Just a friendly reminder about ARTlines. You’ve still got until Friday, December 30th, to submit to this exciting poetry competition. Winning poems will be featured during National Poetry Month at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Submit your entry this week, and make 2012 a year to remember!
It was a windy day when John Gorman, Carol Munn, Evangelina Vigil-Pinon and Kevin Prufer read at Discovery Green, but that didn’t deter anyone. So we had a bad hair day, but good poetry! Scene & Heard has more.
Weather won’t be an issue when Public Poetry moves indoors for our next library event at 2 PM on Saturday, January 7 at Park Place Regional library, 8145 Park Place, 77017, off I-45 south, just past loop 610.
Naughty or nice? Naughty: Haven’t entered ARTlines yet? You’ve still got until December 30th to make that happen. Nice: To inspire writers and poets throughout Texas, The Museum of Fine Ars, Houston (MFAH) has selected nine works of art for ARTlines. The nine winning poets will receive significant public exposure at the MFAH, a modest cash award and more. Three Texas Poet Laureates are among the jurors who will choose the ARTlines competion winners. Let’s hear from you. Happy Holidays everyone!Tags: Discovery Green, John Gorman
This week is jam packed with all kinds of totally don’t-miss, be-there poetry events. On Wednesday, Words & Art is where everyone’s going. Thursday is a full day devoted to Emily D. Yes, it’s out by the Woodlands, but don’t let that deter you. Emily’s annual birthday bash is definitely worth doing, so grab some friends and carpool. Friday is the debut of a must have poetry anthology from from Mutabilis Press, Improbable Worlds, an anthology of Texas and Louisiana Poets, edited by Martha Serpas. Join the crowds at the Jung Center and get yours. Then head on over to Inprint House by 8:30 PM to catch Lupe Mendez at FIRST FRIDAY. Directions and details for all these evens is on our ANNOUNCEMENTS page under Community Links.
Of course, all of this is a warm up to the hottest poetry ticket in town – Public Poetry @ Discovery Green, 2 PM on Saturday.
If you haven’t submitted your poetry for the ARTlines Competition there are still 31 days left until the final deadline cutoff – Midnight on December 30, 2011. Come on, get writing, and show us what you’ve got!
Tags: Discovery Green, Improbable Worlds: an anthology of Texas & Louisiana Poets, martha serpas
“Well, it wasn’t pretty,” so said Texas Poet Laurate, Dave Parsons, when asked how he first came to poetry in the Nov. interview with The Front Row’s St. John Flynn. Such tidbits, accompanied by sample poems from two Featured Poets, show up on KUHF radio (88.7 FM at noon & 91.7 FM at 11 PM) the week of each Public Poetry event. Responding to the same question, Eliza Garza says she got turned on by “what people call the Duende – the creative process working through you.” You can listen to that interview & others on the SCENE & HEARD page.
In the park, we gave a listen to Don Sanders who offered up a sample from his HEAVY WORD USER TOUR, followed by four Featured Poets: Sam Amadon, Elisa A. Garza, Dave Parsons and Robin Davidson and a WITS student. See what went on at SCENE & HEARD
Announcing ANNOUNCEMENTS, the latest addition to the Community Links page. It’s got fresh info about the submissions for the 2013 Texas Poetry Calendar as well as an ekphrastic event, Words & Art at Rice Gallery. Email your flyers or announcements to publicpoetry1@aol.com and we’ll include them.
PHOTO CLUE; there’s more Poetry In the Park to come. Next up, on Saturday, December 3 at 2 PM are featured poets John Gorman, Carol Louise Munn, Evangelina Vigil Piñón and Kevin Prufer. Our special guest is Ken Jones. All happening outside, by HPL Express Discovery Green. Don’t miss it!
Tags: 2011 Texas State Poet Laureate, Dave Parsons, Discovery Green, Elisa Garza, KUHF, Poetry In The Park, Robin davidson, Sam Amadon
We’ve extended the early entry deadline for the ARTlines competition from November 15th to the end of the month, Wednesday, November 30, 2011. However, to stay on schedule with The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, the final deadline of December 30, 2011 cannot be changed.
WHY SUMBIT AN EARLY ENTRY? Because you can take advantage of a reduced entry fee. Because the Single Entry option for submitting one poem only will go away after November 30th (you can still submit one poem, but you’ll be charged the same as those who submit up to three poems.) Because you can use some of your time over Thanksgiving to compose or revise your work. Because you can check “Enter ARTlines Competition” off your To-Do list!
You have to hear poetry out loud and outdoors. At 2 PM on Saturday, November 5, we’ll start the show with Houston’s eminent singer/songwriter, Don Sanders. What are good songwriters, if not poets? Our four featured poets follow, each with a fast 6 minute round, then a talented student from Writers in the Schools (WITS). Back to poets at 6 minutes each, and we end with our student. We’ll have good weather, so stick around to meet the poets afterwards.
To catch a preview with featured poets Dave Parsons (2011 Texas Poet Laureate) and Elisa A. Garza, tune in to KUHF radio’s The Front Row, (noon at 91.7FM and repeated at 11 PM on 88.7 FM)
Public Poetry is immensely proud to partner with Houston Public Library for this monthly first Saturday series, and this time we’ll be outside HPL Express Discovery Green library, around the covered veranda area. Get to know this little gem of a library at the heart of the park; pick a good book, find a table at the Lake House Cafe next door, and read. How sweet is that!
See you at the park.
Tags: Dave Parsons, Discovery Green, Elisa A. Garza, Houston, HPL Express, KUHF, Poet Laureate, Poetry, Robin davidson, Sam Amadon
If you’ve ever wanted to have your work in a museum, here’s your chance. The ARTlines competition invites you to be inspired by nine works of art from The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. Enter this writing contest, and if you are one of the nine winners, with the curators’ approval, your verses will be displayed as a museum label adjacent to the artwork and heard on their audio cell phone tour. Anyone in Texas, (including former residents) can enter the competition. Early entries will be accepted from now thru November 15. After that, multiple submissions will still be accepted thru December 30, 2011. Everyone who enters will be invited to attend the award ceremony at the MFAH and to a museum reception afterwards. Get all the details and sharpen your pencils!
Tags: ARTlines, poetry competition
A great line up of poets is coming your way, including the 2011 Texas State Poet Laureate; a great special guest, singer/songwriter Don Sanders, a talented student with Writers in the Schools, all at 2 PM Saturday, November 5 at HPL Express (behind the Lake House Cafe) at Discovery Green in downtown Houston. See you there!
Tags: 2011 Texas State Poet Laureate, Dave Parsons, Discovery Green, Elisa A. Garza, Robin davidson, Sam Amadon
. . . of course, you have already heard about Public Poetry winning Houston Press Best Of Award as Houston’s Best Reading Series 2011. . . . now, we’ve got an EXCITING new project with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH) to bring out more of the best. 
Public Poetry proudly announces ARTlines, a juried ekphrastic poetry competition. Ekph what? Ekphrastic poetry is poetry inspired by art, and the curatorial staff at the MFAH have selected nine artworks in the museum collection to whet your poetry whistle. Winners – 18 in all – (nine First Place and nine Honorable Mentions), will see their poetry publicly presented to museum audiences. In addition to being featured in audio recordings, print and electronic media, these poems will be showcased at an event at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston on April 21, 2012. Find out everything you want to know at the ARTlines competition web site. This competition is open to current as well as former residents of Texas, so please spread the word. 
One hundred library chairs set out on the lawn marked the first of 3 events presented at Discovery Green Park. It was a perfect day for picnics, for poetry and for enjoying this vibrant green space in the heart of downtown. The Mighty Orq let loose with some mighty music, poets Martha Serpas, DEEP, Eva Skrande and Rich Levy gave us their good words, and everyone was entirely charmed by our 3rd grade WITS student’s poems. There will be two more events at Discovery Green, Saturday, November 5 and Saturday, December 3, both starting at 2 PM and both beside the HPL Express library, next to the Lake House Cafe. We’ve posted additional photos and audio, as well as the video, on the SCENE & HEARD page under EVENTS.Public
Tags: ARTlines, DEEP, Discovery Green, ekphrastic poetry, eva skrande, Houston, Houston Press Best Of Awards, martha serpas, Museum of Fine Arts, Poetry, rich levy
Yes, it’s true; Public Poetry can boast – count ’em - 5 Bests! For a start, we won the Houston Press Best Of Award for Best Reading Series 2011! Public Poetry is thrilled to share this award with 25 featured poets, 12 talented students from Writers in the Schools/WITS and our true partner in this monthly series, Houston Public Library (Best Place to Reinvent Yourself.) Best Reading Series – 2011
Poetry has a new platform in Houston, and it’s a welcome one: the Public Poetry reading series. Started in the spring of this year by Fran Sanders and held in various public library locations around town, the series features four poets and a celebrity reader per session. Mayor Annise Parker and Dominic Walsh appeared as guest readers during the first two installations, while poets Rich Levy, Martha Serpas, John Gorman and Carol Munn each took turns at the microphone. The open forum lets the poets share their favorite works, covering topics from family life, to environmental issues, to romantic relationships, to societal decay, to intercultural exchange (and, for some odd reason, a lot of poems about the moon).
http://www.houstonpress.com/bestof/2011/award/best-reading-series-2674550/
Tags: Best Poet, Best Reading Series 2011, Discovery Green, Dominic Walsh, Houston, Houston Press Best Of Awards, Houston Public Library, HPL Express, John Gorman, martha serpas, Poetry, rich levy, The Mighty Orq
Public Poetry exists to bring the public and poetry community together, and to create a buzz about poetry.
A monthly reading series is presented at various library locations in partnership with Houston Public Library.
The ARTlines Poetry Competition is presented in collaboration with The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH).
