Past Events
2013
MSA PPS members met for public readings six times in 2013:
- March 11 − Open mic evening
- April 8 – Robert Martens reads from Poltergeist.
- September 9 – Alvin Ens launches Must Have A Sense of Humour.
- October 7 – Satwant Pander launches The Healing Power of Nature.
We also had an annual general meeting and a social gathering:
- November 3 – End-of-year potluck supper.
2012
Members of MSA PPS met for six public readings in 2012.
March 26 – Blue Moon rises on 2012
April 16 – Open Mic Poetry Night offers potpourri of poems
May 7 – May Poetry night
June 11 – Historic two-book launch night
September 10 – Delicious fare and a book launch too
October 15 – Final Blue Moon launches Picking Flowers
On November 7 we held our MSA PPS Annual General Meeting at Kariton Gallery. Then on November 28th we rounded out the year with a our traditional Christmas Potluck, hosted this year by the Brauns: MSA PPS poets celebrate the season.
Members also met unofficially at two sad events—the January memorial of Vivian Gowan, lifetime member Thurlow Gowan’s wife, and then in October a Celebration of the Life of Thurlow Gowan himself, just weeks short of his 100th birthday, and about a month after the publication Picking Flowers—the anthology that featured his poetry.
Reading dates are booked for 2013 (Upcoming Events 2013). More details will be posted on the Home page when they become available.
2011
The MSA Poets Potpourri Society met for readings six times in 2011.
March 21 – Members and guests open mic reading.
April 18 – Blue Moon reading with Elizabeth Bachinsky.
May 30 – Blue Moon reading featured the launch of Alvin Ens’s newest book The Boy In Me.
June 20 – Blue Moon reading launched of Shelley Haggard’s debut book, The Haggard Road.
September 12 – Blue Moon reading with Ibrahim Honjo.
October 17 – Members and guests open mic reading.
November 7 – The Society’s Annual General Meeting took place at the Clearbrook Library.
2010
Prose and Poetry Open Mike Readings
Members of the MSA PPS read prose and poetry at Open Microphone Readings (Clearbrook Library) the 4th Tuesday every other month from 6:30PM – 8:30PM. A variety of poets participated on February 9, March 9, April 6, May 25, 2010.
Blue Moon Readings
Our Blue Moon Reading sessions featured, in addition to open mike readers, Alvin Ens and Violet Nesdoly reading on June 22, and Surjeet Kalsey reading on September 7, 2010.
Blue Moon and Book Launch
On October 26th MSA PPS members Thurlow Gowan, Brayden Sawatzky and Nicholas Roberts launched their anthology A Trail of Light at a special Blue Moon Reading.
Annual Potluck
On November 25th members and guests gathered at Kariton Gallery to feast body and soul at an annual MSA PPS potluck.
AGM
On December 7th members wound up the year’s activities with the Annual General Meeting at Kariton Gallery.
2009
April 14/09: Featured poet, Violet Nesdoly & the New Anthology
More About Poets Potpourri
Our membership is eclectic ranging from novice to published poets.
Throughout the year we participate in a variety of community events with the goal of raising awareness of our Society.
In 2006 we published an anthology, Poetic Spirits of The Valley, to mark the 25th anniversary of our Society. We have a second anthology pending, due for publication in spring, 2009. It will include poetry written by our members as well as poems written by winners of our first (2008) poetry contest, River of Words.
Winners All
For a small club such as Poets Potpourri Society, we have done very well in receiving awards.
Shelley Haggard, in 2002, received a 2nd place $5000 Poetry.com award. She has been published in Down in the Valley (Fraser Valley University) in 2004 and The Rag (Penny-a-line Promotions, Abbotsford) in 2005. In 2008-2009 she expects to be published in three anthologies: Ascent Aspirations Magazine Anthology 6 Fall 2008: Erotica Issue (Nanoose Bay, BC), 3 poems in a Copeland Books Anthology (United Kingdom) due in February 2009 and this anthology.
Her poem from The South Delta Poets and Painters Show featuring many artists is to be put in an up-coming coffee table book. The Backroom Theatre Club, in collaboration with World Poetry Reading Series and the Arts Council of New Westminster, put out a booklet Performing Arts and Peace that featured two of her poems. Her poem “The Tap” was performed by the Abbotsford Children’s Theatre for various Opening Nites at The Reach, the new arts centre in Abbotsford.
In 2008, also, she won several writing awards:
Elora Writers’ Festival (Elora, Ontario) – Poetry – 2nd
West End (Vancouver) – Honourable Mention (HM)
Eden Mills (Ontario) – HM
Clem Battye Legacy Award Writing Contest (Penticton Writers) – 2nd
Lucidity Journal (Houston, Texas) – HM
Violet Nesdoly has been very active in writing circles. In the 2000’s she won to become the Christian Poet Laureatte at Utmost Christian Writers (2006-2008) and is a regular columnist for Fellowscript (Inscribe Writers) and for Utmost (Edmonton). She has won awards for poetry and prose in Utmost, Inscribe and The Word Guild Canada:
Utmost Canadian – Landscape, 2007 –Honourable Mention
Utmost Canadian – Flag, 2008 – 1st
Utmost – Canadian – Where Is God? 2008 – HM
Utmost International, 2004 & 2005 – HM
Utmost International, 2006, 2007, & 2008 – Merit Award
Christian Publishers Poetry Prize, 2008 – HM
Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship awards for poetry – Spring,
2004 and Fall, 2005 – lst, Fall, 2008 – 3rd
Inscribe Christian Writers’ Fellowship awards for devotionals —
Spring 2004 – 2nd, Fall 2008 – 3rd
The Word Guild Canadian Writing Awards: Children & Young
Adult Article or Short Story category, 2003, 2004, 2007 & 2008
– 1st, Children & Young Adult Article or Short Story category,
2006 – Merit Award, Personal Experience Article category, 2004
– lst, Review category, 2007 – 1st
Alvin Ens has entered some of the same contests as Shelley and Violet and has won or placed in the following:
Utmost Landscape, 2007 – lst (Violet got an HM)
Utmost Rhyming, 2007 – lst
Utmost Flag, 2008 – 2nd (Violet won lst)
Clem Battye Short Story (Penticton Writers), 2007 – lst
Clem Battye Poetry, 2008 – lst (Shelley got a 2nd)
Eden Mills, Ontario, Writing Awards, 2008 – 3rd (Shelley got an HM)
Grit Lit, 2008 (Hamilton Arts) – short listed
Word Guild Canada Book Awards, 2006 (short listed also in 2003,
2008) (Violet wins in article categories)
He has items published in many anthologies, magazines and web pages:
Down in the Valley (University College of the Fraser Valley) – 2004
(as does Shelley)
Event (Douglas College) – 2004
To Hope and Beyond (Penticton Writers) – 2004 (Violet was also
featured)
Choices (Canadian Writers’ Journal) – 2005
Ascent Aspirations (Nanoose Bay) – 2007 (Shelley is listed in 2008)
Canadian Mennonite, Mennonite Brethren Herald, Canadian
Christian News
He is a freelance contributor for Utmost (Edmonton, Canadian), Fellowscript (Canadian), Canadian Stories (Fergus, Ontario), and The News (Abbotsford)
He has won an Abbotsford Arts Award for Outstanding Literary Artist (2005) and was nominated again in 2007 and in 2008.
In 2009 he sponsors and will judge a Canadian Stories poetry contest.
Our society has many writers who have published books and entered writing contests and many more who read at PPS open mikes, and some who travel further afield to other clubs and venues. All are winners.
Fraser Valley Poets Society 