Next Meeting at the Annex, 5-13
Wealthy Theatre, Grand Rapids, MI
Hello poets!
It was great to meet many of you at our panel at the GRAM last week. I know not everyone could make it, so I hope you can attend our next meeting.
Tuesday, May 13, 6-8pm
at the Wealthy Theatre Annex
We'll have a meet & greet from 6-6:30 (I hope to have some snacks), then Shayna will give us a tour of the facilities at 6:30. After that, we'll chat about the poetry festival and maybe break into small groups assigned to whatever poetry activity you want to help plan.
GR Lit Fest Planning
FYI, the poetry festival will be held on Friday, June 20 as a part of the GR Lit Fest and it will be lit! We have a whole building and a day to fill, so bring your ideas and enthusiasm and we'll get this important work done.
First Group of GR Poets
Finally, we're working on a plan to get our first group of GR poets published. If you have a manuscript that you think is ready to go, please let us know now. We hope to kick off this first group sometime in May. I'll give you more details soon, as this is still a work in progress. But what isn't?
And if you have a manuscript that is not quite ready, you have a little time to get ready for the second group later this year, by which time we should have some details worked out.
Ways you can support the collective
Help spread the word to more Grand Rapids poets. We want to support YOU and YOUR events. We have a lot more power as a group than individually. We have a presence that we can bring. We should be difficult to ignore. Since being a poet is a calling (and not so much a choice), let's be called together! Let's make more good stuff happen.
I hope to see you at the Wealthy Theater Annex @ 1110 Wealthy St. It's located right next to the Wealthy Theater. Parking is available behind the Wealthy Theater. Directions
Christine
Spring Collective Events
We’re excited to kick off our collective during National Poetry Month with a series of events:
1. Panel, Poetry Reading, Q&A, and Meet & Greet
• When: Thursday, April 24, 6:00–7:30 PM
• Where: GRAM
• Cost: Free
https://www.artmuseumgr.org/events/visionnaire-series-grand-...
Come out and meet fellow Grand Rapids poets! Here is where we'll discover just what we're capable of together. We can't wait to meet you and talk about poetry!
2. Monthly Workshops
• When: Starting in May (exact dates and locations TBA)
• Topics Include:
• Contributing to and benefiting from the collective
• Assembling a poetry manuscript
• Becoming an effective reader of poetry manuscripts
• Translating spoken word poetry to the page
• And more
We've met lots of poetry advocates already and small groups are talking about possible workshops on the road to publishing manuscripts. Groups can also use these monthly opportunities to gather and discuss individual projects as well. There's lots of work to do!
3. Grand Rapids Literary Festival Event
• When: Friday, June 20
• Where: Wealthy Theater Annex
Help us imagine what we might do for the Literary Festival! We'll have space for workshops and readings.
In other news, we’re applying for a few grants and have secured a fiduciary. We've met with printers and are gathering estimates. Building momentum!
Poetry is more important today than ever. Our voices matter, and our words are powerful tools for change. We’re committed to getting the message out.
Thanks for your support, and we look forward to seeing you April 24 for the kickoff at the Grand Rapids Art Museum!
Big Plans for 2025
From Christine’s Patreon:
Have I told you about the Grand River Poetry Collective yet? No? Well.... I think we will be ready to publish some Grand Rapids poets in 2025.
So I'll back up a little bit. While I was completing my project An Oral History of Poetry In Grand Rapids, it occurred to me that if people want to read the work of the poets we interviewed, they would have a difficult time finding it. Even for myself, poet laureate, I do not have a book... and this is also true for the past two GR poets laureate .... publishing was not a big priority. Rather, community involvement is the important issue. And so as a result, our poetry feels less permanent and more difficult to share and to reward. I want to help fix that.
So a small group of us got together in September of 2023--poets , designers, creatives. We donate our time to make poetry books. We direct any profits to the poet. As a collective, we share skills and opportunities and are working on a no cost up-front print-on-demand model for publishing poetry books. We are volunteer run. We share skills and opportunities.
We still have a few things to work out, but the first people we'll be approaching to publish are people who participated in the OHPGR project, starting with people who have not yet published a full length book (but considering everyone, really). We'll be reaching out to that community in 2025 with book queries, and once we have a handle on that, we'll offer publishing to the broader community of Grand Rapids poets.
Have I mentioned how excited I am about this? Our first book might be ready to go in October 2024!! I have so many plans in the works, but this one,,,, this one I am very proud of.
This is still in the works, but I think it's pretty cool:
https://www.grandriverpoetrycollective.com/
Well, we didn’t make October. But we’re real close on our first title, a reprint of Melissa Wray’s book Small Gestures. We want to get the processes for publishing and promoting in place so we can do this with some sustainability. Along the way, we’ll be as transparent as possible about our process here on the website. This is all about community! We think we have a process, the secret sauce of publishing is conscientious people.
We have a number of other projects in the works that we’ll discuss as they get closer to the finish line. It’s been lovely working with folks to gather and edit works. Exciting to see what folks have come up with.
Christine has many projects, a couple documentaries, teaching poetry, and her own book of poems to hone. You can check out everything the Poet Laureate of Grand Rapids is up to here:
https://www.patreon.com/ChristineStephensKrieger