Tag: poetry

As the holidays settle in and the year comes to a close, we’re turning back through the pages of 2025 — a year filled with meaningful events, new ventures, and many moments that reminded us why the Kentucky State Poetry Society exists: to support, celebrate, and connect Kentucky poets.

A Year of Open Mics — Both Virtual and In-Person

This year, our poetry community came together in more ways than ever. We hosted both virtual and in-person open mics, creating spaces that welcomed writers from across Kentucky and beyond. Whether gathering online or in a room filled with familiar faces, poets shared work that was bold, tender, experimental, and deeply human. These events continued to affirm that open mics are not just readings — they’re acts of community care.

Craft Talks That Deepened Our Practice

We had the honor of hosting craft talks led by incredible Kentucky poets, including a special session with the Kentucky Poet Laureate. These talks explored everything from revision to voice, imagery to narrative tension. They offered writers at every level a chance to learn, ask questions, and explore new creative approaches.

A Printed Pegasus — and a Digital One Too

One of the highlights of our year was the release of both a tangible print edition and a digital edition of Pegasus, our longstanding literary journal. Seeing the physical copies arrive was a moment of pride for the Society, especially after the dedicated work that goes into editing, designing, and producing each issue.

This year’s Pegasus also carries a special place in our hearts, as we honored the late Jon Thrower, a cherished member whose generosity, mentorship, and love of Kentucky poetry touched so many. His presence continues to guide our work and remind us why literary community matters.

A Beautiful Conference Weekend

Our annual conference was another bright spot — a weekend filled with workshops, readings, panel discussions, and joyful conversations between friends old and new. The energy in the room reminded us that poetry thrives where community thrives, and that the Society is strengthened by the people who show up to learn, support one another, and share in this art form.

Looking Back with Gratitude

From open mics to craft talks, from the pages of Pegasus to the conference stage, 2025 reaffirmed that KSPS is a place where poetry finds a home. None of this would have been possible without our members, presenters, volunteers, and supporters.

Thank you for sharing your words, your time, and your presence with us this year.

As we look toward the final days of 2025, we’re grateful for everything this community brought into being — and even more excited for what’s still to come. Start your membership today.

Every fall, the Kentucky State Poetry Society gathers writers, readers, teachers, students, and lovers of language together for a weekend that feels less like a conference and more like a homecoming. The 2025 KSPS Conference—held November 1–2 both in person at Joseph-Beth Booksellers and the Lexington Writers Room, and online via Zoom—was a reminder of why poetry continues to matter in Kentucky: it brings us together.

This year’s schedule wove social connection, craft, scholarship, performance, and celebration into two full days of programming that centered one simple truth: poetry thrives where community does.

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Day One: Gathering, Sharing, and Celebrating Together

Saturday opened with something beautifully simple—a meet and greet in the Writers Room at Joseph-Beth Booksellers. No pressure, no agenda, just poets reconnecting, meeting new members, and settling into a creative atmosphere. It set the tone for a day that would be equally welcoming and energizing.

The KSPS Welcome Session followed, along with the launch of the fall issue of Pegasus. For many attendees, this felt like a moment of arrival—an annual reminder of our shared work and the art we produce together.

From late morning into early afternoon, attendees explored the Kentucky Book Festival programming on both levels of Joseph-Beth. This open, wandering space between sessions became a highlight for many. There’s something inspiring about discovering authors, listening to snippets of panels, and browsing bookshelves—all with a community of fellow writers around you.

The afternoon keynote brought everyone together on the Main Stage with a conversation between Silas House and Kathleen Driskell—two voices who have shaped contemporary Kentucky literature. Their dialogue invited reflection on place, memory, responsibility, and the role of writers in challenging times. It was the kind of keynote that lingers.

The day closed at the Lexington Writers Room with a reception, open mic, and mini book fair—a space where emerging and established poets read side by side. It carried that mix of vulnerability and celebration that defines the KSPS community.

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Day Two: Craft, Learning, and Creative Momentum

Sunday moved online, but the energy didn’t fade. If anything, the virtual format opened the door for even more participation from poets across Kentucky and beyond.

The day was packed with craft-focused workshops such as:

• “What the Record Shows” with Lynnell Edwards, where attendees explored archival and documentary materials as poetic source.
• “Your Dangerous Poem” with Letonia Jones, a generative session that encouraged poets to step into boldness.
• “Sound & Sense” with Marianne Worthington, who guided participants through sonic properties that give poems their resonance.
• “Poetrizzle Fo’Shizzle” with Tom C. Hunley, a playful and inventive dive into form and creativity.

Breaks between sessions offered needed breathers and informal conversation, preserving the human pace of an in-person event.

The Members-Only Business Meeting anchored the early afternoon—a reminder that KSPS is a member-powered organization continuing to grow and evolve.

Later came one of the most anticipated parts of the day: a poetry reading featuring Shauna Morgan, Lennie Hay, and Matthew S. Parsons. Their voices brought range—lyrical, grounded, experimental—and created a shared emotional thread that resonated with listeners.

The conference closed with a contest winners’ reading and open mic, where both seasoned poets and first-time readers stepped forward. It was a fitting end: a communal stage, a celebration of talent, and an open space for the future.

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A Weekend That Reshaped and Recharged

What makes the KSPS Conference so meaningful each year isn’t just the sessions—it’s the sense of belonging. Over two days, writers had the chance to reconnect with familiar faces, meet new collaborators, share their work, learn something unexpected, and feel creatively renewed.

The 2025 conference reminded us that poetry is living work. It grows through conversation. It deepens through practice. It strengthens through community. And it thrives when we gather—whether in a bookstore, a writers’ room, or a Zoom window.

As we look ahead to another year of poems, workshops, publications, and connection, the feeling that lingers is gratitude: for the writers who shared their time, the presenters who shared their wisdom, and the members who continue to make KSPS a vibrant literary home.

Ready to Join the KSPS Writing Community?

Start your membership today.

This summer, KSPS invites members to dive into the art and process of poetry like never before. Our Kentucky Voices series is expanding to feature a special three-part virtual craft talk series, each led by a celebrated Kentucky poet and focused on a unique approach to poetic craft. These aren’t your standard readings. These are immersive, reflective, and experimental spaces designed to ignite curiosity and deepen your relationship with the written word.

Our first session kicks off July 15 with “One of These Things Is/Isn’t True: Negation in Poetry” led by award-winning poet and educator Trish Jaggers. This session asks a provocative question: What happens when meaning comes not from what is said—but what isn’t?

“There is no glass in the bathwater.”

With that image, Trish opens a gateway into the poetic potential of absence. In this talk, participants will explore how negation, opposition, and even lies can elevate language beyond its literal frame. Together, we’ll read poems that “tell all the truth but tell it slant,” and examine how emptiness, silence, and contradiction give poems their emotional weight.

This won’t be a traditional workshop. As Trish describes it, it’s “an opening through which we will slip on our way across the water, tiptoeing around the shards that are not there.” You won’t leave with rules—you’ll leave with questions, experiments, and a new lens for your own writing.

📅 July 15, 2025 | 7 PM EST
📍 Virtual | KSPS Members Only
🪑 Space is limited to 55 participants – Register now

Upcoming Craft Talks

String Theory: An Exploration of Poetry that Employs Multiple Threads
Hosted by Clay Matthews | September 16, 2025 – 7 PM EST
What holds a poem together beneath the surface? In this session, we’ll unpack the hidden structures that tether together different voices, moments, and meanings. Through guided prompts, discussion, and practice, you’ll experiment with weaving your own threads—poetic and otherwise—into new creative work.

Craft Your Words: A Multi-Modal Approach to Poetry Writing
Hosted by Lucy Oquaye | November 18, 2025 – 7 PM EST
Poetry can be paper and glue, image and text, absence and form. This hands-on session explores how collage, blackout poems, and zine-making can unlock new poetic possibilities. With tactile tools and a multi-sensory approach, we’ll create poetry that embraces fragmentation and opens new doors of expression

How to Participate

These craft talks are free and exclusive for KSPS members. Each session is limited to 55 participants to ensure an intimate and engaging experience. If you’re not yet a member of the Kentucky State Poetry Society, now’s the perfect time to join. You’ll get access to this series and a full year of member benefits, including publication opportunities, contests, and more.

Start your membership and reserve your spot today.

Appalachia is a region rich in story—carved into song, passed through generations, whispered on front porches, and shouted on protest lines. And among its most powerful literary voices is Crystal Wilkinson, a former Kentucky Poet Laureate and a defining voice in contemporary Appalachian poetry.

Born and raised in Indian Creek, Kentucky, Wilkinson’s work is a poignant exploration of Black identity, rural life, and generational memory. In her collection Perfect Black, she weaves together lyricism, narrative, and place with precision and power:

“I am the woman with cocooned fists / trying to break free.”

Her words, like so many Black Appalachian poets, are acts of reclamation. They challenge the myth of a monolithic Appalachia. They honor the complexities of growing up Black and rural. They make visible the invisible.

At KSPS, we believe in lifting up these voices—not only during moments of celebration, but year-round. We are proud to count Black poets among our members, mentors, and inspirations.

As we move closer to Juneteenth, we’ll continue to highlight the Black literary contributions that have shaped both Kentucky and Appalachia. Crystal Wilkinson’s poetry invites us to look deeper, feel more fully, and write with brave honesty.

Want to read more?

• Perfect Black by Crystal Wilkinson
• Buffalo Dance by Frank X Walker
• She Had Some Horses by Joy Harjo

Who are the Black Appalachian poets who’ve shaped your writing? Let us know in the comments or tag us in your reflections.

June 17 Open Mic

Our next Virtual Open Mic Night is June 17! Whether you’ve been writing all month for LexPoMo or just penned your first poem in years, we’d love for you to join us.

These events are warm, welcoming spaces where voices of all kinds are celebrated. Bring a piece to read, or just come to listen and be inspired.

Details and RSVP link here. Mark your calendar and help us fill the virtual room with Kentucky poetry!