Illinois State Poetry Society

To join ISPS through June, , please fill out our Membership Form and mail it with a check for $20.00 ($30.00 for "Patron" listing, $50.00 for "Benefactor" listing). You don't have to be an Illinois resident to join ISPS, but you do need to be an ISPS member to have your poems posted in this website.

A Message from the ISPS President, May/June, 2023

by Susan T. Moss, ISPS President

As I write this message, the view out my window offers a potential poem about blooming pear trees, bluebells, trout lilies, yellow and white daffodils, tulips flashing orange among flowering pink azaleas, petite red buds and other harbingers of a Midwest spring. Yes, poetry calls as is so often the case when springtime's beauty reminds me of beginnings, the hope that all will be okay as days speed by filled with challenges and changes.

This June marks the end of a two-year cycle of ISPS board members' services. Soon there will be a vote for new or renewing officers, historian and chapter facilitators. It is also the culmination of my fourteen-year tenure as ISPS president. I joined our society in 2006 and upon a suggestion, I started the Northern chapter that met at the Northbrook library. As time passes, it has been a wonderful journey filled with so many opportunities to share ideas, efforts and friendships with a growing society of seven chapters and members in and out-of-state.

Over the years, through the dedication and hard work of many ISPS members, we have published six volumes of our biennial anthology, Distilled Lives, and celebrated the achievement with book launches at "Galas." Both a student poetry contest and related anthology of winning poems plus Book of the Year contest are recent events. Also, there have been Zoom readings and programs, as well as monthly Brewed Awakening featured readers, all guided by various board and non-board members. Each new and repeated poetry-related opportunity is a tribute to those who have helped build ISPS. More creative endeavors will occur in the future such as special programs about famous poets, opportunities to work with artists to create ekphrastic poetry, and displays of members' poetry in public libraries.

Illinois State Poetry Society is greater than its parts and is enriched by a growing membership of dedicated poets. Sharing our talents and efforts contribute to making a better world, one filled with ideas and the art of capturing life around us. I am proud to be a member of such an organization and honored to have had the opportunity to collaborate and promote its raison d'etre. As Yevgeny Yevtushenko stated, "Poetry is like a bird, it ignores all frontiers." Until we meet again—

Happy writing,

Susan T. Moss
stm48@hotmail.com

Archive of Presidents' Messages

"Last Sunday" Poetry Reading, June 25, 2023

ISPS and Brewed Awakening have arranged a special poetry reading (and open mic) for Sunday, June 25, 12:30-2:00 PM Central Time. Two featured poets (who will be announced here later) will read their poems. You may participate by going to Brewed Awakening (19 W Quincy Street, Westmont, Illinois; just off Cass Avenue and across the street from the METRA station). There is a $12 cover charge, which entitles you to a beverage and snack. Or you may listen to the featured poets and participate in the open mic via Zoom. The link for Zoom tickets, which can be purchased for $5, will be posted here before the date of the meeting.