25th ANNUAL LOMP
BLIZZARD WRITER’S POETRY RETREAT
near Rochester, Minnesota
WHAT IS A BLIZZARD RETREAT YOU MAY ASK?
Here is what to expect:
1. Each participant will bring some food/beverages to share. If you have food allergies or intolerances, be prepared to bring what you need.
2. You will be assigned to a breakfast, lunch or dinner crew to assist with food preparation. Let Sue Chambers know if you are a morning person or a night owl, or if you have a preference for a certain crew. Being on a meal crew does not mean you have to plan the whole meal. There will be cleanup crews as well after each meal.
3. Bring a poetry program that is at least half an hour in length. The program can be anything that tickles your fancy–a physical activity that will stimulate writing; a writing workshop; a favorite author; a new form; a lecture; a special taped program that you want to lead a discussion on…the possibilities are endless. Joint programs are also permissible. We have access to projectors, microphones, flip charts and other equipment.
4. Bring plenty of your own poems for read-arounds.
LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA POETS
2023 Annual Poetry Contest
The Winners are in!
LEAGUE OF MINNESOTA POETS
John Rezmerski Memorial Manuscript Competition
The Winners are in!
FIRST PRIZE: Of the Earth and Other Desires
by Megan Muthupandiyan of Elm Grove, Wisconsin
Congratulations to Megan for winning our second annual John Calvin Rezmerski Memorial Manuscript Competition! This years competition was judged by Shirley Blackwell. This manuscript will be published by the League of Minnesota Poets Press in the Spring of 2024. Along with the first place award, the following awards were also noted by the judge as follows:
1st Honorable Mention: Caliche Road – Budd Mahan, Dallas, Texas
2nd Honorable Mention: Refugee – Erika Michael, Woodway, Washington
3rd Honorable Mention: Hammock – Charles Salmons, Pickering, Ohio
4th Honorable Mention: Xtopias – Raymond Luczak, Minneapolis, Minnesota
5th Honorable Mention: Flowers & Bones – Amy Irish, Lakewood, Colorado
6th Honorable Mention: Southland – Budd Mahan, Dallas, Texas
7th Honorable Mention: Bodies in Transition – G Gazelka, Minneapolis, Minnesota
8th Honorable Mention: Rights of the Dead – Pamela Wynn, New Brighton, Minnesota
Judge: Shirley Blackwell, New Mexico
In retirement after a career in national security where she served as researcher, writer and editor covering topics from Afghan militias to space technology, Shirley Blackwell has focused on her childhood love of poetry. She has published two books of poetry, both finalists in the NM-AZ Book Awards. She has poems in many anthologies, essays on poetry, and wrote a monthly poetry column for her local newspaper from 2008-2011. She is a past president of the New Mexico State Poetry Society and currently serves as chancellor. She chaired the College Undergraduate Poetry competition 2014-2018 for the National Federation of State Poetry Societies. She is a co-funder of NFSPS BlackBerry Peach Prize (BBP) for spoken/performance poetry and advisor to its offshoot, the NFSPS-sponsored BBP National Slam Competition.
Agates IndyBookStore Tour
Four Pines Books in Bemidji will kick off the start of our statewide Agates IndyBookStore Tour with a reading on October 18th at 6 PM. Featured readers are: Charmaine Pappas Donovan, Marlys Guimaraes, Shawna Bullen-Fairbanks, Ann Marie Newman, and Dawn Loeffler.
Sweet Reads in Austin is next up on October 24th at 6:30 PM with readers: Susan Stevens Chambers, Jana Bouma, Martha Bordwell, Deborah Goschy, Vicky King, Amanda Bailey.
Garden Party Books in Rochester October 26th 6:30 – 8:00 PM with readers: Susan McMillan, Nancy Hengeveld, Steven Vogel, Pam Sinicrope, Jean Prokott, Lisa Higgs, Christina Flaugher.
Drury Lane Books in Grand Marais October 28th 6:00 PM with featured readers: Ruth Schmidt-Bauemler, Jess Morgan, Sarah Royer-Stoll, Emily August and Isadora Gruye will emcee. Readers will be followed by an open mic.
Content Books in Northfield November 9th 7:00 – 8:30 with readers D.E. Green, Becky Boling, Martha Bordwell, Susan McMillan and Christine Ellsworth.
This is the starting line up for our year long, statewide Agates IndyBookStore Tour. If you’re a League member who’d like to read and sell your books in any of the many independent bookstores in Minnesota, click the button below to sign up.
Members’ Agates will be mailed mid-November.
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2023
RICHFIELD LAKE PARK POETRY WALK WINNERS!
Thank you to all who participated in our contest! Here are the winners and links to their poems.
Winning poems have been placed on signs at the Richfield Lake Park Preserve. The Poetry Walk is located right behind the Lake Winds Coop off Lyndale and 65th and is a beautiful .8-mile walk, with benches for rest and contemplation. On the stroll around the lake, you can read or listen to the poems on each of ten signs, which include a QR code, so you can hear the poems read in English and in Spanish. You can also read and hear the poems at the links below.
Judged by: Paula Cisewski
Translator: Sarah Degner Riveros
Narrator: Maggie Gagliardi
Nature Poetry Walk Winners – 2023-2024
- Windblown – Margit Berman
- Walking Alone – Kelly Westhoff
- Translation – Athena Kildegaard
- For Autumn Murray McCartan
- Little Prayer – Kait Quinn
- Shush – Becky Boling
- Urban Wetland – Mary Lux
- Look Now – Mary Kay Rummel
- To Do Better – Donna Isaac
- Frog – Marsh Muirhead
The Richfield Lake Park Poetry Walk is made possible by sponsors and donors. If you would like to contribute to keep this project running, please donate using the button below
