Meet JUDY JOHNS of Ben Lomond Poets Chapter

Judy tells us…”I began writing poetry as a child.  A famous poet once said, ‘All people are born poets. It is not surprising that some people continue writing their whole lives. What is surprising is that so many people have stopped.’ I have always been grateful that I have been able to write my whole life.” Born in Massachusestts, and living in Utah since 1985, Judy joined the UTSPS in the early 90s and was named Utah Poet of the Year in 2003 for her book of poems titled If I could Speak in Silk. In 2004, the same book was awarded the title Best in State in Literature.

A retired college English instructor, Judy also has been a newspaper reporter and free lance writer with articles published in popular magazines. She has two romance novels published with Wildrose Press. These two books as well as her poetry book are available on Amazon.com. She serves as the UTSPS Venue Chair for the Poet of the Year presentation, and the Critique Bureau representative. UTSPS members are encouraged to send up to 12 poems (four at a time) a year by email to johnsja42@comcast.net for personal critique and suggestions on improving your poetry. Also for a fee of $20 a collection of poetry can be critiqued, if you are a paid member. All funds are donated to UTSPS.

Closet Addict      

No one looking at my neutral skirts, shirts and

business  jackets,

would  believe I was anything  but a respectable

Republican grandmother.

But in my heart I am Fergie,

the hip hop rapper, lead singer

of the Black Eyed Peas.

Like a closet addict

I play the CDs in my car alone ,

or with the fifteen- year- old granddaughter

responsible for my addiction.

We cruise down  I- 15 singing, “I’ve gotta feeling”

with the music in the illegal decibel range.

And for the space of the ride, I am 15 again.

Meet STEVEN LEITCH of the Valley Winds Chapter

Steven H. Leitch, Utah resident since 1973, has been a member of the Utah State Poetry Society(UTSPS) for over 15 years. He has had poetry published in Utah Sings, Panorama, Poet Tree, and The Deadeye News (an Army publication), various online poetry sites and has received numerous local and national poetry recognitions and awards. He resides with his wife, Deanna, in West Jordan and is a current UTSPS board member serving as our mailing coordinator. A veteran of the United States Air Force (1969-1973), he graduated from Weber State College (1978), where he received a BS degree in Art and Photography.  He also served in the US Army Reserve from 1979-2009 as an Army photographer, journalist, public affairs specialist and first sergeant. In 2013 he retired from the University of Utah’s School of Medicine, where he served as a staff photographer for 37 years.

Hailstones by Steven Leitch

Crumpled sheets of paper like hailstones                                                                                          

cover most of the walking area of the tent floor.

Empty paper coffee cups and ashtrays

full of half-smoked cigarettes litter

the table by his old Royal typewriter.

He sleeps on the cot nearby, and dreams

of Coney Island.

He smells the cotton candy,

can almost taste its sweet, fluffy nectar.

He is far from this tent, this country, this war.

The boom of close artillery

rocks him back to reality.

He gets ups and starts again.

It’s his duty to write home

to the parents of  boys killed

in his company,

a skill not taught at West Point.

Having been in-country for three months,

he hardly knew his officers,

let alone his soldiers.

Now here he is in his hooch,

pecking out words on his old Royal

to comfort the family of a son,

to people he will never see,

about a soldier he hardly knew.

The rattle of the AK-47* is very much like

the tap of that old typewriter. Clack, Clack, Clack!

Paper ripping from its carriage sounds like

the launch of a mortar. Ziiipp!

Hail storms in Vietnam?

*AK-47-Russian made automatic rifle, extensively used by the Viet Cong during the Vietnam Conflict-because of its construction it emitted a recognizable clacking sound.

Farewell to MAXINE SHREVE...

Maxine Shreve of the Rhyme and Reason chapter, 92 years old, passed away peacefully in her sleep Oct. 25. There will be no funeral or memorial service. However anyone who would like can contribute money to the Maxine Shreve Memorial category for the UTSPS 2017 contest. Please make out the check to UTSPS and mail it to Kolette Montague. (Address in the yearly directory.)  Maxine was a long-time member of the Utah State Poetry Society and was one of the first people most of us met when coming into the group. She was a beautiful person and an ambassador for poetry in many ways. We will miss her sweet presence in our chapter meetings.

Can Wind Recall?

Maxine Croft Shreve

Can cold ashes nourish a flame

can clouds withdraw one drop of rain
can the tree reclaim one leaf, dried
can the eye unshed one tear, cried
can lips unspeak one word, spoken
can wishes mend a promise broken
can wind recall even one blow
can what my heart knows, unknow?

Meet GAIL SCHIMMELPFENNIG of Valley Winds Chapter

Gail tells us: "I was lucky enough to be the 2009 Utah State Poetry Society Poet of the Year for my book The Frozen Kingdom, a book of cancer poems. The book was also a finalist for the Utah Book Award in 2010. Poetry is a spiritual path for me, and a great source of comfort. In addition to my passion for poetry, I'm also in love with teaching high school English, reading good books, hiking the glorious mountains around the Salt Lake Valley, learning new things, getting back to yoga after decades away, and animals. I'm also a knitter/basket-maker/sewist/silk painter/fiber artist, a clumsy but enthusiastic skier, and a grandmother. Since 2010, I've gotten divorced, found a new love, lost 25 pounds, and moved to Holladay. Reaching 65 has meant I get Medicare! Yay! Life just gets better and better! And inside, I'm still about 6. No one knows about this part. So don't tell!" Gail serves UTSPS as Laureates Publication Chair and Facebook Editor.

Just North of Sleep

The sun is the color of granite.

Time dissolves when I hold it

in my mouth.  The clouds are spun

from salt, and memories

echo around me like a waterfall

of tears.

Shadows gather, pull at my

fingers and hair, push their way

under my skin.  They whisper

in thorns.  Their heavy scent

follows me, threading through

my pores, my ear-channels,

my dreams.

Forgive my doubts.  I know they

are voracious.

Some days, when I awake, I am

knit of little else.

St. George BOOK FESTIVAL

If you missed Candy Lish Fowler's great presentation in Orem recently, don't fret. She is appearing several times in St. George as part of the St. George Book Festival's annual celebration. For the past several years we've been able to bring the UTSPS Poet of the Year to the Book Festival to share their award winning book with local audiences. This year it's Candy's turn, and she's a local poet that we as Dixie Poets and Redrock Writers both UTSPS chapters are proud to claim. Can't wait to hear her read from her collection of poems "On A Road That Knows Me." For more info on Candy see her bio on http://utahpoets.com/news/PoetOfYear2015.html.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

Tues, Oct 20 2-4 pm Special WORKSHOP- "Paper, Pencil, Words and Music" by Candy Lish Fowler. Free and open to the public, at St. George main library, conference room A.

Tu, Oct 20 6-8 pm OPEN POETRY READINGS at Jazzy's on 285 N. Bluff Street in St. George, bring poems to read suitable for families. 8-10 pm SLAM POETRY contest- with adult subject material, compete for prizes. Organized by Darren Edwards.

Sat, Oct 24, 10 am Youth Poetry Contest Award Program at Heritage Square, 10:45 am-Candy Lish Fowler will read original poems and from her book of the year.

Th, Oct 29th , 7-9 pm Candy Lish Fowler-at DSU Eccles Theatre UTSPS Poet of the Year will present a program and readings from her book of the year "On A Road That Knows Me." 

Meet Rosalyn Ostler, Past UTSPS President

   

Rosalyn Ostler, member of Valley Winds chapter in Salt Lake City, born in Phoenix, grew up in Missouri, loves Utah. She and husband Robert have a large family. Her book, Walking the Earth Barefoot, won publication (after numerous tries), making her UTSPS 2010 Poet of the Year.  Rose says membership and activity in UTSPS have refined and strengthened her writing. While working for success with the book manuscript, she received many awards on single poems and learned the value of friendly critiques and continued effort. She is past president of UTSPS and continues as an officer working with membership and Panorama publication. She has many years’ service in Scouting, church, and community. Rose loves teaching kids and teens.

Iridescent Wings
My closest neighbor keeps her spotless rooms
in order that defies my skill; and yet
another friend from down the street perfumes
the air with gourmet dishes sure to whet
a weary appetite, while I make do
with simple recipes. And when I hear
the singer’s voice resounding freely through
her uninvited tears, my cavalier
intents to join the choir at church begin
to reel. Comparing often leaves me less
than best, and confidence becomes chagrin.
Then wisdom whispers this: she lacks finesse
of nightingales, but still the robin sings;
and even crows have iridescent wings.

Meet BILL ASPLUND, UTSPS President Elect

Bill Asplund tells us: “I was born in Canada and came to Utah in 1968 to teach economics at Utah State University. Then in 1976 I took a job with the Utah State Legislature where I spent the rest of my career." Currently serving as President Elect of UTSPS, he is in charge of our spring convention which will be held at the Davis Conference Center in Layton, Utah on Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23. “It’s a wonderful facility and attached to the Hilton Garden Hotel.  Put it on your calendar.”

Continuing, Bill remembers, “I still have the first poetry book my parents gave me the Christmas I was 4 ‘When We Were Very Young’ by AA Milne, and I have been reading and writing poetry ever since. I joined the Ben Lomond chapter some 9 or 10 years ago and have been in the Utah State Poetry Society ever since. I love poetry and like to hang out with people who feel the same. Below is the first poem I ever entered in the statewide UTSPS competition. It won first place in the children’s poetry category.  I've been waiting ever since for another win.  This poem appeared in my wife’s obituary.”

WHEN THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS

(For my Grandchildren)

                                 Billy Asplund

I woke up this morning and the sky was all gone,

It leaked from its place and oozed out on the lawn.

The sun was still there, but the sky goodness knows

Was sticky and gooey and squished through my toes.

It smelled like burnt toast smeared with apricot jam,

But the color was more like very old ham,

Sort of light blue, with a shimmer of green.

It’s the most unusual scene that I’ve seen.

No sky up above, just nothing, kaput,

No color, no clouds, no jet trails or soot,

And what can you do when the sky’s underfoot.

You could stand on your head, with your wrists in the goo

And think very hard, with your face turning blue,

That it just isn’t fair (as so seldom it is),

Like a bottle of pop that has lost all its fizz.

The natural laws say the sky is the sky,

But when it is not there you want to know why,

And the answers you get are more than uncertain,

Like trying to guess what’s behind a closed curtain.

For you just never know when waking at dawn

What will be there and what will be gone.