Springfed Arts February newsletter

2012 Springfed Arts Writers Contest
Poetry & Prose Prizes
1st Prize $100
2nd Prize $ 50
3rd Prize $ 25
RULES: This 2012 Members Only contest is funded and sponsored by Springfed Arts. Submission Guidelines:  Free submission for 2012 Springfed Arts members only.  No name on poetry or prose submission pages.  Prose (prose includes fiction, nonfiction & memoir) must be double-spaced 10 pages or less, pages stapled. (An excerpt of a longer piece may be used.)  A cover page should include your name, address, phone, email, and title of piece.  Poetry should include 3 poems no more than 5 total pages, with name, address, phone, email, and titles of poems on cover sheet.  All submissions must be typewritten. Include your membership check & form with the contest application.  Outside envelope should state” poetry contest” or “fiction contest” in the lower left hand corner.  Deadline must be postmarked by April 14, 2012. Entries must be unpublished.  Manuscripts that do not follow the above rules will be discarded. Your manuscript is non-returnable.  Winners will be announced in the May newsletter and will be invited to read at a Springfed Arts event.

The judge for poetry is E. Ethelbert Miller.  The judge for prose is Michael Zadoorian.
Springfed Arts entrusts a preliminary judge who culls through all submissions.  We send 15 finalist poem entries to the poetry judge and 5 finalist prose entries to the prose judge.  Writers who teach for Springfed Arts are not eligible to enter the contest.
_______________________________________________________

The Lido Gallery Poetry & Music Series
Friday, January 27, 7 pm
A Host of Hosts
Ann Holdreith: Host of the Musing Series at Scarab Club.
Writer L. Bush: Host of Spirit Spit in Detroit.
Laura Bodary: Host of Laurel Tree at AJ's Cafe.
John "Juan Zo" Smolinski: Host of Poetic Travelers at Lawrence Street Gallery.
Joe Kidd: Songwriter host of The Sedition World Orchestra
Mary Minock: Springfed celebrates her new memoir of a Detroit childhood.
Sponsored by Lido Gallery and Springfed Arts. Hosted by John D. Lamb, this event is free and open to the public.

The Lido Gallery Poetry & Music Series
Friday, February 3, 7pm
Book Signing with Rock and Roll Legend Mitch Ryder
Mitch Ryder, will be reading from and signing his new autobiography Devils & Blue Dresses: My Wild Ride as a Rock and Roll Legend.
Sponsored by Lido Gallery and Springfed Arts. Hosted by John D. Lamb and M.L. Liebler, this event is free and open to the public.

The Lido Gallery, 33535 Woodward Ave. (next to Woodward Camera), Birmingham, MI, 248-792-6248.
____________________________________________________________________

Springfed Arts Winter Writing Classes start in February. Register online here or send in form below.

Prose with Maureen Dunphy- Getting There from Here at Royal Oak Public Library, 222 E. Eleven Mile, Royal Oak, Thursdays, Feb. 9, 16, 23, and March 1, 8, and 15, 6:45 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.  Begin—or return to—that writing project of your dreams.  Learn how to set writing goals that work for you and then discover the techniques that can help you achieve them.  Share works in progress with a supportive group while you practice using the paths employed by successful writers to continue writing, achieve your objectives, and move toward completing your project, regardless of your genre.  Dunphy earned her MFA in fiction writing from Goddard College.  She has been published in Peninsula:  Essays and Memoirs from Michigan (Michigan State University Press, 2000) and in Between the Lines:  Writing What You Couldn’t Say (Plain View
Press, 2000).  She has taught creative writing courses at Oakland University, Oakland Community College-Orchard Ridge and the University of Windsor.  She conducts writing workshops locally and on Pelee Island.   

Poetry and Prose with Carolyn Walker: Friday Mornings: Big Boy, 6440 Dixie Highway, Independence Township, Friday mornings, February 10, 17, 24, March 2, 9 & 16, 10 am - noon.  Carolyn Walker has an MFA from Vermont College of  Fine Arts.  Her memoir, Every Least Sparrow, is being circulated for publication by her agent.  She has been published in The Southern Review, Crazyhorse, The Writer's Chronicle, among others. One of Walker's essays has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.  Walker won 1st place in Springfed Arts 2010 fiction contest.  

Fiction with Kelly Fordon:  Grosse Pointe Park Library, 15175 East Jefferson, Grosse Pointe Park, 48230, Wednesdays, February 8, 15, (no class on Feb, 22), March 7, 14 & 21, 7 pm - 9 p.m.  Breathe life into your story or novel.  Share works in progress and discuss methods for enhancing your writing using plot charts, sketch books, diagrams, note cards and other techniques employed by successful writers.  Our goal will be to work toward the completion of at least one short story or an opening chapter.  Before Kelly Fordon finished her first novel she worked at the NPR member station in Detroit and for National Geographic magazine. Her work has appeared in The Kenyon Review On-Line, Flashquake, Red Wheelbarrow, The Windsor Review, The Bear River Review, Voices in Wartime and other journals. Her poetry chapbook, On the Street Where We Live, won the Standing Rock Chapbook Competition and will be published in February 2012. In 2011, she received third place in the Katherine Handley Prose Poem Contest and the Tiferet Journal fiction contest and was a finalist in the 38th Annual Mississippi Valley Poetry Contest. She is currently working towards her MFA in fiction writing at Queens University.  www.kellyfordon.com  

Fiction with Joe Ponepinto: at Jane Addams School, 2222 W. Webster Road, Royal Oak, 48073. Wednesdays, February 8, 15, 22, 29, March 7 & 14, 7 pm - 9 pm.  Joe Ponepinto is the Book Review Editor for the Los Angeles Review and a graduate of the MFA program at the Northwest Institute of Literary Arts. His short story How To Live in a Hotel is the 2011 winner of Springfed Arts Prose Contest. His short story collection Desperate Men, Desperate Measures was a finalist in the prestigious St. Lawrence Book Award contest. His work has been published in many literary journals. Contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Memoir with Nancy Owen Nelson:   at Nelson Studio, Dearborn, Tuesdays, February 7, 14, 21, 28, March 6 & 13, 7-9 pm.  Nelson has published nonfiction and poetry and has edited four books. She served as Assistant Director of the Hassayampa Institute for Creative Writing.  Registrants privy to location.  Contact Nelson at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or 928-308-3785.  

A Poetry Workshop with Dawn McDuffie:  Arts League-Virgil Carr Center, 311 E. Grand River, Detroit, Tuesday nights, February 7, 14, 21, 28, March 6 & 13, 6:30 pm - 8:30 p.m.  All writers eighteen or older are welcome at this workshop. Dawn McDuffie has taught creative writing in Detroit since 1999. Her book, Bulky Pick-Up Day is now available.  

Advanced Poetry Workshops with Mary Jo Firth Gillett: (2 classes) Tuesday nights, February7, 14, 21, (skip 28), March 6, 13 & 20, 7-9 p.m., Jane Addams School, R.O., Wednesday afternoons, February 8, 15, 22, (skip 29) March 7, 14 & 21, 1-3 p.m., Birmingham's Baldwin Library.  No class Feb 28 & 29 while Mary Jo attends AWP Conference.  If you're interested in a class, whether as a new or returning poet, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Poets who haven't been in the workshops before, please first send three sample poems in the body of an email or as an attachment.

Poetry with Matthew Olzmann: Café 1923, 2287 Holbrook St., Hamtramck, Thursdays, February 9, 16, 23, (skip March 1), March 8, 15 & 22, 7-9 pm.  All writers welcome at this workshop.  Matthew Olzmann’s first book, Mezzanines, was selected for the 2011 Kundiman Prize and will be published by Alice James Books in 2103.  His poems have appeared in Kenyon Review, New England Review, The Southern Review, Gulf Coast and elsewhere.  He was a 2010 Kresge Arts Fellow, and is currently the Poet-in-residence for the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program at the University of Michigan.

A Poetry Workshop with Zilka Joseph:  Wednesdays, February 8 - March 14, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm.  At the Valley Ranch Apartments Clubhouse, 1315 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, 48108. (near Meijers on Ann Arbor-Saline Road.) Class begins with a craft discussion. Participants receive reading material, write new work, receive critiques and guidance from the instructor Zilka Joseph, an award winning, Pushcart- nominated writer.  Joseph's poem The Blessed is the 2011 winner of the Springfed Arts Poetry Contest.  Maximum - 8 students.

Poetry & Prose with Joy Gaines-Friedler: at the Farmington Community Library, 32737 W. 12 Mile Road., Tuesdays, February 7, 14, 21, 28, March 6 & 13, 6:45 pm - 8:45 pm. All writers welcome.  We'll explore poetry, creative non-fiction and short story. Receive writing prompts and get feedback on your work. Hurry, classes fill quickly. Joy Gaines-Friedler is the author of Like Vapor, Mayapple Press. Contact Joy at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The fee is $110 for members and $160 for first-timers (additional $50 makes you a member for 1 year).  Financial aid available. Writing classes are limited to the first 12 people who enroll.  
Register online at www.springfed.org or fill out the form below and send to:
John D. Lamb, Director-Springfed Arts,
PO Box 304, Royal Oak, MI 48068-0304

Title of Workshop(s)_______________________________ Fee________
If you are a new or renewing member add membership donation.
Total enclosed________________
Name_____________________________________________________
Address___________________________________________________
City_____________________________ State _________Zip_________
Phone & email_____________________________________________
Credit Card­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­#_____________________________________Exp.________

IMPORTANT: MAKE CHECKS PAYABLE TO SPRINGFED ARTS
_________________________________________________________________________

Springfed Arts MEMBERSHIP DRIVE 2012
Your support helps us to continue our programs. This includes retreats, classes and showcases for writers, poets and songwriters throughout Michigan.

Basic Membership $50
Student and Under-employed Membership $40
You receive:
• Newsletter delivered to your computer/Smartphone.
• Free entry in Poetry/Prose Contest.
• $75 towards Springfed Arts retreats.
• Discount on all workshops offered & more.
Supporting Membership $300 - $900
All of the above and $100 towards any Springfed writers’ retreat.
Benefactor Membership $1000+
All of the above plus $150 towards any Springfed writers’ retreat.
All dollars to Springfed Arts are tax deductible.
Please join up or renew.
Easy to do online at www.springfed.org

Membership registration form: Springfed Arts
Renewal _____ New Contributor ______Amount enclosed_________

Name__________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________

City____________________________ State_____ Zip ____________

Phone__________________ E-mail_____________________________

Credit Card­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­#_____________________________________Exp.________
_________________________________________________________________________

Musing Series
Sunday, February 19, 2:30pm-4:30pm
Jamaal May: A Cave Canem and Callaloo Fellow, Pushcart nominee, 3-time Rustbelt Slam Champion and 2-time Detroit Slam Champion.  He is the author of The God Engine, 2009 Pudding House Press and published in Indiana Review, Spoon River, and Blackbird.
Sky Covington:  a neo-soul chanteuse of jazz, soul and gospel music.
Hosted by Ann Holdreith at Scarab Club, 217 Farnsworth, Detroit. Open mic, poets and musicians welcome.  No Musing in December.  Sponsored by Springfed Arts.


U of M MFA Program in Creative Writing
Alumna Zilka Joseph reads from her new book, What Dread
Tuesday, February 7, 5pm, 3222 Angell Hall, 435 S. State Street, Ann Arbor


Noon Reading Series
Wayne State University
Monday, January 30— Matthew Olzmann & Vincent Perrone
Monday, February 27— Vievee Francis & Aricka Foreman
Monday, March 5—Lynn Crawford & Matthew Polzin
All events are 12pm -1 pm. Free & open to the public.  5057 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, room 10302. Light refreshments served. Funding for this series is made possible by Poets & Writers and the Department of English at Wayne State University.


The Freelance Marketplace Writers' Group
We meet on third Tuesday of the month to discuss the business of writing. New, working, and published writers, photographers and illustrators are welcome. Free and open to the public. On February 21 we will be joined by Jim Allard, a Nashville-Style songwriter.  Rochester Hills Barnes & Noble Bookstore at 2800 S. Rochester Road (west side) just North of Auburn Road at 7:30 p.m. Contact Michael Dwyer, freelance writer specializing in travel content, (248) 651-6869, www.RochesterWriters.com


If Not For Dreams: Memoir of a Foster Child by Debraha Watson, PHD is now available at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com and Kindle store.
1960: Debraha, a seven-year old girl, becomes a Ward of the State after the death of her mother.  Coming into care she suffers from the loss of her family, a damaged self-image, and a great deal of stress.  Like anyone under stress, she tries to find ways to behave that she thinks will relieve her pain.  This results in inappropriate behavior, which in, turn brings on more emotional pain-usually through denial or projection.  She consciously uses learned behaviors to protect both herself and her younger brother, attempting to manipulate their environment often times with disastrous results.  Thirty years later:  Debraha struggles to make peace with her painful childhood.  In her research she stumbles onto a trail of truths that lead her to forgiveness, self-empowerment and lifelong learning.


Thanks for reading and writing,
John D. Lamb
Director - Springfed Arts
www.springfed.org
248-589-3913

Springfed Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and your support is tax-deductible.
This message is meant for friends of the literary and musical arts.  If you would like to be taken off this list click reply and write "no thanks"  in the subject.