and non-PST poets last year, complimenting all of our sponsors on the broad variety of contests (subjects and forms). Let’s give them a lot of wonderful options again this year!
January 2020
January news
January PST-West Tennessee Board meeting minutes
Many thanks to everyone who sent in poems for the Panel Critiquing Session: we had five volunteers who sent in 12 poems, all of which were critiqued at West Tennessee’s January 4th meeting. Russell Strauss, Janet Qually, William Hill, and Ann Carolyn Cates were our panelists. If you were a volunteer, you will receive your poems, with feedback from the panel, under separate cover. It was a wonderful meeting, as always, with lots of discussion and commentary.
The NFSPS Convention will be held in Kansas City this year, June 11-14. Registration will be open soon. Check here for convention information.
December 2019
December news
Thanks to all for attending the PST-West Tennessee holiday party at Pyros on Ridgeway on 12/14. We had a lot of fun!
November 2019
mid-month November News
November news and reminders are here
Many thanks to JoAn Howerton for hosting Nathan Brown on Sunday, November 17. Nathan’s music and poetry were amazing! Please check out his books and music online, https://www.brownlines.com/. He is also advertising the next writers’ retreat he will be facilitating, in France in September 2020, https://www.descansocreatives.com/; deposits are due 12/15/19.
PST-West Tennessee has announced its holiday party will be at Pyros on Ridgeway. Click here for flyer with map. Note we will NOT have a meeting the first Saturday of the month. See everyone at Pyros!
Another reminder about the SPECIAL EVENT at JoAn's house (see details below) -- Nathan Brown, poet, author, singer/songwriter, on 11/17. Please RSVP to JoAn ASAP (901)-361-0077.
Note that Monthly Member Contest Deadlines will be changed to a postmarked-by deadline of the 15th of the month beginning with the January contest (e.g., postmarked by December 15th). Please see the mid-month November news for additional details.
For additional information on news in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
October 2019
PST held its 63rd Annual Festival on October 19, 2019. See our Festival and Contest Page for a brief summary -- many thanks to all attendees and volunteers. PST's 63rd Annual Contest Results are here! Click here for a full winner's list!!!
October end-of-month reminders
Both PST-West Tennessee and PST-NE both celebrated Poetry Month with city Poetry Day Proclamations (Memphis and Johnson City, respectively) and publicity. Click here for a link to WMC-TV 5's interview with PST-West Tennessee board members, JoAn Howerton and Janet Qually.
SPECIAL MEMPHIS EVENT -- On November 17, JoAn Howerton will host poet, author, and singer/songwriter Nathan Brown for a poetry reading at her home from 3-5. You can find out more about Nathan here https://www.brownlines.com/. Please RSVP back to JoAn ASAP (901)-361-0077, so we can have a headcount for this special PST event!!!
October reminders are here
For additional information on news in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
September 2019
September PST news is here
West Tennessee Board Meeting Minutes, 9-7-19, are here
For additional information on news in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
August 2019
PST has issued its 2019/2020 Student Poetry Contest, open to Elementary School (Grades 2-5), Middle School (Grades 6-8), and High School (Grades 9-12) students. This contest includes both written and eye poem forms. Deadlines vary by contest/grade. Note that PST's Student Contest is open to students who are Tennessee residents or who are student members of PST. For membership info, please click here.
NFSPS contests are now available online here. Note in addition to 50 contests for members/non-members, there are three special contests open only to students, free of charge! A great way to get students involved!
Russell Strauss has published his NFSPS challenges here. Be sure to have your first challenge ready for critiquing on September 7th!
PST's 2019/2020 members-only contests are published and online! Click here for our contest page.
West Tennessee Board Meeting Minutes, 8-3-19, here.
For additional information on news in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
July 2019
Mid-summer update is here.
PST-West Tennessee's programming for August-December is posted on our events page. Check out our meeting topics and come join us!
Great reading on July 10th at Cafe Eclectic; thanks to all who attended. Next reading is August 14th.
June 2019
Congratulations to all of the PST poets who won or received honorable mentioned in the National Federation of State Poetry Societies' 2019 Annual Poetry Contest, announced during NFSPS' annual convention held in New Mexico June 23-26. The NFSPS Winners' List can be found here.
PST-West Tennessee held its June 12th reading/open mic at Cafe Eclectic; several great poems. Thanks to Anna's Petsitting for sponsoring a microphone/amplifier! Next reading/open mic is July 10th, 7 pm, Cafe Eclectic.
May 2019
Monthly meeting report
April 2019
Monthly meeting report
PST-West Tennessee held its readings at Cafe Eclectic on 4/10 and 4/17. Many thanks to the PST members who came and read; we welcomed one new poet! Next readings are scheduled for 5/8 and 5/15.
Congratulations to the winners of PST's Annual Student Poetry Competition, announced at the West Tennessee Chapter's April meeting. Student Winners can be found here. For more information on the Student Competition and other PST contests, please go to our contests page. Many thanks to Frances Cowden for organizing/coordinating the Student Competition, and to all the judges who make this contest possible.
PST-West Tennessee officers were elected for 2019/2020. Please congratulate the following officers:
PST-NE officers for 2019/2020 are:
For additional information on officers in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
Poetry Society of Tennessee's 63rd Annual Contest is POSTED! See our festival and contest page for more information and a link to our brochure!
Note that contest winners are identified in each month's news.
June-July -August 2020
Many of our members are on "summer break". Check with chapter news for specifics on meeting information. Remember that physical, in-person meetings and readings have been suspended due to COVID-19. Chapters will be scheduling virtual/online meetings for the foreseeable future.
64th Annual Festival Announcement -- We will be holding a Virtual Festival this year, due to COVID-19. Please see our Festival Page for more details on our workshop leader, dates, and times.
Summer news:
July News
June News
May 2020
Thank you to PST-NE outgoing President Rose Klix for this history of the PST-NE Chapter. Please read and celebrate the success and growth of PST-NE!
May 2020 news
Congratulations to the boards of PST chapters elected for the upcoming 2020/2021 year! See the May news link (above) for additional details.
Remember that membership dues were due on May 1. Please return the membership registration form (click here for a copy) to your local chapter.
Members may submit PATRON POEMS for inclusion in our annual anthology, Tennessee Voices. For $15, patrons may submit up to 3 poems to the selection committee. Submission requirements for 2020:
- Each patron poem can be no longer than 40 lines
- Patron poems must be submitted as a Word or PDF file
- Each patron poem must have poet’s ID in the upper right corner
- Upper left corner, please indicate “Patron Poem Submission”
April 2020
April 2020 news
Due to coronavirus, the National Convention in Kansas City in June has been cancelled. Please click here for a link to the NSFPS letter discussing the cancellation. Please note that:
- all awards which were to be presented at the Convention (the 2 CUP manuscripts, the Stevens manuscript, and the Blackberry Peach Awards) have been judged and they will still be awarded
- the 53 contests are being processed and will be judged and awarded
- Encore will still be published for 2020
April 2020 Quarterly Board Meeting Minutes
March 2020
Congratulations to our 2019/2020 Student Contest Winners (click to see results). Teachers/students, if you have not heard from our Student Contest Coordinator (Frances Cowden) yet, please contact her by clicking here. Check back in August 2020 for our 2020/2021 student contest.
COVID-19 announcement
PST-West Tennessee is suspending regular monthly meetings (at the White Station Public Library) and poetry readings (at Café Eclectic) until further notice in accordance with the COVID-19 safety measures being implemented in Memphis/Shelby County. Please note that this includes April’s Student Poetry Contest Awards. We will post winners on our Student Contest Page and on Facebook awards will be mailed to students.
PST-Knoxville and PST-NE have also modified their meetings due to coronavirus; please see their webpages for current/future plans.
March News
PST-West Tennessee Board Meeting Minutes
Remember we still need festival sponsors click here for Festival Contest Sponsorship Forms
It's time for all chapters to have Board elections. Click here for the West Tennessee Board 2020/2021 Ballot -- Return at the April meeting!!
Note -- PST-NE and PST-Knoxville, please see your website/Facebook page for information on your Board elections. Click here for Northeast and Knoxville.
Note for West Tennessee's April meeting (Saturday, April 4) -- this will be our Student Awards. No meeting at the White Station Public Library. Please meet at Colonial Park United Methodist Church, 2-4 PM. Members -- bring cookies and drinks for our student guests!
February 2020
February news
It’s that time again…we need sponsorships for our annual festival contests, to be held in conjunction with our 64th annual festival. The due date for all sponsorship submissions is March 15th. Click here for a sponsorship form. We had a lot of very positive feedback from out-of-town and non-PST poets last year, complimenting all of our sponsors on the broad variety of contests (subjects and forms). Let’s give them a lot of wonderful options again this year!
January 2020
January news
January PST-West Tennessee Board meeting minutes
Many thanks to everyone who sent in poems for the Panel Critiquing Session: we had five volunteers who sent in 12 poems, all of which were critiqued at West Tennessee’s January 4th meeting. Russell Strauss, Janet Qually, William Hill, and Ann Carolyn Cates were our panelists. If you were a volunteer, you will receive your poems, with feedback from the panel, under separate cover. It was a wonderful meeting, as always, with lots of discussion and commentary.
The NFSPS Convention will be held in Kansas City this year, June 11-14. Registration will be open soon. Check here for convention information.
December 2019
December news
Thanks to all for attending the PST-West Tennessee holiday party at Pyros on Ridgeway on 12/14. We had a lot of fun!
November 2019
mid-month November News
November news and reminders are here
Many thanks to JoAn Howerton for hosting Nathan Brown on Sunday, November 17. Nathan’s music and poetry were amazing! Please check out his books and music online, https://www.brownlines.com/. He is also advertising the next writers’ retreat he will be facilitating, in France in September 2020, https://www.descansocreatives.com/; deposits are due 12/15/19.
PST-West Tennessee has announced its holiday party will be at Pyros on Ridgeway. Click here for flyer with map. Note we will NOT have a meeting the first Saturday of the month. See everyone at Pyros!
Another reminder about the SPECIAL EVENT at JoAn's house (see details below) -- Nathan Brown, poet, author, singer/songwriter, on 11/17. Please RSVP to JoAn ASAP (901)-361-0077.
Note that Monthly Member Contest Deadlines will be changed to a postmarked-by deadline of the 15th of the month beginning with the January contest (e.g., postmarked by December 15th). Please see the mid-month November news for additional details.
For additional information on news in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
October 2019
PST held its 63rd Annual Festival on October 19, 2019. See our Festival and Contest Page for a brief summary -- many thanks to all attendees and volunteers. PST's 63rd Annual Contest Results are here! Click here for a full winner's list!!!
October end-of-month reminders
Both PST-West Tennessee and PST-NE both celebrated Poetry Month with city Poetry Day Proclamations (Memphis and Johnson City, respectively) and publicity. Click here for a link to WMC-TV 5's interview with PST-West Tennessee board members, JoAn Howerton and Janet Qually.
SPECIAL MEMPHIS EVENT -- On November 17, JoAn Howerton will host poet, author, and singer/songwriter Nathan Brown for a poetry reading at her home from 3-5. You can find out more about Nathan here https://www.brownlines.com/. Please RSVP back to JoAn ASAP (901)-361-0077, so we can have a headcount for this special PST event!!!
October reminders are here
For additional information on news in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
September 2019
September PST news is here
West Tennessee Board Meeting Minutes, 9-7-19, are here
For additional information on news in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
August 2019
PST has issued its 2019/2020 Student Poetry Contest, open to Elementary School (Grades 2-5), Middle School (Grades 6-8), and High School (Grades 9-12) students. This contest includes both written and eye poem forms. Deadlines vary by contest/grade. Note that PST's Student Contest is open to students who are Tennessee residents or who are student members of PST. For membership info, please click here.
NFSPS contests are now available online here. Note in addition to 50 contests for members/non-members, there are three special contests open only to students, free of charge! A great way to get students involved!
Russell Strauss has published his NFSPS challenges here. Be sure to have your first challenge ready for critiquing on September 7th!
PST's 2019/2020 members-only contests are published and online! Click here for our contest page.
West Tennessee Board Meeting Minutes, 8-3-19, here.
For additional information on news in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
July 2019
Mid-summer update is here.
PST-West Tennessee's programming for August-December is posted on our events page. Check out our meeting topics and come join us!
Great reading on July 10th at Cafe Eclectic; thanks to all who attended. Next reading is August 14th.
June 2019
Congratulations to all of the PST poets who won or received honorable mentioned in the National Federation of State Poetry Societies' 2019 Annual Poetry Contest, announced during NFSPS' annual convention held in New Mexico June 23-26. The NFSPS Winners' List can be found here.
PST-West Tennessee held its June 12th reading/open mic at Cafe Eclectic; several great poems. Thanks to Anna's Petsitting for sponsoring a microphone/amplifier! Next reading/open mic is July 10th, 7 pm, Cafe Eclectic.
May 2019
Monthly meeting report
April 2019
Monthly meeting report
PST-West Tennessee held its readings at Cafe Eclectic on 4/10 and 4/17. Many thanks to the PST members who came and read; we welcomed one new poet! Next readings are scheduled for 5/8 and 5/15.
Congratulations to the winners of PST's Annual Student Poetry Competition, announced at the West Tennessee Chapter's April meeting. Student Winners can be found here. For more information on the Student Competition and other PST contests, please go to our contests page. Many thanks to Frances Cowden for organizing/coordinating the Student Competition, and to all the judges who make this contest possible.
PST-West Tennessee officers were elected for 2019/2020. Please congratulate the following officers:
- President -- JoAn Howerton
- Vice President -- Russell Strauss
- Treasurer -- Janet Qually
- Corresponding/Recording Secretary -- Lori Goetz
- Directors -- Florence Bruce and William Hill
- Parliamentarian -- Frances Cowden
- Poet Laureate -- Lori Goetz
PST-NE officers for 2019/2020 are:
- Rose Klix, President
- Calvin Ross, Vice President
- Howard Carman, Treasurer and Membership Chair
For additional information on officers in the Northeast and Knoxville chapters, please see their websites.
Poetry Society of Tennessee's 63rd Annual Contest is POSTED! See our festival and contest page for more information and a link to our brochure!
