Poetry & Poets in Rags: February 5th forum announcement

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

February 5th forum announcement

Dear Poetry Aficionados,

Poetry & Poets in Rags

What could be the biggest possible news for the online poetry world, especially the InterBoard Poetry Community? Possibly Gina Bryson stepping down as Managing Editor of IBPC? Well, after 8 years in that position, the remarkable woman who has driven the IBPC webship to where it is today, is doing just that. But who could replace her? Well, she will. She is looking for someone who will not flake out, and who will be objective with all the issues that arise.

I am hoping that such a person is out there. Let me give you one example. As you know, I invite our esteemed judges for the monthly and annual contests. Last year, I wanted to invite multiple black, or if you'd rather, Afro-American judges--both last year into this year being the 200th anniversary of the Slave Trade Act of 1808. This conscious affirmative action brought us E. Ethelbert Miller, now a good friend and important part of IBPC. But before him, I wanted to, but wondered if we should, invite the Baraka poets, Amiri and Amina. In other words, it is not my place to suddenly turn IBPC controversial, nor to impose my way of thinking on the entire community. Yet, it seemed to me ethically, this had to be overcome somehow, like I should just send the invitation without asking. I always felt it a shame that politics flamed an extraordinarily poor misread of a poem that ran Amiri Baraka out of his New Jersey laureateship.

What did Gina say when I asked? Because he would make an exceptional judge of poetry, her answer was a swift and decided "yes". Whereas I brought subjectivity, Gina brought objectivity. Unfortunately for the near future, the Barakas cannot judge for us, but the invitation went out enthusiastically.

If you are interested and can make this commitment, and you can be the hub working with the IBPC directors and me, and hopefully have a vision that can drive this IBPC webship into a future, e-mail Gina at wordsketch (at sign) yahoo (period) com.

More IBPC news! Stephen Bunch of Poets.org fame is on the Back Page. He's won the IBPC contest before, and now has won the Langston Hughes Literary Award for Poetry. And there's more. Just before the Back Page, the 10th article in News at Eleven is an excellent one about The River Styx and its editors, who have been IBPC judges. Check that out.

I must let you get to reading, finding out who, for instance, is the top draw in American poetry today (so says the Seattle Post-Intelligencer), reading the three articles Robert Pinsky is in (Is it him?), in a huge week for poetry news. But, scroll down to the Great Regulars. Andrew Varnon is a dad.