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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
Dear Members of NFSPS, How quickly two years pass! This will be my
last message in STROPHES as your NFSPS President. I will preside at the 2008
convention, but this will be my last chance to address you in this manner.
It has been a privilege to be involved in the work of
this organization. The persons on the board and the members I have become
acquainted with have enriched my life. There were things I hoped to
accomplish which have not come to pass, but hopefully I have planted seeds
that one day may bear fruit.
There are two issues I'd like to address. Foremost, is
the idea of establishing a data base for NFSPS. Those who know more about
computers and cyberspace than I do must understand how helpful it would be
to have all our membership listed. Knowing exactly who is a paid-up member
is important, especially for the Contest Chair and the Stevens Manuscript
Chair since entry fees for each of those depends on verified membership.
Another helpful aspect would be keeping track of state officers. Since each
state organization elects officers on a different schedule, it is hard to
keep communications open. As national president I have had several instances
in which I tried to communicate with all of the state presidents only to
have e-mail and snail mail returned because that person was no longer in
office. Knowing who is state treasurer is also important when checking on
paid-up dues. Getting information to various states in a timely fashion has
been one of my frustrations. Perhaps one of you who has this skill may
volunteer yourself to set up a data base. I realize someone would need to
monitor and up-date the data. This could probably be done by a member of the
executive board or perhaps a new appointee. Please, feel free to share ideas
and opinions about this with me and the board.
The other issue is a much different one, but one that has continued
to "bug" me. I do NOT believe that poems entered in a "Humor" category
should simply be re-tooled jokes. For one thing, they are NOT original.
Secondly, they are NOT poetic. And taking someone else's joke and putting it
into rhyme borders on plagiarism. I love the poetry of Billy Collins, who
writes humorous poetry that makes me smile (probably not guffaw), but which
also has a second-level message in and through the words, which all poetry
should have. I would encourage those judging humor poems to use him as a
model, to reward original humor and, if there is any question about
originality, to go online and check it out.
So I bid you adieu. I look forward to seeing many of you in Utah. I will
continue to watch for your poems in literary publications and I will
celebrate all of your publications and winnings. You are my people--the
chosen people who speak poetry.
-- Doris Stengel, 27th
President of NFSPS
Lyric
Sequence Set in Civil War Wins 2007 Stevens Competition
“Capturing the
Dead,” the winning manuscript in the 2007 Stevens Poetry Manuscript
Competition, is a sequence of dramatic lyrics in the imagined voices of
Civil War soldiers and photographers, primarily that of a fictional war
photographer named Noah Williams. Written by Daniel Nathan Terry, a poet
currently enrolled in the M.F.A. program at the University of North Carolina
at Wilmington, it was selected from among 201 submissions by poets from all
over the country and abroad. Another submission of Terry’s, “Desire in a Dry
Season,” was selected as a manuscript of merit.
Also selected as manuscripts of merit were seven
submissions by other poets: “Poems : Too Small to Read": Poems by NFSPS
board member Jeremy M. Downes of Alabama; “Sweet Core Orchard” by Benjamin
S. Grossberg of Ohio; “sky = empty” by Judy Halebsky of Japan (an earlier
version of this ms. was a finalist in the 2006 Stevens Competion); “The
Stranger Dissolves” by Christina Hutchins of California; “meanderthaling” by
Stuart Jay Silverman of Arkansas; “Bird Skin Coat” by Angela Sorby of
Wisconsin; and “Graffiti in Braille” by Barbara Buckman Strasko of
Pennsylvania.
Judge for the competition was Jeff Gundy, a Professor
of English at Bluffton University in Bluffton, Ohio, and the author of five
books of poetry, including Rhapsody with Dark Matter (Bottom Dog
Press, 2000); Deerflies (2004), winner of the 2003 Editions Prize
from WordTech Editions; and, most recently, Spoken among the Trees,
released last year in the Akron Poetry Series. Raised in Illinois farm
country, which he calls his “psychic home,” Gundy earned a Master’s degree
in creative writing and a Ph.D. in American literature from the University
of Indiana at Bloomington. Besides poetry, he has also published books of
creative nonfiction and literary criticism.
Gundy has high praise for the manuscript he selected as
winner of the 2007 Stevens Competition: “Among a very strong set of
manuscripts, Capturing the Dead stood out for the clarity of its
focus, the precision of its language, and the depth and subtlety of its
emotional resonance.” He expresses great admiration for Terry’s “ability to
create individual characters,” noting that figures both historical and
invented, both obscure and famous, “take on weight and solidity, captured in
words that emulate the precision of film.” Even more than this vividness, he
admires the poems’ avoidance of claims of absolute truth, their “acute
recognition of human subjectivity.” He sees Terry’s Capturing the Dead
as belonging in the company of “other great sets of war poems from the last
two centuries”: From Whitman’s Drum-Taps to Andrew Hudgins’
After the Lost War. Terry’s poems, he sums up, “offer both fidelity to
history and relevance to our own predicament. They have much to teach us.”
Daniel Nathan Terry’s Capturing the Dead is
being published by the NFSPS Press and will be available for purchase at the
2008 NFSPS national convention in Layton, Utah. Convention attendees will
have the opportunity to hear him read from it there.
Terry’s poetry has appeared in several journals,
including The River, Oberon, and Busted Halo. His first poetry
book manuscript, “Days of Dark Miracles,” a sequence of dramatic lyrics set
in New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina, was a finalist in the
2006 Stevens Competition as well as another national competition.
Other poets—notably, A. Van Jordan, author of two
Norton poetry collections evoking other lives, M-A-C-N-O-L-I-A
(2004), on the first black finalist in the National Spelling Bee, and
Quantum Lyrics (2007), on modern physicists and comic-book superheroes,
and poet, editor, and memoirist Sebastian Matthews—have given advance praise
for Terry’s forthcoming book. They note the power of language and image in
his poetry, its formal control, and, above all, its emotional resonance.
In the words of Malena Mörling, award-winning author of
Astoria, a 2006 poetry collection from the University of Pittsburgh
Press, and an Assistant Professor of Creative Writing at UNC-Wilmington,
“These are haunting, tender and luminous poems.”
-- Eleanor Berry, Stevens Manuscript Competition
2008 Stevens Manuscript Competition
For guidelines contact Eleanor Berry, 22614 N. Santiam Hwy, Lyons, OR
97358, or see NFSPS website: www.nfsps.com.
Deadline for entries: October 15 postmark.
Stevens
Poetry Manuscript Award Books
$12.00 per copy
The Meager Life and Modest Times of Pop Thorndale
by W.
T. Pfefferle (2007)
Harvest by Budd Mahan (2006)
$10.00 per
copy
Aqua Curves by Karen Braucher (2005)
$5.00 per
copy
The Zen Piano Mover by Jeanne Wagner (2004)
A Thousand Bonds by Eleanor Swanson (2003)
The Fine Art of Postponement by Jane Bailey (2002)
$3.00 per copy
Stones for a Pillow by Diane Glancy (2001)
Binoculars by Douglas Lawder (2000)
Singing in the Key of L by Barbra Nightingale (1999)
Weighed in the Balances by Alan Birkelbach (1998)
Shadowless Flight by Todd Palmer (1997)
I Have Learned 5 Things by Elaine Christensen (1996)
A Common Language by Kathryn E. Clement (1995)
All orders to
Polly Opshal, P. O. Box 80744, Rochester, Michigan
48308 No returns. Shipping & handling $1.50 for 1 or 2
books, add $.50 for each two additional books. Make checks payable to NFSPS
NFSPS Convention June
19-22—Constellation Utah
Where the Stars Shine .
Thursday Evening: Get in the
Mood with “Moods and Mania”
The opening night
production of “Moods and Mania” on Thursday will intrigue, engage, and
excite you. Several troubled troubadours get caught up in “Crazy,” the
opening song, and begin to explore what makes them tick. Clarence Socwell
poses the question in his poem that says thoughts, memories, and ideas come
at you like a “band of buffalo,” and it takes much sifting, sorting, and
discarding to have them make sense. The others begin to do this kind of
reflection into their own psyches through their poems, building the
production to a satisfying climax. Visual images, as wall projections, are
used throughout to add the third dimension to the music and the words. Don’t
miss it!
Sunday Evening: Celebrating People!
At the Sunday Banquet we will celebrate the diversity of people.
It would be appropriate for all attendees to promote their own marks of
distinction. Don your crowns, tiaras, native headdresses, etc. to express
your own individuality at this crowning event. Come celebrate with us.
Monday Evening:House Party: Before Going
Home
Rosamond and Clarence Socwell extend an open invitation
to all NFSPS Convention participants to attend a house party at 2737 N. 650
East, North Ogden, Utah on Monday evening, June 23. If you are staying at
the hotel Monday night, we will see that you are transported to North Ogden
and returned by car and/or light rail. You will be served dinner at
Socwell’s half-acre near the pool. Swimming is optional, but visiting and
enjoyment are mandatory. Just indicate on your registration form that you
will be attending, and we will take care of the rest.
Hey, NFSPS Poets — Chance of the Year
Someone said “Opportunity only knocks once,” but in our
organization it happens once a year. We should take advantage of it. Have
you checked fees for poetry conferences around the country? I did on the
internet. If I want to go to Squaw Valley for example, I’ll pay $750 for
tuition alone, plus transportation, plus room, plus board. Likewise, Women’s
Conferences & Centers lists many conferences all in the $680 to $1245 range,
just for the fees.
Of course, cost isn’t the only factor to consider when
choosing a poetry conference; we want to have good informative speakers who
will help us advance our craft of poetry. The list of speakers for this year
are as well-known and advanced in their craft as any of the poet/speakers in
the conferences I checked on internet. They will certainly provide
everything poets could ask for in their presentations.
There are additional benefits to the NFSPS conferences.
Several poets have made the following statements: “I have been going to
conventions every year since 1985. Once you have come to one convention, you
are hooked. I have found the people, the poetry, the speakers, just the
entire atmosphere to charge up anyone who is enthusiastic about poetry” (Sue
Chambers, MN).
“I found enlightenment, excitement while cheering our state winners, and
gaining valuable friends who love poetry. Every convention I have attended
has had wonderful speakers, great ideas, lots of fun and inspiration, and
more food to eat than is good for one sitting all day. And the camaraderie
at the tables is exhilarating, even if you leave the veggies untouched” (Theda
Bassett, UT).
“I am always impressed with the caliber of the speakers
and the relevant information I receive in NFSPS workshops. Over the years I
have been thrilled to mill with other NFSPS poets as well as experience the
poetry and personalities of nationally known keynote and regional speakers.
I cannot imagine time better spent than four or five days with poets who
share a similar passion to write and appreciate poetry. When we gather
together in the spirit of poetry, something magical happens. This foray to
our NFSPS Convention is my fishing trip—an annual experience that bears
repeating year after year. I feel blessed to be a part of such a vital and
fun-loving group. We are a weird, wide and wild extended family!” (Charmaine
Donovan, MN).
“My first convention was in 2000 at Minnesota. I think
the anticipation during the announcement of contest winners is a lot of fun.
I was overwhelmed by the fact that here was a setting focused totally on
poetry. I found a lot of satisfaction meeting other poets who were as
enthused about poetry as I was. I couldn't get enough and have not missed a
convention since.” (N. Colwell Snell, UT)
Your dinner on Thursday is on-your-own, but not only do
we have an on-site coffee shop, there are three other restaurants across the
street and a dozen or so more within walking distance. We will provide a map
in your packet. You can have breakfasts for the duration of the convention
at the coffee shop, or eat in your room as it will be complete with
microwave and refrigerator
Don’t miss this opportunity! It will be a year before it comes this way
again!
--Clarence Socwell, Convention Chairman
Agenda
Thursday, June 19
Noon-5:00 p.m.
Registration
10:30 a.m. Salt Lake
City Tour (optional) 5 hours
4:30 p.m. NFSPS
Executive Board meeting
7:00 p.m. Moods and
Mania
10:00 p.m. Open Readings
Friday, June
7:00 a.m. Open Readings
8:30 a.m. Registration
8:30 a.m. Bookroom Ope
9:00 a.m. Plenary Session
10:45 a.m. Alex Caldiero
Noon Luncheon
Manningham Winners
NFSPS Contest Awards
2:30 p.m. Katherine
Coles
3:40 p.m. Brad Roghaar
4:50 p.m. Sue Ranglack
7:00 p.m. Dinner
College/University Awards
NFSPS Contest Awards
10:00 p.m. Open Readings
Saturday, June 21
7:00 a.m. Open Readings
8:30 a.m. Registration
8:30 a.m. Bookroom
Opens
9:00 a.m. Beverly
Monestier
10:30 a.m. Kimberly
Johnson
Noon Luncheon
Stevens Manuscript Award
NFSPS Contest Awards
2:30 p.m. Deborah Bogen
3:40 p.m. Matt
Kennington
4:50 p.m. Natasha Saje
7:00 p.m. Dinner
NFSPS
Contest Awards
10:00 p.m. Open Readings
Sunday, June 22
7:00 a.m. Open Readings
8:30 a.m. Registration
8:30 a.m. Bookroom
9:00 a.m. Tabernacle
Choir (off site tour)
Noon Luncheon
2:30 p.m. David Lee
3:30 p.m. Plenary
Session
4:30 p.m. Autograph
Party
4:30 p.m. NFSPS
Executive Board Meeting
6:00 p.m. Reception
7:00 p.m. Dinner
David Lee
NFSPS Installation of Officers
NFSPS Contest Awards
10:00 p.m. Open Readings
Monday, June 23
8:00 a.m.
Olympic Park and Park City Tour
(optional) 6 hours
Evening house party — Socwell’s home
(optional)
Transportation from Airport : Davis
Conference Center: about 30 miles from the Airport.
Transpiration option/information can be obtained for
the Davis Conference Center in Layton (or to your hotel) at the
Ground Transportation Desk located at the far end of the baggage claim
in both terminals of Salt Lake International Airport.
The
following are three viable choices
Taxi – Approximately $60
Utah Transit Authority– bus to commuter rail to bus –
Under $10 total. The commuter rail service will be initiated in April
2008, details are not yet available
Express
Shuttle has contracted with NFSPS to offer a special rate to members at
$27.00 for the first person and $14 for each additional person
in the same party. Advance reservations are preferred, though
arrangements may be made upon arrival at the Ground Transportation Desk.
For reservations: 1-800-397-0773. Identify yourself as affiliated with the
National Federation of State Poetry Societies to receive this rate.
About NSPS Honorary Chancellors
Li-Young
Lee
NFSPS
Honorary Chancellor
June 2006 -
June 2008
Every two years when we hold our elections for the
officers to serve the following two years as our Executive Board, we also
welcome an Honorary Chancellor for that term. We have enjoyed our
association with Li-Young Lee for the past two years. He was keynote speaker
at the 2003 Convention in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. In 2006, the year he
became NFSPS 2006-2008 Honorary Chancellor, his Breaking the Alabaster
Jar: Conversations with Li-Young Lee (edited by Earl G. Ingersol) was
published by BOA editions; a collection of twelve interviews with him at
various stages of his artistic development. On January 21, 2008, W. W.
Norton published his fourth book of poems, Behind My Eyes. It comes
with a C.D.
Lewis Turco
NFSPS
Honorary Chancellor
June 2008 -
June 2010
We are honored that Lewis Turco will become NFSPS
Honorary Chancellor for the next two years, term beginning at the end of our
2008 NFSPS Convention in Layton, Utah. Those who attended the 2007 NFSPS
convention in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, will remember he judged category 1.
NFSPS Founder’s Award in our 2007 annual NFSPS contest. Many poets use his
The Book of Forms and it has been called by many The Poets’ Bible.
This year marks the fortieth anniversary of the
publication of his The Book of Forms: A Handbook of Poetics as an E.
P. Dutton paperback in 1968. The first hardbound and second paperback
publication in 1986 of the second edition, The New Book of Forms, was
published by the University Press of New England and marked the beginning of
the second generation of writers to use his book as a resource. The third
edition of The Book of Forms, published in both cloth and paperback
editions by U. of New England Press in 2000, appeared on the New York City
Schools’ list of “Recommended Books for Teachers.”
Among his many books: Poetry: an Introduction
Through Writing, 1973; The Collected Lyrics of Lewis Turco / Wesli
Court, 1953-2004; A Sheaf of Leaves: Literary Memoirs, 2004;
The Book of Dialogue, How to Write Effective Conversation in Fiction,
Screenplays, Drama, and Poetry, 2004; Fantaseers, A Book of Memories,
2005; and Fearful Pleasures: The Complete Poems 1959-2007;
Visit his website: Poets and Ruminations,
http://lewisturco.typepad.com. “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about
Poetry (and Everything Else), but Were Afraid to Ask.”
NFSPS Poets
Heal Oklahoma City
Tragedy
with Poems
On Thursday morning, June 7,
2007 forty-five poets who attended the 2007 NFSPS Convention in Oklahoma
City toured the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum dedicated
to “honor those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed
forever”, by the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in
Oklahoma City. Poets were asked to write poems about the experience and send
them to the Convention Chair, Vivian R. Stewart.
The poems written and signed
by the participating poets were then compiled into a special collection
prepared by Vivian R. Stewart, The collection, entitled Empty Chairs,
Full Hearts, was on display at the March 8 Poetry Society of
Oklahoma Annual Awards Banquet. On April 19, the 13th anniversary of the
tragedy it was gifted, on behalf of NFSPS and Poetry Society of Oklahaoma
to the museum’s Memorial Archives
Participating poets: Maxine Austin, Von Bourland, Mary
Chase, Mark Evans, Dena Gorrell, Carol Hamilton, David Holder, Patti Koch,
Vera Long, Marie Gilligan Mahan, Flo Mason, Betty Mullin, Ed Roberts, Vivian
R. Stewart, and Lucille Morgan Wilson. Also included are two Oklahoma
Centennial Prize winning poems by students Jessica Gasell and Madison
Wells, submitted on behalf of Lawton High School students by Dr. Terry
Freeman, Poetry Society of Oklahoma’s “Out-standing Language Arts
Teacher of the Year.”
Vivian R. Stewart
2007 NFSPS
Convention Chair
April is
Poetry Month
Celebrate
Poetry!
April is National Poetry
Month and I am sure all states have been celebrating. If you haven't, you
should and send all the information to me ASAP in order for you to receive a
certificate of participation in June at the National Convention in Utah. I
know that most of you also celebrated Poetry Day in October 2007 and I also
need your reports for those events. All state presidents should make sure
reports are sent in to me by the 15th of May. We are all interested in what
you are doing to make the public aware of Poetry. Send your reports now,
please don't wait until the last minute.
Caroline Walton
National Poetry
Day Liaison
NFSPS State
Societies!
Share Your
Youth Programs
How does your state promote
youth poets? Do your participate in the Manningham Youth Contest?
Perhaps you sponsor poetry slams? Do you have an in-school program geared to
teach poetry to our youth? Once again it is time to be recognized by NFSPS
for your state efforts. Questionnaires, which allow NFSPS to see the
inroads we are making to promote poetry to our youth, have been sent to
state presidents. If you have already returned them, thank you for making my
task easier. If they are still sitting in your "to do" pile, this is a
gentle nudge to send them back as quickly as possible.In addition to
recognizing states with youth programs, I have put together a NFSPS Youth
Committee. Many have responded to the call for suggestions on how to get the
youth involved with NFSPS. The committee is studying these suggestions to
see how we can implement them. I look forward to being able to share this
information with NFSPS in the future. Keep Writing!
Steve Concert
2nd Vice
Chancellor/Youth Chair
We Have A
Winner!
Encore
Cover Contest Winner
The winning entry for the 2007 Encore cover was
submitted by Leona Welch of Denison, Texas., member of Poetry Society of
Texas. The photo, taken in a photography class, is titled, Dragon
Fairy.
Many thanks to everyone who sent photos and artwork to
be considered
Encore will be in the ditty bags of each NFSPS
member registered at the 2008 convention in Layton, Utah.
However, additional copies will be offered for sale in
the bookroom. Was your poem a first, second, or third in the 2007 contest?
Did it receive $15 or more as an award? If so, it will be in the 2007
Encore.
Many conventioneers purchase additional copies ($10
each) to take home for those in their society who cannot attend the
convention.
Valerie Bailey,
Editor
Encore 2007
ENCORE—Prize Poems Anthologies
Valerie Bailey, 2207 Parhaven Drive, San Antonio, TX 78232 No
returns. All book orders require postage and handling fees. Make checks
payable to NFSPS.
__ 2007 Encore @ $10.00
__ 2006 Encore @ $10.00
__ 2005 Encore @ $10.00
__ 2004 Encore @ $10.00
__ 2003 Encore @ $ 8.00
Encore editions listed below at reduced
prices
2002 Encore @ $8.00 NOW $6.00
2001 Encore @ $8.00 NOW $6.00
2000 Encore @ $6.00 NOW $4.00
1999 Encore @ $4.00 NOW $2.00
1998 Encore @ $4.00 NOW $2.00
Shipping & Handling for the first book:
$3.00 for each additional book ordered at the same time: add $.50
Attention all state
societies!
Important Excerpts from
NFSPS Bylaws
Article II-Objectives:
Section A. NFSPS is exclusively educational
and literary, and endeavors to offer linguistic and professional
contexts that appeal to the mind and spirit of human beings. ~~~ Section
B. NFSPS recognizes the importance of poetry with respect to national
cultural heritage and is dedicated solely to the furtherance of poetry on
the national level. ~~~ Section C. The Federation serves to
unite poets in the bonds of fellowship and understanding.
Article VIII-Plenary Sessions:
The Plenary Sessions shall be comprised of all members
of the Executive Board, Committee Chairs, and the State
Presidents and other delegates of all member state
organizations. Said delegates shall be selected in accordance to the
terms of Article XVI below. The National President, as chairman,
shall preside at all meetings of the Plenary Sessions and shall provide
guidance, as necessary. The function of the Plenary Sessions
is to facilitate the efforts of the member states through their
executive officers working directly with NFSPS officers in furthering the
aims and plans of the Federation. All business that furthers
those functions may be undertaken at Plenary Sessions, including but not
limited to: elections, motions and amendments to these bylaws with proper
notice.
Article XVI-Annual Conventions:
Section B. Delegates: each member
state is allowed five (5) delegates to the annual national convention. 1.
each delegate must have proper credentials, which is a written letter
from the state president of member State. A delegate must be recognized
before being seated, and must be present to vote. 2. A delegate may not
represent more than one state, although that delegate may hold membership in
more than one state.
Article XVIII-Parliamentary Procedure:
The rules contained in the latest edition of Roberts
Rules of Order, Newly Revised, shall govern in all cases to which they
are applicable, and in which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws,
the Articles of Incorporation, or any special rules of order the Federation
may adopt.
State Presidents — TAKE NOTE
This year at the 2008 NFSPS
Convention in Layton, Utah, during the plenary session (which ALL members
should attend to know about NFSPS!) the NFSPS 2008 Nominating Committee
(Susan Chamber, Madelyn Eastlund, and Budd Powell Mahan) will present the
slate for 2008-2010 Executive Officers for delegate’s vote. Be sure you
have your delegates in place.
State News
National News |
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Alabama State Poetry
Society’s Spring Luncheon in April will be at Trinity Episcopal
Church in Clanton. Speaker: Jan Martin Harris. Congratulations:
Congratulations Jeremy M. Downes, NFSPS 4th Vice President, winner of the
2007 John & Miriam Morris Chapbook competition: “Dark Village Haiku”.
Arizona State Poetry
Society will hold its the Spring Festival on Saturday, April 19th
at the North Tempe Multi-Generational Center, featuring poet, John
Rathkamp. It will be a day long meeting, free and open to the public.
Members are already working on Fall Convention which will feature contests
with cash awards in several categories, open to members and non-members.
~Molly Saty
Memorial Reading for Genevieve Sargent
AZSPS sponsored a
memorial reading of the works of Genevieve Sargent at Changing Hands Book
Store, in Tempe, at noon on Feb. 17th. She had been a stanch
sup-porter of poetry and active at every level of our organization for many
years. She was serving as state treasury and was active in the East Valley
Poets at the time of her death. She was especially known for writing short,
succinct poetry and tucked humor into so many of her poems.
~Molly Saty
Poets Roundtable of
Arkansas Spring Work-shop-Luncheon will be hosted by Baxter County
Poets, May 2-3, in Mountain Home with Kathy Moran as Speaker-workshop
Leader. The event will feature an Ozark Party on the White River. Pres.
Barbara Longstreth Mulky will conduct a short business meeting.
~Verna Lee Hinegardner
The Indiana State
Federation of Poetry Clubs will
meet May 7 in Lowell , for our spring meeting, sponsored by the Northwest
Indiana Poetry Club. Election of a new Presi-dent and Vice Presidents
will take place. Our Secretary and Treasurer are elected at two-year
intervals between these other officers. The Fall Poets Rendezvous
will be held at McCormick's Creek State Park the weekend of October 24-26,
2008. Thirty-eight members are already registered for that event which
announces the winners of the Rendezvous Contest. Several members are
planning to attend the National Convention in Utah, in June. Glenna Glee is
among the ones making plans and this will be her 30th consecutive convention
with 100% entry in each contest attended. She celebrated her 90th birthday
on Feb. 1. ISFPC is open to out-of-state members and would welcome your
membership. Glenna Glee
~Glenna Glee, Strophes reporter
Iowa Poetry Association
spring workshop is on Saturday, April 26, 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. at Wesley
United Methodist Church in Des Moines
Louisiana State Poetry
Society will hold its Spring festival on April 26 at the Quality
Hotel in Metairie. Theme: Jewels.
Maine Poets Society
meet on Saturday, May 17 at the Muddy Rudder Restaurant in Brewer, Maine.
The afternoon session will include a "reading in the round," where each
attendee is invited to share one or two poems.
Mississippi Poetry Society 2008 Spring
Festival will be held in beautiful downtown Ocean Springs, (the only city on
the Gulf Coast whose downtown was not devastated by Hurricane Katrina) on
April 26-27, hosted by MPS South Branch.
New Jersey Poetry Society received a
$1,000 grant from Mercer County Cultural and Heritage Commission. The
society will hold Na-tional Poetry Month readings at Mercer County Library,
Lawrence head-quarters on April 19.
Ohio Poetry Association met on Saturday
March 1st at Areopagitica Books, Columbus. Bob Casey, outgoing OPA president
made an audio-video poetry presentation that approaches poetry from a
slightly different angle. Included was visual and musical accompaniment to
his poetry. He also touched on how internet is changing the face of modern
poetry.
Poetry Society of Oklahoma 2008 Oklahoma
lore Youth Contest awards celebration will be held on April 19th, at
Southern Nazarene University, Herrick Auditorium. The program includes
presentation of Youth Poets Laureate Awards, a stuffed animal drawing and
reception. First, second, and third place winners will read their poems,
receive anthologies, certificates and money prizes. Fourth through Sixth
place will receive certificates and anthologies.
Oregon Poetry Association members
participated in the annual William Stafford Birthday Events during January.
The readings were sponsored by the Portland-based Friends of William
Stafford to celebrate the legacy of the late poet and former Oregon Poet
Laureate. These celebrations take place all over Oregon and beyond. February
1 was the deadline for OSPA’s 10th annual Oregon Student Poetry Contest,
open, to K-12 students throughout Oregon. The contest awards cash prizes,
certificates, engraved bronze medals, and publication in Cascadia, an
annual anthology, to 40 winners, 10 each from four grade levels. Their young
authors will read them in an awards ceremony on Saturday, May 10. The
winners from the middle and high schools levels will also compete for
Manningham Awards. Accumulation and cataloguing of books for the new Oregon
Poetry Collection at the Oregon State Library in Salem has been proceeding
rapidly, with donations from Oregon publishers of their titles by Oregon
poets, by Oregon poets of their books from other publishers, and by OSPA
members of their individual collections. The formal opening of the
Collection will take place on Friday evening, April 25, with Oregon Poet
Laureate Lawson Fusao Inada presiding. This event will open the OSPA’s
Spring 2008 Conference, which will continue on Saturday, April 26, with a
day of workshops.
~ Eleanor Berry
Pennsylvania Poetry
Society’ will hold their Spring Conference May 2-4, 2008 at
Carlisle Days Inn. Several off site activities are planned for Friday. Six
workshop/lectures will fill the day on Saturday along with annual contest
awards. Sunday morning a workshop and informal reflection on the weekend.
~Joy Campbell, Corresp. Secretary.
Poetry Society of Texas
Meetings are presently held monthly September through May on the 2nd
Saturday of the month at 2:30 p.m. in the Preston Royal Library in Dallas.
Exception: the Annual Awards Banquet that is held at a Dallas hotel, takes
the place of a November meeting. In June, attendance at the NFSPS Convention
is encouraged. In July, a three day PST Summer Conference is held at
different sites around the state. The 2007-08 Executive Board is comprised
of Marilyn Stacy (president), James Dimmette vice president), Amy Sandberg
(treasurer), Nancy Baass (corresponding secretary), Jeannette L. Strother
(recording secretary), Peggy Zuleika Lynch, Catherine L'Herisson and Pat
Randolph (directors).
~Nancy Baass, Corresp. Secretary
Utah State Poetry Society
will welcome W. D. Snodgrass at their April 18-19 Spring Festival Awards as
guest speaker. Snodgrass received the 1960 Pulitzer Prize 1960 for his book
of poetry, Heart’s Needle. USPS is looking forward to welcoming poets
from all state affiliations at the June 19-22 NFSPS Convention in Layton.
WyoPoets annual
meeting and poetry workshop will be April 18 & 19 in Casper at the Hampton
Inn with an open poetry reading Friday evening followed on Saturday by “The
Word Box and Ghost Shadows” with presenter Dawn Senior-Trask, poet,
publisher and painter of Encampment. Dr. Mike Jording of Newcastle took to
heart WyoPoets message to “encourage the public to read, write and listen to
poetry in all forms and forums” the past two years. He introduced poetry
into his county schools, historical society and museum meetings, his
clinic’s Christmas party, and every meeting of the Wyoming Medical Society.
The Campbell County Historical Society presented WyoPoets with an award in
recognition of outstanding efforts in the world of history for our latest
chapbook, "Wyoming Paintbrush." Wyoming Arts Council/Mike Shay received a
WyoPoets Excellence Award 2008.
~Midge Farmer, Historian
State Presidents!
Has your state elected new
officers this fall? Please check page 2 and if the information is
incorrect or changing between now and June contact the editor prior to June
25.
Next Strophes Deadline
News for August issue of
Strophes—by snail mail or email.—in hand deadline June 25.
Note to Newsletter Editors
Please send newsletter to the
NFSPS President, NFSPS Special Awards Chair and the Editor of Strophes
(address on page 2) Many states send newsletters to all NFSPS
executive board. The board appreciates the opportunity to learn more about
your society, and become more familiar with poets within your state.
However, if you can't send that many extra newsletters, please do send them
to three listed in sentence one.
Thank You for newsletters (hard
copy issues-in-the-mailbox) from:
Alabama: The Muse Messenger ~
Arkansas: News ’N’ Notes ~ Florida: Of Poets and
Poetry ~ Indiana: Indiana Poet ~
Iowa: Newsletter ~ Kentucky: Mitakuye Oyasin ~
Louisiana: The Poets’ Gazette ~ Maine: Stanza ~
Massachusetts: Bay State News ~ Mississippi: Magnolia Muse
~ Missouri: Spare Mule ~
New Jersey: Poetidings ~ Ohio: Newsletter
~ Oklahoma: En-Vision ~~ Oregon: OSPA Newletter
~ South Dakota: Pasque Petals ~ Tennesssee:
Tennessee Voices Bulletin ~ Utah: Poet Tree ~
West Virginia: Poets’ CrossRoads ~ Wyoming: WyoPoets
Newsletter. Thank you! I read every one highlighting passages,
enjoying a leisure visit to your society in the evening, a cup of tea beside
me. —The
Editor
P.S. Thank you Austin Poetry
Society for the APS Newsletter! to Utah State Poets Society
for the current issue of Poetry Panorama, and to Ohio Poetry
Association for Common Threads.
CONTESTS
National News
|
State News
| Back to top
( with instructions and by deadline date)
Important: Contest chairman!
The Strophes editor
appreciates getting a contest brochure BUT please do
not send your brochure with the intention that the editor will excerpt from
it to give you a brief paragraph listing in Strophes. Times is not
available to edit the brochures down. Please be sure that you send
me a paragraph (such as those you see in this issue’s listings) insertion in
the contest column.
New Mexico State Poetry
Society Annual Poetry Contest 2008. Postmark Deadline: April 26.
Four Categories: #1 Rhymed, #2 Free Verse, #3 Southwest (Poem must have
southwest theme, references or setting), #3 Humor. Maximum of 40 lines per
poem. Prizes (each category): $40, $25, $15. HM. Limit one prize per poet.
Entry Fee: $15 any five poems, sixth poem free. Submit two copies of each.
poem. No identification on first copy except Category title and # in up-per
left corner. Second copy with name and all contact information. Mail to:
Kitty Todorovich, 70-B Edmundo Road, Belen, NM 87002-7700.
Indiana State Federation of Poetry announces its
annual Summer Stanzas contest with June 15 deadline. Any subject,
any form, up to one page in length. Cover sheet with name, address, title
and first line, no identification on poem. $1 per poem, check payable to
ISFPC. Poems will not be published. Send to: Contest Director Michael
Erdelen Prizes: $25, $15, $10, + 3 HM 202 Cherokee Drive. Lowell IN 46356
New River Poets
Triannual Poetry Awards, are open to all poets. Awards: $75, $50,
$40, plus $5 five HMs poet's choice (identify structured forms) 42
lines of text max. May be previously published/prize poems/simultaneous
submis-sions. Deadline: June 25. Fee: $5/four poems. Additional
poems, no limit, $l each, payable to New River Poets. 2 copies each
poem, ID one copy. Note: 1st, 2nd and 3rd cash award winners in previous
contest not eligible to enter next two competitions. Enclose; SASE Send
to: Verna Thornton, Awards Coordinator, 36929 Grace Ave., Zephyrhills, FL
33542
Massachusetts State Poetry
Society: Naomi Cherkofsky Memorial Award. Deadline June 30
Subject and form poet’s choice. 40 line limit. prizes, $50, 430, $20. Poets
must not have been published or won any prize.
2008 Senior Poets Laureate
Contest. Dead-line June 30. State/regional title winners compete
for National Senior Poet Laureate ($300) and Runner Up ($100) awards and
titles. Open worldwide to American poets 50 and older. En-try info: $3 per
page; 2-page limit per poem. For Rules send #10 SASE to: Wanda Sue Parrott,
SPL Administrator, 1325 W. Sunshine St., Box 168, Springfield, MO 65807 or
download online rules from www.amykitchenerfdn.org
Harp-Strings Poetry
Journal’s Edna St. Vincent Millay “Ballad of the Harp-Weaver”
Award. Form: Narrative. Line Limit: 40. Entry Fee: $2 per poem
or 3/$5 (must be payable: Madelyn Eastlund) Deadline: July
15. Awards: $25, $15. Must not have been published. SASE for
report! First place published in Harp-Strings Poetry Journal (second
may be published). Send two copies. One with name/address of poet.
Contest name in upper left corner. Mark envelope: "Harp-Weaver"
Attention: Debby. Harp-Strings Poetry
Journal, Box 640387, Beverly Hills, FL 34464.
Poets’ Forum Magazine:
Edgar Lee Master’s Spoon River Award for a monologue ‘from the grave’
written in the blunt free verse style of its originator, Edgar Lee Masters.
Line Limit: 32 lines. Entry Fee: $2 per poem or 3/$5 (check must be
payable: Madelyn Eastlund). Deadline: July 15th.
Awards: $20, $15. Poem must not have been
published. Winning poem published in Poets’ Forum Magazine (second
place poem may be published). Send two copies—with identification of
poet/address on only one copy in upper right corner. contest name in
upper left corner. SASE for report please! To: Spoon River
Attention: Debby. Poets’ Forum Magazine, Box 640387, Beverly
Hills, FL 34464.
Poets’ Club of Chicago. Helen Schaible Sonnet
Contest. Deadline September 1. One entry, unpublished,
Shakespearean or Petrarchan. 2 copies double-spaced 1 with ID, 1 without.
All rules printed here. No fee. Prizes: $50.00, $35.00, $15.00, 3 HM.
SASE for winners’ list. Send to Tom Roby, 1130 S. Michigan Ave., Apt. 2304,
Chicago, IL 60605.
Missouri State Poetry Society Summer contest. Deadline:
Postmark September 1. Two copies of each entry, category number and name
in upper left corner of both copies, poet's name and address in upper right
corner of one copy. If member, put "Missouri State Poetry Society" below
your address, otherwise put "non-member". 40 or fewer lines. May be
previously published if poet retains the rights to the poem; may enter each
category as many times as poet wishes. Categories: 1) rhymed verse or blank
verse, 2) free verse, 3) humorous verse, 4) any form, summer subject, 5)
poet's choice (any form, any subject). Members pay $1 for two entries.
Non-members pay $1 per entry. Payable to: MSPS. Send to Billy Adams, 12600
Mckinstry Road, De Soto, MO 63020. SASE or email address on a 3x5 index
card for list of winners.
Oregon State Poetry
Association Fall 2008 Contest. Deadline: September 5, (postmark).
Seven categories. Poet’s Choice, 80-line max., any form, any subject; prizes
of $100, $50, $30, and $20, plus HMs; Free Verse, 40-line max., any free
form, any subject, prizes of $50, $30, and $20, plus HMs; Traditional Verse,
40-line max., any traditional form, any subject, prizes of $50, $30, and
$20, plus HMs; Dueling Judges (two judges, two sets of prizes), 25-line
max., any form, any subject, prizes of $50/50, $30/30, and $20/20, plus HMs;
Theme: Ekphrasis (poem about a work of visual art), 40-line max., any form,
prizes of $50, $30, and $20, plus HMs; New Poets, 30-line max., any form,
any subject, prizes of $50, $30, and $20, plus HMs; Members Only, 6-12
lines, any form, any subject, prizes of $50, $30, and $20, plus HMs. Cash
winners published in Verseweavers annual anthology. Fees: $1 per poem
for members, except $2 for “Dueling Judges” and none for “Members Only”; $4
per poem for non-members, except $8 for “Dueling Judges.” Poems must be
original, unpublished, not prior cash winners. No more than one poem per
category, with no duplication. For all categories except “Dueling Judges,”
two copies, one with category, name, address, phone, and email in upper
right, the other with category only; for “Dueling Judges,” three copies, one
with category and identification, two with category only. Persons submitting
in the “New Poets” category must sign a statement, “I have never won a cash
prize for a poem.” Mail entries to Laura LeHew , OSPA Contest Chair, P.O.
Box 50638, Eugene, OR 97405. For complete guidelines and membership
information, see the OSPA Website, www.oregonpoets.org.
Massachusetts State Poetry
Society: Annual Poet’s Choice contest. Deadline November 30.
Subject and form poet’s choice. 40 line limit. prizes, $50, 430, $20. Poets
must not have been published or won any prize.
California State Poetry
Society: 22nd annual competition. Entry Dates: March 1-June 30.
Prizes: $100, $70, $30 + 10 HMs, plus guaranteed publication in CQ,
California Quarterly. Entry Fee: $3.00 per poem, no limit of entries.
For guidelines, send SASE to Contest Chair, Mama Harvey, P.O. Box 2672, Del
Mar, CA 92104 or e-mail kateozbim@yahoo.com.All entries submitted
that don't win prizes are forwarded to subsequent CQ editors. Poets
are notified if poems are selected for publication and mailed a copy of the
issue in which the poem or poems are printed.
Louisiana State Poetry
Society 2008 Fall Con-test "Bird's Eye View. 6 categories, 1st, 2nd, 3rd
prizes, to 3 HM. Deadline to request guidelines: May 31 Send SASE:
Pat S. Juelg, 12972 Arlingford Ave, Baton Rouge, LA 70815-6407
Ohio Poetry Day contests
2008 will open in March, close end of May. If you have not entered in
past three years, send SASE to Amy Jo Zook, 3520 St. Rte 56, Mechanicsburg,
OH 43944 for rules.
Kentucky State Poetry
Society has a contest with 24 categories, and lots of wonderful prizes
just waiting for every poet out there to try to win. Our official brochure
on the contest, with rules and themes will be sent out in March. Our
deadline for entries is June 30. Winners will be chosen by August 15,
2008, and thewinners list will be mailed to all winners by September 15. All
winners will receive their checks and certificates at our meeting at Pine
Mountain State Lodge on October 18, all winners not attending will receive
their checks and certificates by November 1. First place winners will be
printed in Pegasus prize poems issue. For more information: Irma
Cooper, 1321 Bihlman Drive, Portsmouth, Ohio 45662-2305 wordweaver313@roadrunner.com
Poetry Society of Texas
2008 Annual Contests. Deadline: August 15th (Postmark). Of the
contests offered, 38 are open to PST Associate Members and Non-Members.
First Place poems win monetary awards and publication in PST's A Book of the
Year. The brochure listing all contests, procedures and rules, can be
obtained by mailing a SASE to: PST Annual Contests Chairman, Nancy Baass,
2306 N. De Leon St., Victoria, TX 77901-4812.
South Dakota State Poetry
Society 2008 Contest. 10 open categories, 6 South Dakota residents only.
entry fee vary. Pries vary. Dead-line: August 1. SASA for rules:
Lorie Van Den Hoek, Contest chair, 807 N. Duff, Plankinston SD 57368.
www.sdstatepoetrysociety.com
Arizona State Poetry Society
2008 Annual Contest: Open to all poets in many categories. All with cash
prizes. Deadline September 5, For list of contest rules and
guidelines, send SASE to Carol Hogan, ASPS 2008 Annual Contest, 8530 N. 22nd
Avenue #1014, Phoenix, AZ 85021 or email request to carolhogan@cox.net
Indiana State Poetry Society
2008 Rendezvous Contest brochures are available by contacting incoming
Contest Director, Michael Erdelen, Sr., 202 Cherokee Drive, Lowell, IN,
46356, or outgoing Director, Darleen Butler, 2219 Lakeland Lane, Ft. Wayne,
IN, 46815. There are 34 Categories in the contest, each offering prize money
ranging from $100 to $30. There is a wide variety of subjects, some very
challenging. Deadline for the contest is Sept. 1.
Monthly / Bimonthly / Triannual Contests
(send SASE for rules)
California State Poetry
Society monthly contests request for rules to CSPS Monthly
Contest, Kate Ozbirn, P. O. Box 7126, Orange, California 92863.
(rules printed below)
High Prairie Poets
Chapter of New Mexico State Poetry Society, bimonthly poetry
contest open to all poets. Deadline: 20th of month Postmark. $2 fee
for 1st poem; $1 each for subsequent entries. Max: 25 lines. Any form, any
subject. Rules: must be aligned on left margin of paper (do not center
poem on page!), 12 point font, no more than 66 characters per line, no
obscene language. Titles of poem must not be in all caps. Two copies
(only one with name and address). Winner’s award: $20. Two
HMS. No poems published. Win list sent by 10th of the following month, if
you include a SASE. Entries to: Carol D. Meeks, 2010 W. Bullock Avenue,
Artesia, NM 88210.
Important reminders for Contestants!
When you request contest rules include a
self-addressed stamped envelope for rules to be re-turned to you. When you
enter a contest don't forget to include self-addressed stamped
envelope for a winner's list to be mailed to you! It is always courteous
when making any request for a mailing to include an SASE!
Note to Contest Chairs
Send contest publicity to Strophes early
enough to do the maximum good for your organization's receiving contest
entries by deadline. Deadlines for contests appearing in the next issue
—August—should be no earlier than May 1. If poets must send for a brochure
give them enough time to receive it and write poems before the deadline
mailing date! Note: deadline for inclusion in
August issue is June 25.
Manningham
Poetry Trust Awards 2007 Anthology is available for $3 plus $1 postage.
Proceeds: Manningham Poetry Trust. All 20 winning poems are in the
anthology. Leona Welch, chair, 501, Amsden, Denison, TX 75021. (checks
payable to NFSPS, please.)
Message from Strophes Editor
Dear Friends—and I count you all friends
This will be my last issue of Strophes to edit.
In 2002 I assumed this post, beginning with the August 2002 issue. In 2004
I accepted a second two-year term as editor, and again in 2006 for a third
two-year term — a total of 24 quarterly issues!
It is a challenge I have fully enjoyed but I believe
one of NFSPS’ strengths is that responsibilities evolve. I don’t believe it
is healthy in any volunteer organization for one person to serve in a given
position for more than two terms. I have had three. It is for that reason
that I have declined a fourth term as Strophes editor.
Each quarter I have looked forward to your emails (or
snail mails) with articles, state reports, and contest information. Always
they have arrived before or at deadline!— we’ve made a good team!
I’ve gotten to know many of you much better through
exchanged email, sometimes a poem shared or a photo. I also had the
opportunity of reading all the newsletters sent to me. In this way I have
gotten to know each state for its own uniqueness. Being Strophes
editor has given me a closer look at each state and a better appreciation of
our federation.
Although I am relinquishing this particular NFSPS
responsibility I look forward to a different responsibility—a new challenge.
As soon as a selection is made for a new Strophes
editor I will email my state contacts so you will be able to send your
report for the August edition prior to the June 25 deadline. But, if you
fail to hear from me, please send the report to me as you always do
and I will forward. That’s a promise!
In the April 2007 issue of Strophes I posed the
question: What makes NFSPS successful? I am reprinting that piece (below)
because I am proud of the NFSPS’ mission and fully believe in it and our
members who have made it possible for us to be a unique federation
for 49 years!
Madelyn Eastlund
What makes
NFSPS successful?
Everyone of
you reading this!
You!—every poet in every NFSPS
state affiliation. When NFSPS was organized in Baton Rouge, Louisiana,
October 17, 1959 it was “as a non‑profit organization consisting of
recognized state poetry organizations.” That’s you! All of you
are the federation of state societies (and your members). From you
the federation draws its executive board. The federation relies on your
devotion to volunteer to chair its projects to keep NFSPS as strong as it
has been for 49 years — its purpose dissimilar from Academy of
American Poets, Poetry Society of America, Library of Congress,
and other organizations dedicated to poetry. The first elected officers of
NFSPS drew up this defining statement: “We are gathered together today
for a most high and serious purpose, namely the formation of a federation
of state poetry societies, that shall serve to unite poets in bonds of
fellowship and understanding.” NFSPS has no employees, no
offices and yet it has the RESPECT of poets and
poetry societies across America!
M.E.
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CONVENTION REGISTRATION FORM
For a printable version of this
registration form click
here.
Name:
Spouse/Guest Name:
Names
&
Ages of children
attending:
Address
Phone:_________________
Email ______________
Convention Details
LODGING:
Participants must make their own hotel
arrangements.Rooms are $79.00 per night plus tax. including June 18
through June 23, 2008. Hotel Reservations
must be received on or before
Thursday, May 15, 2008. After
this date, reservations will be honored on a space available basis, and the
convention rate may not be available. Be sure to tell the hotel
if
you need handicap accommodations, or have
special needs.
To make reservations, call: Tel:
801-416-8899 or Fax: 801-416-8877
Davis
Conference Center
Hilton Garden Inn, 762 West Heritage Park Blvd., Layton, Utah 84041
Convention Meals
Should you have food allergies or
special dietary needs, please let us know so that we can make special
arrangements just for you.
** I will need a special diet
(Please list requirements below)
Convention Fees
Registration
Members/Participants _______ @ $50.00 _______
Participants under
18 ________@ $25.00 _______
*Guests ________@ $10.00
_______
*Will not attend
workshops, receive handouts or Encore.
Total
______
Meals**
Day/Meal Number
Price Amount
Friday Lunch: Pot Roast ______
$22.00 _______
Friday Dinner: Chicken ______
$24.00 _______
Saturday Lunch: Salmon ______
$23.00 _______
Saturday Dinner: Pork Chop ______
$30.00 _______
Sunday Lunch: Chicken ______
$21.00 _______
Sunday Dinner: Steak ______
$34.00 _______
Total Meal Package ______
$154.00 _______
Tours
Deadline to sign up for tours is May 15. Details about tours in January 2008
Strophes
Tour:
Number Price Amount
Salt Lake City
Thursday,
10:30
a.m. ______ $36.00 _______
Tabernacle Choir
Sunday, 9:00
a.m. ______ $17.00 _______
Olympic Park and Park
City,
Monday, 8:00
a.m. _______ $47.00 _______
Socwell’s House
Party,
Monday, 6:00
p.m. _______ Free
Utah’s Southern
Stars, June 23-27
Two or More to a
room _______ $359.00 _______
Single Occupancy
_______ $520.00 _______
Total Tours
_______ Total Fees _______
Make Check payable to Utah State Poetry Society.
1220 West Koradine Drive, South
Jordan, UT 84095,
801-254-6221,
irvnpatkimber@netzero.net
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