Alabama State Poetry Society
Newsletter News:
How does a newsletter get the news (and the olds, for that matter) that gets published? If you're a yellow-press tabloid, perhaps you'd print whatever you thought you could get away with? If you're an ASPS editor of the Messenger Ink, all you can publish is what comes your way. Let's all try to help Tabitha put together some interesting/insightful/intriguing issues by furnishing her with our own news and views, so she has some content to work with. This is OUR newsletter, provided
for OUR benefit, and no one but you knows about YOUR recent and current circumstances. Feed them to Tabitha via e-mail at:
tabithabozeman@gmail.com
Tabitha is presently planning on the next issue to be out sometime in April. Don't wait until then to send her your news. Do it now, and if she gets enough input to warrant it, she can publish sooner. ASPS has a spring contest coming up, whose details for entries will be announced soon, which will be a further incentive to publish that information also, as April would be too late. Because news often tends to get cold before it has had a chance to warm others, pass yours to Tabitha now,
and then when the newsletter comes out, you can read about yourself, and it might be like something new again.
BIG Congrats to our
Alabama rep
JAHMAN HILL
who won second place in the BlackBerry Peach National
Poetry Slam!
BIG Congrats to
Alabama's own
E. ELIZABETH BAILEY
who won the NFSPS
College Undergraduate
Poetry Competition!
2024 Poet of the Year
Dargan Ware
2023 Book of the Year
Miracle Strip
by Matthew Layne
available for purchase at
Nominations for 2025 Book of the Year
We host open mics by Zoom on the last Wednesday of the month! Follow us on Facebook or email Dargan (dware@davisnorris.com) for the link.
To submit a book of poetry for Book of the Year, mail a physical copy of the book, postmarked by December 31, 2025, to the address below. Submitted books must have been published during 2025 (the copyright date inside the book must reflect the correct year) and be written by a poet who was a current member of ASPS for the year 2025 and/or living in the state of Alabama at the time of publication. (For membership verification questions, email alabamapoets@gmail.com, and any other inquiries to: wytrabbit1@aol.com). Nominated books should contain no fewer than 40 pages of poetry. You may submit your own book! Mail nominations to:
Jerri Hardesty, Contest Chair
1830 Marvel Road
Brierfield, AL 35035
Nominations for 2026 Poet of the Year
To nominate a poet for 2026 Poet of the Year, submit a brief letter of recommendation to alabamapoets@gmail.com by December 31, 2025, outlining the poet's contributions to ASPS, the poetry community, and/or literary arts. Please keep in mind that this award is for service to the poetry community, not for the quality of their writing or publication record, and the nominee must have been a member in good standing in 2025. (For membership verification questions,
email alabamapoets@gmail.com.)
In addition, no one shall be selected more than once in any ten-year period. Thus, the following poets are ineligible: Dargan Ware (2024), Roger Carlisle (2023), Alina Stefanescu (2022), Jennifer Horne (2021), Steven Gillis (2020), Jessica Temple (2019), Jeanette Willert (2018), Rita Aiken Moritz (2017), Jodi Adamson (2016), P.T. Paul (2015).
Alabama State Poetry Society
Our society consists of members who are venturing into writing poetry as well as those who are active poets, many of whom have published in journals, created chapbooks and books of their own, and who appear at poetry readings and poetry slams. We are an affiliate of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.
ASPS sponsors contests as well as Spring and Fall meetings where poets can meet, read their work and participate in programs and workshops to improve their writing abilities. We welcome all to join us.
Founded in 1968, ASPS continues to encourage poets and to provide them with opportunities for sharing and growing. Our newsletter, the Muse Messenger, is published quarterly. It features articles on writing, news about members’ readings and publications, publishing opportunities and contest information from a variety of sources.
Our primary purpose is to promote poetry. We do this by staying in contact with one another…through our Facebook Page, our website, our Spring and Fall meetings, and through local readings and local groups. We also sponsor two rounds of poetry contests each year with cash prizes.
Interested in becoming a member?
