Latest News

OPA member Marcia Casey’s chapbook being from being broke open has just been published by Finishing Line Press! In a childhood in which home was alienation and woods were haven, the natural world – trees, birds, seasons, water, mud – offered up the language with which the poems in being from being broke open navigate the crucial questions… Read more: being from being broke open by Marcia Casey

“Inside me, there, in the corner are my little girls. / All these years they still wait for me to save them,” writes J.V. Foerster in her powerful new debut collection, Holy Mess of a Girl. Here we are taken from childhood to widowhood, where “we’re pinching off bits / of bitter memories and find us all… Read more: New Poems from J.V.Foerster

This year there are twelve workshop sessions, including four with either Spanish or Bilingual presentations. We will be posting a detailed description of each presentation with a biography of the presenter. Meanwhile here is a list of those presenters and the title of their session. Find all the latest info and links including brief workshop… Read more: OPA 2025 Conference Workshops Announced!

At the 2024 annual meeting, members had approved a motion to allow making changes to the OPA Constitution and Bylaws through a secure poll sent to current members. After an earlier poll seeking member comments on the proposed changes, a voting poll with several proposed changes was sent to the current membership on 7/6/25 and… Read more: OPA Changes to Constitution and Bylaws – Approved

OPA Member, Ingrid Wendt, of Eugene, is excited to announce that one of her poems has been set to choral music by composer Paul Safar, and its premier performance (sung by the vocal ensemble Humanis) will occur in Portland on August 1, at 7:30 pm, in the Lincoln Hall Recital Hall, PSU, 1620 SW Park… Read more: Music, Poetry, and Calls for Peace

2026 will be the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Oregon Poetry Association! There could be no better year for you and your colleagues to consider joining the OPA Board, which is a working team that supports contests and an annual conference, promotes connections among members, and celebrates Oregon poets and poetry. As a… Read more: Call for New OPA Board Members – open until July 31st

Reviewed by M. L. Lyons The Stafford Challenge Anthology: 2024-25 Anthology Edited by Brian Rohr Wild Poet Press, 2025, 257 pages, $22.95 Print ISBN: 979-8-9985119-0-5 Ebook ISBN: 979-8-9985119-1-2 Available at https://wildpoetpress.com/anthology/ Some anthologies are like bouquets: artfully arranged around a theme to create a desired effect. Others explore a new field of interest, giving a… Read more: The Stafford Challenge Anthology: 2024-25 Anthology, Reviewed by M. L. Lyons

OPA Member, Linda Drach, of Beaverton is excited to announce that her poetry collection, Pop-Up Shrines, is being published by Finishing Line Press. The book is available for pre-order now through August 1st at: https://track.pstmrk.it/3ts/www.finishinglinepress.com%2Fproduct%2Fpop-up-shrines-by-linda-drach%2F./UKW0/7Di_AQ/AQ/529194b9-ce37-45ae-8454-ecd67b0316fd/1/FceQW-uu8u Pop-Up Shrines explores how illness and disability coexist with new rooms of discovery and resilience. It’s an exploration of life’s… Read more: Pop-Up Shrines, is being published by Finishing Line Press

“Celebration of Life for Martha and Jerry Gatchell” Sunday, June 22, 4-6 PM: Tsunami Books 2585 Willamette St. Eugene, OR, 97405 On Sunday, June 22 at 4 p.m. we’ll celebrate the lives of Martha and Jerry Gatchell at Tsunami Books. For decades Martha and Jerry were pillars of the Eugene and the whole statewide Oregon… Read more: Celebration of Life for Martha and Jerry Gatchell

OPA is thrilled to announce four categories and four judges for entries in this year’s contest: 1) OREGON Poet’s Choice: one poem / two pages maximum, any subject, any form. Entrant must have current Oregon mailing address. Judge: Ellen Waterston (Oregon’s Poet Laureate) 2) Members Only: one poem / one page maximum, any subject, any… Read more: OPA 2025 SUMMER/FALL POETRY CONTEST – Now Open – Deadline July 28

Reviewed by Judith H. Montgomery Isadora: A Tragedy in Three Acts by Dale Champlin Just a Lark Books, 2022, 111 pages, $15.00 ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 979-8887573540 Available at https://www.amazon.com/Isadora-DaleChamplin/dp/B0B7HF2XCH/ref=sr_1_6? “The poem,” writes Robert Frost in 1939, “begins in delight and ends in wisdom.” Dale Champlin offers both in this fabulously imagined series of spirited “conversations”… Read more: Isadora: A Tragedy in Three Acts by Dale Champlin, Reviewed by Judith H. Montgomery

Reviewed by Carol Barrett Contradictions from an Uncertain Silence by Emmett Wheatfall Fernwood Press, 2025, 40 pages, $28.00 hardbound ISBN 9781594981524 Available at fernwoodpress.com From the incisive opening poem, “When the Time Comes for You to Speak,” to the concluding “America’s End,” Emmett Wheatfall urges us to resist and refuse the battlements of racism and… Read more: Contradictions from an Uncertain Silence by Emmett Wheatfall, Reviewed by Carol Barrett

Do you know of an individual or group who deserves recognition for their contributions to the culture of poetry in Oregon? Consider nominating them for OPA’s Patricia Ruth Banta Award, which honors an individual or group that has made a significant contribution to Oregon poetry and to OPA’s mission.  Download the nomination form below: print,… Read more: NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN FOR OPA’S PATRICIA RUTH BANTA AWARD

CONCURSO DE POESÍA EN ESPAÑOL 2025 Una vez más, la Asociación de Poesía de Oregón abre sus puertas a la comunidad hispana y te invita cordialmente a participar en su Concurso de Poesía en Español, cuyas bases son las siguientes: Fecha límite para participar: hasta el 30 de junio de 2025. Los poemas deben entregarse… Read more: CONCURSO DE POESÍA EN ESPAÑOL 2025 / SPANISH POETRY CONTEST

Reviewed by Brenna Crotty Previously published in Calyx, March 30, 2025 THESE HOLLOWED BONES by Amelia Díaz Ettinger Sea Crow Press 2024, 107 pages, $18.00 ISBN 9781961864009 Available at www.seacrowpress.com I am not a bird person. Reading through each of the nearly fifty poems named after a different bird in These Hollowed Bones, Amelia Díaz Ettinger’s fourth… Read more: THESE HOLLOWED BONES by Amelia Díaz Ettinger, Reviewed by Brenna Crotty

Reviewed by Carol Barrett REVOKE by Joy Manesiotis Airlie Press, 2023, 67 pages, $18.00 ISBN 978-1-950404-12-4 Available at www.airliepress.org Growing up, I often heard the phrase “betwixt and between.” It seems an apt way to describe the themes of Manesiotis’ poems in REVOKE. The subjects of this work include the poet’s contending with infertility and… Read more: REVOKE by Joy Manesiotis, Reviewed by Carol Barrett

Reviewed by Carol Barrett Splitting Open the World by Carolyn Martin The Poetry Box, 2025, 95 pages, $18.00 ISBN 978-1-956285-93-2 Available with free S/H at [email protected]   Carolyn Martin’s sixth book of poems claims its title from a famous quotation by Muriel Rukeyser: “What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life?… Read more: Splitting Open the World by Carolyn Martin, reviewed by Carol Barrett

The Oregon Poetry Association in partnership with The Arts Center of Corvallis is celebrating national poetry month with a special poetry night on Thursday, April 17th, 2025, 5:30- 7:30p, featuring these MFA poets from Oregon State University: Elyssa Cook, Anmol Priya Desai, Cheyenne Hollowell, Monique Lanier, Sam Olson, and Tor Strand. You can find out… Read more: Special Poetry Night at The Arts Center of Corvallis on April 17, 2025

The meaning of our lives may occur to us through memory, sensory snapshots of significant moments: a mattress upended by the curb, hair lost through chemotherapy caught in a brush, the light fragrance of lavender powder on a handkerchief. In “I Know These Things” award-winning poet Cynthia Jacobi chronicles scenes from her own life, from… Read more: I Know About These Things by Cynthia Jacobi

Reviewed by Carol Barrett The Goodbye Kit by Daneen Bergland Airlie Press, 2024, 64 pages, $18.00 ISBN 978-1-950404-15-5 Available at www.airliepress.org Daneen Bergland’s first book of poetry is a beautiful assembly of evocative poems, almost all of which have appeared individually in literary magazines. The first thing that greets the reader is gorgeous cover art… Read more: The Goodbye Kit By Daneen Bergland, Reviewed by Carol Barrett

Willa Schneberg will conduct the workshop “Developing Empathy Through Writing the Persona Poem” Saturday, April 19 2PM- 4PM Newport Public Library 35 NW Nye St, Newport Oregon Free & Open to All How can we develop empathy toward others? Join Willamette Willamette Writers Coast Chapter on April 19 at the Newport Public Library from 2-4… Read more: Willa Schneberg will conduct the workshop “Developing Empathy Through Writing the Persona Poem”

Irene Cooper’s second book of poetry provides a stunning exploration of form, with the poems organized by section titles drawn from various psychological theories and experiments.

A new poetry contest opens on March 10 through April 14th for OPA members only in celebration of National Poetry Month. The contest has been sponsored by an anonymous donor. Enter one poem, any style, any subject, any form, two page maximum. No submission fee. https://opa.submittable.com/ Winners will be announced by mid-May 2025, and be… Read more: OPA National Poetry Month Contest for Members Only

The OPA Youth Poetry Contest opened on Sunday through May 2nd! Contest co-chairs (and board members) Julia Gaskill and Ty Brack are hoping you will encourage your kids and/or grandkids, other K-12 students, parents, teachers, librarians, and educators… anyone you know who could use or pass along some encouragement to submit poems by young writers… Read more: OPA Cascadia Youth Poetry Contest – Open!

The 2024 OPA Youth Poetry Contest winners were published in the latest Cascadia anthology! Each student received a cash award and a copy of the printed anthology. Kindergarten — Fifth Grade Elijah Andersen – “The Water” Keane Cordalis – “April” Lexi Miller – “Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring” Liam Avery Finn Nelson – “May Day” Eli Stier –… Read more: 2024 Cascadia Youth Poetry Winners

In the spirit of posting more frequently this year… In early 2025, the OPA board established several key activities for the year: The 25th Cascadia Youth Poetry Contest and its accompanying anthology. The contest will be open March 2nd to May 2nd. Publication of the 29th Verseweavers anthology featuring winning verse from 2024 contests, to… Read more: A Quick Update on the OPA

Sue Fagalde Lick’s book, Dining Al Fresco with My Dog, is the most distinctive collection of poems confronting the realities of widowhood that I have ever read.

Reviewed by Carol Barrett Coming Down the Mountain by Gary Lark Kelsay Books, 2024, 103 pages, $23.00 ISBN 978-1-63980-652-2 Available at https://kelsaybooks.com; https://garylark.work Gary Lark is an Oregon poet through and through. Born here, and raised in the Umpqua Valley of Southern Oregon, he now lives in Grants Pass. Coming Down the Mountain, Lark’s latest… Read more: Coming Down The Mountain by Gary Lark, Reviewed by Carol Barrett

Reviewed by John Ruff Raku by Patricia Wixon, edited by Vincent Wixon and Amy Miller Cyclone Press, 2024, 73 pages, $15 ISBN 9798340757456 Available on Amazon   Raku, Patricia Wixon’s fifth book of poems, was unfinished when she died at her home in Ashland, Oregon, this past July after a prolonged illness. Just days prior… Read more: Raku, by Patricia Wixon, Reviewed by John Ruff

Reviewed by Lana Hectman Ayers I Remember Not Sleeping by Sherri Levine (author), Moises Camacho (Illustrator) Fernwood Press, 2024, 64 pages, $28 ISBN 978-1594981395 Available at https://www.fernwoodpress.com/2024/08/05/i-remember-not-sleeping/ and sherrilevine.com   A hybrid of poem, memoir, literary quotes, and graphic novel, I Remember Not Sleeping is an extraordinary collaboration between Oregon poet Sherri Levine and Mexico-born… Read more: I Remember Not Sleeping by Sherri Levine, Reviewed by Lana Hectman Ayers

Reviewed by Cynthia Neely The Autobiography of Rain by Lana Hechtman Ayers Fernwood Press (an imprint of Barclay Press), 2024, 134 pages, $19 ISBN 978-1594981388 Available at https://barclaypress.corecommerce.com/the-autobiography-of-rain.html     Lana Hechtman Ayers, in the The Autobiography of Rain, her sixth collection of poetry, claims not to be a painter. To a point, I gently disagree. A large… Read more: The Autobiography of Rain by Lana Hechtman Ayers, Reviewed by Cynthia Neely

Reviewed by Cit Ananda  ekphrastics & eccentricities by M. Ann Reed Kelsay Books, 2023, 63 pages, $20.00 ISBN 978-1-63980-400-9 Available at www.kelsaybooks.com   On her trek teaching and learning around the world, capturing moments in disparate places such as Wales, Ukraine, Bosnia-Herzegovina, China, Idaho and Minnesota, M. Ann Reed unveils, through art and idiosyncratic occasions,… Read more: ekphrastics & eccentricities by M. Ann Reed, Reviewed by Cit Ananda

Reviewed by John Martin Reading Wind by Carol Barrett The Poetry Box, 2024, 49 pages, $14.00 ISBN 978-1-956285-51-2 https://thepoetrybox.com/bookstore/reading-wind   So many of the poems that I read these days–including my own–are looking for their reason to be, trying to figure out what and why they are, hoping to make some meaning through the act… Read more: Reading Wind by Carol Barrett, Reviewed by John Martin

Reviewed by Dale Champlin Jacob’s Ladder by Rachel Barton Main Street Rag Publishing Company, 2024, $18.00 ISBN 978-1-59948-992-6 Available at https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/jacobs-ladder-rachel-barton/   The poetry in Rachel Barton’s latest book, Jacob’s Ladder, takes the reader, rung-by-rung, up into a not-so-everyday world of wonder. It’s as if the poet views even the most mundane as an opportunity… Read more: Jacob’s Ladder by Rachel Barton, Reviewed by Dale Champlin

Reviewed by Carol Barrett The Ferry Keeper  by Judith H. Montgomery Grayson Books, 2024, 43 pages, $12.00 ISBN 979-8-9888186-9-4 Available at https://graysonbooks.com Judith H. Montgomery’s latest collection, The Ferry Keeper, opens with a stunning metaphor that enlightens the entire volume. The poet’s body becomes a ferry transporting loved ones to the other side of this… Read more: The Ferry Keeper by Judith H. Montgomery, Reviewed by Carol Barrett

Reviewed by Ce Rosenow Noble Scratch, Roughly Spoken by Brad Winter and Laura Winter As If Press, 2024, 60 pages Limited edition: 150 copies numbered Order from the authors at [email protected]. Finally! That was my response when I learned Brad and Laura were collaborating on a book. I’ve known the Winters since the mid-90s, and… Read more: Noble Scratch, Roughly Spoken by Brad Winter and Laura Winter, Reviewed by Ce Rosenow

We’re pleased to announce the results of the elections held earlier this month.  In addition to the appointment of  David Goodrum as President and Steve Slemenda, a new member, as Secretary, OPA has five new board members. Please join us in extending a warm welcome to the following new members of the OPA Board. Julia… Read more: Meet the new OPA Board members!

2024 OPA Spanish Contest – Winners 1st Place: Yuliana Kenfield (Gamarra Medrano), “Lluvias Oregonianas” 2nd Place: Jesús Sepúlveda, “Pandemónium” 3rd Place: Arturo Sarmiento, “Escape” Runners-up: Germán Rizo, “La oscuridad como destino” Efrain M. Diaz-Horna, “El buscador de sueños” Sonia Priscila Ticas, “Ondulaciones” Concepcion Samano, “Ciclo” JUDGE Dr. Isabel Jaén Portill Dr. Isabel Jaén Portillo is… Read more: Read Winning Poems from the OPA 2024 Spanish Contest

Yuliana Kenfield (Gamarra Medrano) Yuliana Kenfield (Gamarra Medrano) nació en Cusco, Perú. Vive en los Estados Unidos desde el 2006. Yuliana fue paralegal de inmigración, maestra bilingüe, y capacitadora de maestros multilingües. Es madre de mellizos, a quienes los cría con los idiomas de su familia: castellano, inglés y quechua. Es autora de poesía, cuento, y un libro… Read more: 2024 – Spanish Contest First Place – Yuliana Kenfield (Gamarra Medrano)

Jesús Sepúlveda Jesús Sepúlveda, autor del poema “Pandemónium”, ha publicado diecisiete libros, por mencionar algunos: El jardín de las peculiaridades (2002) y las antologías Poemas de un bárbaro (2013) y Poço de seda (2022). Su obra ha sido traducida a doce idiomas y publicada en una veintena de países, llevándolo a participar en numerosos festivales… Read more: 2024 – Spanish Contest 2nd Place – Jesús Sepúlveda

Arturo Sarmiento Arturo Sarmiento Linares nació en la Ciudad de México. Realizó sus estudios profesionales en Humanidades y Periodismo en la Universidad del Claustro de Sor Juana y en la UNAM. En 1992 obtiene la Licencia Federal de Locutor de Radio y Televisión. Actualmente es Director de Radio Poder KTUP y es miembro del Instituto… Read more: 2024 – Spanish Contest 3rd place – Arturo Sarmiento

Due to rising costs and unreliability of mail service, and the time and effort required by unpaid volunteers to manage paper submissions, NFSPS plans to transition to online-only submissions for annual contests over the next three years. Please complete this survey to help NFSPS plan that transition and best meet your needs! https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe5ckhLLEEDMG8PW23O7JGS442ma3j9g0tF4JuZNVxw3wtiKw/viewform?usp=sf_link

The October 2024 issue of Strophes has been posted.  It’s available at: https://nfsps.net/current-strophes or https://nfsps.com/Strophes.html. The issue posted at nfsps.net is a flipbook, meaning it has different features. There is a standard pdf posted at https://nfsps.com/Strophes.html as well. If these links don’t work for you, navigate to the nfsps.net home page and click the Current Strophes button in the menu. As always, this issue… Read more: NFSPS October 2024 Strophes and Contest Deadlines

Thanks to everyone who entered the Oregon Poetry Association’s 2024 Adult Fall Contest.  This year we received over 300 poems for the Fall Contest, a very competitive pool. Winners will be posted here on our website, in the OPA newsletter, and on our OPA Facebook page. In addition, winning poems will be published in OPA’s… Read more: 2024 OPA Adult Contest Results

2024 OPA Adult Contest – Oregon Poets Choice Category – Winners Judge’s Overall Comments: The Poet’s Choice selection was a cross-section of the best of contemporary American poetry-free verse, formal verse, special forms such as the Golden Shovel and Abecedarian, poems of memory, nature poems, ecopoems, spiritual poems, political poems, humorous poems, including limericks, and… Read more: Read Winning Poems from the OPA 2024 Poet’s Choice Category

Chiaroscuro Of course I remember Firenze-outside and in. And I remember getting here, too, sleeping on second-class trains with a cheap leather coat as my pillow. Marguerite and I stayed up all night, writing in diaries by the light of little white candles stolen from churches. Words I lost a long time ago. We swore… Read more: 2024 – Oregon Poet’s Choice First Place – Connie Soper

Your Rescue There was no other option but forget. No one wanted to hear the clichéd account: Girl has too much to drink. Girl shouldn’t have gone to the party. Girl was wearing a toga? And even if you could find someone to believe, you knew whose side they would take. So, you carry the… Read more: Oregon Poet’s Choice 2nd Place – Shawn Aveningo-Sanders

Three Days on Cloud Mountain Before sunrise, we arrange ourselves cross-legged on floor cushions or perched on wooden stools, our legs bent back and tucked under. We are here to practice simple things. Sitting. Breathing. And later, walking. Rain thrums the roof and drips off the gutters. Closer, the soft susurrus of breath lulls us… Read more: Oregon Poet’s Choice 3rd place – Linda Drach

2024 OPA Adult Contest – Members Only Category – Winners Judge’s Overall Comments: Thank you for inviting me to judge this year’s Members Only category. I can truthfully say that I enjoyed reading all 73 poems. I sensed an overarching theme of resilience contained with this collection that defined the mood of many of these… Read more: Read Winning Poems from the OPA 2024 Members Only Category

Moses holds the fire line The high desert is sparse in everything we know in abundance down in the valley where rain is our neighbor and green lines the border of every home. Here the land is lashed by scouring winds. The trees are stunted and their birdsong hesitates. Not even the voice of god… Read more: 2024 – Members Only First Place – Amanda Hiland