Read the October Edition of the LOMPLighter here!

October 24, 2014
Deadline to register for LOMP Fall Meeting
November 14-15, 2014
LOMP Fall Meeting in Duluth
A Quarterly Publication of the League of Minnesota Poets
LOMP lighter
League of Minnesota Poets
(LOMP) holds biannual meetings,
supports regional chapters in
Minnesota, and publishes the
Moccasin anthology.
www.mnpoets.com
Annual membership fee: $20
Students (K-12): $10.
Mail dues to LOMP Treasurer:
Susan McMillan
6327 Oak Meadow Ln NW
Rochester, MN 55906
Membership fees include a
subscription to the LOMPLighter,
membership in the National
Federation of State Poetry
Societies and the NFSPS
publication Strophes.
Polaris Poets (Duluth)
Heartland Poets (Brainerd Lakes)
Mississippi Valley Poets & Writers
(Twin Cities)
Southeastern Minnesota Poets
(Rochester)
Southern Minnesota Poets Society
(Mankato)
Grand View Poets
(St. Cloud/Sartell)
October 2014
Ellie Schoenfeld, a poet native to Duluth, is
known for her entertaining reading skills and
her disarming, compassionate humor. She
performs her work tirelessly, and audiences
never tire of listening to her. She was one of
the founding members of Poetry Harbor,
which was the harbinger of Duluth, becoming
a center for excellence in poetry events and
publications. She often headlines peace and
social justice gatherings. She is the spoken
word member of a musical band called
Warm Women of the North, and she is heralded for her collaborations
with artists in the visual arts as well.
In addition to The Dark Honey (Clover
Valley Press, 2009), Ellie is the author of
two previous poetry collections, Screaming
Red Gladiolus! (Poetry Harbor, 1999) and
Difficult Valentines (Fallow Deer Books,
2004), and her work has been published in
an anthology, The Moon Rolls Out of Our
Mouths (Calyx Press, 2005), with the four
other women in her writing group. Her
work is featured along with the music of
some of her favorite musicians on the
CDs Personal Ad, Almost Through the
Rinse Cycle, and Taking It Off.
If fall doesn't inspire poets to write, I think nothing will. Yesterday was as warm as an August day,
and the many-colored leaves were crisp under our feet as we walked near a college campus. Today,
the temperature was fifty-nine degrees, gray clouds scudded across the sky, and wet leaves made
walking treacherous on the trail, but we managed to hike two miles around a small lake. What a
difference a day makes, but what fodder that provides for poets. So pick up your pens or open your
laptops and let your creative juices flow.
Not only does LOMP need your poems for its annual contest, the Moccasin, and for sharing at
our events, it also needs your work for our own inspiration. I read that we should read a hundred
poems for everyone we write. Who knows how your work might inspire someone else.
LOMP also needs your active participation in other ways. First, consider inviting a friend to a
chapter meeting. I'm convinced there are thousands of closet poets in our state, many too timid to
show their work to others. With a little encouragement, though, some will join us and discover the
fun we have with poetry.
Second, do you know that LOMP is sponsoring the National Federation of State Poetry Societies'
convention during June of 2016? LOMP last hosted the national convention in 2009 in Duluth, and
it was proclaimed a huge success by almost all who attended. I have good memories of making
birch bark canoes for center pieces, putting together the welcome kits for attendees, sharing my
poems during open mic sessions, and conducting a tour on the Lake Walk to name a few.
This will be a wonderful opportunity for all of us to meet terrific poets from other states, to learn
from workshops put on by nationally recognized poets, and to join with more than a hundred
other poets in sharing our love for this craft. I urge you to become an active member of the LOMP
team which will be planning the event. Sue Chambers and Peter Stein are co-chairing the event,
and they need your help. Please consider being on the committee they are heading, and e-mail
one of them, telling of your desire to help with the planning of this event. Let's show the poets of
NFSPS what we Minnesotans are about.
In the meantime, look around you. Your world abounds with wonders that need to be recorded in
poetic form. Write what you observe; observe what you
write.
Dennis Herschbach
LOMP President
To take advantage of this opportunity to benefit from the
insight and experience of fellow Minnesota poets, email
your poem to [email protected] by Friday,
October 31 or mail it to Christina Flaugher, PO Box 446,
Mapleton, MN 56065. Mailed poems must be postmarked
by Wednesday, October 29.
Do not submit poems that are more than one page long,
have art work or multi-column formatting. If you mail
your poem, include two copies, one with name, address,
email in the upper left corner, the other without identification, except to state form. If sending electronically, put
identifying information on page two of your submission.
If you are unable to attend, include an SASE for written
critique.
NFSPS Convention, Florida
Discover the treasure of poetry at
the 2015 NFSPS convention, on
June 24-28, 2015 at the Hilton St.
Petersburg Bayfront Hotel, adjacent to the Dali Museum and the
Mahaffey Theater. Sponsored by
the Florida State Poets Association, the convention will include a welcome by St. Petersburg Poet Laureate Peter Meinke and a surrealist poetry
workshop, led by Parisian-born surrealist poet, Dan Pels,
at the Dali Museum.
Visit www.floridastatepoetsassociation.org/nfsps-2015convention-in-florida for more information.
Blizzard Writers Poetry Retreat
The 16th annual winter retreat is scheduled for Thursday,
January 22 through Sunday, January 25, 2015, in rural Good
Thunder, Minnesota.
The League’s membership year begins
January 1, and it’s not too soon to think
about renewing your membership. This
year, we offer you an additional option for
paying your dues—online via PayPal.
Visit www.mnpoets.com/membership and
click the “Pay membership online here” link
to connect to the LOMP PayPal account.
Pay with your PayPal account or use a
credit/debit card. Your payment will be
processed securely by PayPal.
Your membership in the League of
Minnesota Poets has these benefits:

You may publish your work in our
annual poetry magazine, The Moccasin.

Membership in the National
Federation of State Poetry
Societies (NFSPS) is included.

You’ll receive our quarterly
newsletter, The Lomplighter.

Reduced rates to attend the spring
and fall LOMP conferences

An invitation to participate in our
two annual poetry retreats (winter
and summer)

Reduced rates for participating in the
LOMP annual contest and the NFSPS
contest

Opportunities to meet and share work
with other poets

Access to members-only portions of
our website (including our online
poetry forum)

Opportunity to sell
your books at
meetings and online
PRESIDENT: Dennis Herschbach.
(218) 343-1522
[email protected]
Sponsored by the Polaris Poets, this year’s fall convention will take place
in Fitger’s historic lakefront hotel.
VICE PRESIDENT: Peter Stein
[email protected]
RECORDING SECRETARY:
Evelyn Klein [email protected]
TREASURER/MEMBERSHIP:
Susan McMillan (507) 281-3507
[email protected]
ASSISTANT TREASURER:
Susan Stevens Chambers
(507) 278-4200
[email protected]
CORRESPONDING SECRETARY:
Meredith R. Cook (507) 526-2653
PAST PRESIDENT:
Christina Flaugher (507) 381-4633
[email protected]
LOMP POET LAUREATE:
Shirley Ensrud
MOCCASIN EDITOR:
Meredith R. Cook
HISTORIAN:
Shirley Poliquin
LOMPLIGHTER EDITOR:
Joe Anderson
PUBLICITY CHAIRMAN:
SuzAnne Wipperling
YOUTH CHAIRMAN:
Peter Stein
Rooms at the Fitgers Inn (600 E Superior St, Duluth) are $160-$200
per night; reserve a room by calling 888-348-4878 or book online at
reservations.fitgers.com/IQReservations/asp/IQHome.asp
Rooms at the Voyager Lakewalk Inn (333 E Superior St, Duluth) start at
$60 per night; reserve a room by calling 800-258-3911.
Friday, November 14
1:00-5:00pm Registration at the Fitger Building, 600 E Superior St
2:00pm
Walking/Writing Workshop along the lake walk
or Writing Workshop in Fitgers meeting space
5:30pm
Dinner at Sir Ben’s Tavern, 805 E Superior St
(Each attendee will pay for his/her own meal.)
7:00pm or so LOMP poetry contest winners announced followed by
Meredith Cook’s report on the NFSPS Utah Convention
Saturday, November 15
 LOMP General Meeting
 Ellie Schoenfeld, keynote speaker
 Critique Session of poems previously submitted
For more information, contact Polaris Poets member Bethany Berry at
[email protected]
All Minnesota students in grades 6-12 who attend public, parochial, private or home-schools are eligible. Limit
one entry per student. No entry fee. Poems must be original but may have been published and/or have won
previous awards. Submit two (2) copies of each poem. In the upper left corner of each copy, write the division
entered (Grades 6-8 Junior Division, and Grades 9-12 Senior Division). In the upper right corner of one copy,
list: the author’s name, home address, grade, school name, address and phone. Include this statement with
the author’s signature: “This is my original work.” Type the poem (NO Handwritten copies will be accepted).
It must not exceed 50 lines. If the poem continues on more than one page, staple the pages together.
The ten top poems will be selected by the League of Minnesota Poets will be submitted to the National
Manningham Contest and published in a chapbook given to the student authors and participating schools.
Mail entries to: Peter Stein, MN Manningham Poetry Competition Chair, 2029 103rd Ave NW, Coon Rapids,
MN 55433. All submissions must be postmarked by December 21, 2014.
From I-35 take the Superior St exit (256A) which goes off to
the right. Go straight on Superior St 13 blocks. Fitger's is on
the right at 600 E Superior St.
From Highway 194 at the intersection of 6th Ave E and 3rd
St. Turn right on 3rd St. Travel 2 blocks to 4th Ave E and
turn left. Travel 3 blocks to Superior St and turn left.
Fitger's is 2 blocks down on the right side.
Name ___________________________________________________________________________________________
Mailing Address ___________________________________________________________________________________
City ________________________ State _____ Zip code_____________ Phone _______________________________
Vegetarian or food allergies? ________________________________________________________________________
E-mail address ____________________________________________________________________________________
Registration fee (includes lunch):
 $50 LOMP Members
 $55 Non-members
Please make checks payable to League of Minnesota Poets.
Send registration fee by Friday, October 24, 2014 to: Bethany Berry, 2420 Branch St, Duluth, MN 55812