Oregon State Poetry Association

Frogs and Toads, Heather and Matthew:
The OSPA Spring 2010 Conference Has Everything!
by M. Christine Delea
Register here

The beautiful and very literary city of Eugene will be the site of the 2010 Spring Conference, and we have a wonderful agenda planned. We are so sure participants will get so many benefits from this conference; we have listed them here!

2008 APR/Honnickman First Book Prize winner and Portland native Matthew Dickman will start the festivities on Friday night with a reading at Tsunami Books. The reception begins at 6:00, and OSPA members are urged to arrive on time so they can get seats for the reading, which begins at 7:00. Copies of Matthew’s book, "All American Poem," will be on sale at the book store, and Matthew will be available to sign copies. We will also have an open mic that night, so be sure to bring a short poem (40 lines or fewer) with you to read.

The conference will sign off with another reading at Tsunami Books on Saturday night. As this reading is also open to the public, we again urge OSPA members to come for the reception to insure a good seat! 2009 MacArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant winner Heather McHugh will read from her latest book, "Upgraded to Serious," as well as other poems, starting at 7:00. Many of her titles will be for sale at Tsunami, and Heather will be available to sign your copies. Another open mic will close out the evening.

As if readings by two of America’s most well-known and popular poets weren’t enough, there’s also the conference part of the conference to look forward to! We’ll start bright and early Saturday morning at the Hilton Eugene. Registration starts at 7:30, and breakfast will also be available (and is paid for as part of your conference fee). We’ll have a short general meeting to catch up, and at 10:00, the workshops will begin. The same workshops will repeat at 2:30, so every registrant will attend each workshop. In between, there will be a break for lunch, and the Spring Contest (Frogs and Toads!) awards. After the second workshop, there will be another break for dinner.

The Hilton serves not only as our meeting space, but as our official conference hotel. Located in downtown Eugene, it is within walking distance of many restaurants and shops. The hotel has an indoor pool, a newly-remodeled exercise room, flat screen TVs in each room, a restaurant and bar, and free underground parking. We will be keeping you so busy you may not take advantage of any of these amenities besides parking your car, but at least you know they’re there!

As usual, we will have the OSPA book table, as well as a new “usual,” the poetry basket raffle. Tickets for the raffle will be on sale at both readings and during the conference, and we will draw for the winner on Saturday night after Heather’s reading and before the open mic.

Schedules, forms, dates, prices, reminders, and all the details are available here. Be sure to read more about what awaits us in Eugene and send in your registration today!