I am getting excited about the upcoming PSOV Spring Workshop at the Hotel Coolidge on Saturday, May 3rd. The first thing that you should know, as of Sunday April 6, we have 28 members signed up. That means that we have only two slots left since we cap attendance at 30. So, if you wish to attend and haven’t signed up, I would encourage you to do asap! (PSOV Spring Workshop Sign Up.) [The Spring Workshop is full as of April 8, complete this form if you wish to be added to a waiting list. 2025 Spring Workshop Waiting List.
The Poetry Society of Vermont will hold its 2025 Spring Workshop on May 3rd at the Hotel Coolidge, White River Junction, Vermont from 10am to 3pm. This year’s workshop leader will be Neil Shepard, poet, essayist, professor of creative writing, and literary magazine editor. The workshop is free for members, non-member guests may be invited to attend for a fee if capacity allowson April 14th.
Below are the winning poems from the Poetry Society of Vermont’s 2024 Fall Poem Contest as voted on by members.
Rank
Poem Title
Poet
1
The Abalone Shell
Kathryn Bonnez
2
The Sheep Barn
Elizabeth McCarthy
3
still life with rain, you, & everything that is.
JT Butler
4
Glimpses of Home
Kate Viens
5
Come with Me
Scudder Parker
6
In June I Listen to White Winter Hymnal On the Way to White River Junction
Robin Dellabough
7
Chicago Sonnet III: Running South
Cindy Ellen Hill
8
Failing Limbs
Matthew Dickerson
9
The Garden
Rebecca Willis
10*
Immersed
David Kent Young
10*
To the Weavers of The Unicorn in Captivity
Carol Milkuhn
* tie vote
Congratulations to PSOV Fall Poem Contest winners for securing a spot in the 2025 Mountain Troubadour! We received in excess of 60 poems for all of the members to peruse, read, then read again and rank. It was an impressive collection with a great deal of variety. Thanks to all for sending in your poems as well as collectively stepping forward to vote for your top ten choices.
If you would like to make revisions to your poems before publishing, send them to the Editor of The Mountain Troubadourand enter “Fall Poem Revision” in the subject line of your email.
In Poetry,
David Hartnett, Executive Secretary PSOV
Note: Spring & Fall Poem Contest finalists are selected by Members’ Choice Voting: A Google Form and document with all poems (anonymous) are sent to current members to vote on their top ten poems. The form responses are auto sent to a Google Spreadsheet which has added functions that calculate the final results using the Borda Count ranked choice voting method.
Congratulations to the PSOV poets whose poems were selected as the top ten 2024 Spring Poems. There were a total of 43 poems submitted, a record number for the Spring or Fall Poem Submissions. The variety of writing styles and poetic forms were quite exciting to explore as PSOV members deliberated on and accepted the difficult task of voting for their top ten favorite poems. The following ten Spring Poems will be published in the 2025 Mountain Troubadour.
Results of the 2024 Spring Poem Members’ Choice Voting:
Below are the winning poems from the 2023 Fall Workshop as voted on by PSOV members.
#1: Downstream by George Longenecker
#2: Ray by David Hartnett
#3: The End of Infinity by S. J. Cahill
#4: Speak! by Janet Sarah Schneider
#5: Zoo by Kristine Korman
#6: An exercise in trying not to cry by Erika Nichols-Frazer
#7: In the Wake by Julie Fonte
#8: At the end of a cruel summer by Katie Golden
#9: The Glinting Month by Caitlin Gildrien
#10: Mountain Fog by Ann Day
Congratulations to the authors of the top ten poems from the Fall Workshop! These poems will be published in the 2024 Mountain Troubadour. If you would like to make revisions to your poems before publishing, send them to the Editor of The Mountain Troubadourbefore January 1st and enter “Fall Poem Revision” in the subject line of your email.
The Poetry Society of Vermont 2023 Spring Workshop was held on May 13th at the Quechee Inn at Marshland Farm, Quechee, Vermont. Twenty four members attended the wonderful luncheon and workshop led by poet, Chard deNiord where he provided critique after members read their poems. Members also offered feedback to others after their readings. Thanks to technology, a few members were able to attended remotely.
Prior to the workshop, members at large were asked to vote on their four favorite poems. The following MEMBERS’ CHOICE SPRING WINNERS are listed below and will be published in The Mountain Troubadour 2024.
“Murmuration” David Mook First Place
“Spring Fling” Cindy Hill Second Place
“My Body Remembers” Carol Milkuhn Third Place
“Before the Deluge” Kathryn Bonnez Fourth Place Tie
“Instructions for Tapping a Poem in Spring” Elizabeth McCarthy Fourth Place Tie
