IN MEMORIAM: GUSS STEPP
With sadness we announce the passing of Guss Stepp, Jr., treasurer and long-time member of CPS. A retired electrical engineer and human resources executive, Guss also served as Vice President of Connecticut Renaissance, one of the oldest nonprofit drug treatment agencies in the state. An award-winning poet, he facilitated the Saugatuck Poets and was a frequent host and visitor at the Tuesday Night Poetry Series in Wilton.
MEMBERSHIP RENEWALS were due on April 1. To renew, send $25 along with your name, address, phone number, and e-mail address to:
CPS Membership
Box 792
Manchester, CT 06045
The CPS Annual Meeting was held on April 29. Attendees heard from three members who have published books recently:
Polly Brody, author of The Burning Bush
Peggy Saphire, author of A Possible Explanation and
Jennifer Turner Smith, author of Lost and Found, Rhyming Verse Honoring African American Heroes
Although completely unrehearsed, the poets' work linked in fascinating and profound ways. During the open microphone part of the program, over 20 poets read from their work.
CPS GOALS FOR THE NEXT YEAR: We plan to continue producing our two annual journals, Connecticut River Review and Long River Run. We will also continue our poetry contests and announcements/outreach through our web site. We hope to organize at least two poetry workshops or programs and create a workshop to bring to chapter meetings.
BUT, we want to know what YOU, our members, want and need from CPS. Send us a letter marked "Ideas" or contact us at mailto:connpoetry@comcast.net .
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED! CPS needs volunteers to help with one-time or ongoing projects. Please contact us if you can help.
ONE-TIME PROJECTS
1. ORGANIZE CPS ARCHIVES: We have old newsletters, minutes, news items, correspondence and other documents that need to be organized in binders. In the process, you will learn a lot about our history.
2. WRITE AN ARTICLE about the history of CPS and the poets who helped form and nurture our society.
3. EDIT THE DVDs OF THE WORKSHOP on getting your poetry published, led by Ravi Shankar and Tony Fusco in April, 2007. We have four 30-minute DVDs and would like to create one DVD that can be reproduced at cost for members who want a copy.
4. CREATE AN EXCEL DATABASE of poetry contacts in schools, libraries, and other poetry societies. Track down contacts and put the data into a spreadsheet.
ONGOING PROJECTS
1. NEWSLETTER MAILINGS: The National Federation of State Poetry Societies publishes its newsletter, Strophes, three times a year. We try to coordinate our CPS newsletter so that both can be mailed at the same time. We need someone to run mailing labels from our spreadsheet and stuff and mail the newsletters three times a year.
2. PUBLIC RELATIONS: Lorna Cyr, our PR Director, will continue to publicize our workshops and events, but we need someone who can send notices to local press of CPS poets who win awards or publish books.