Illinois State Poetry Society

To join ISPS through June, , please fill out our Membership Form and mail it with a check for $15.00. You don't have to be an Illinois resident to join ISPS, but you do need to be an ISPS member to have your poems posted in this Web site.

Please note: Most ISPS meetings have been held in the western suburbs of Chicago in the past. A new ISPS group is now meeting in the northern suburbs. The northern suburban meetings will be on the months between the meetings of the western suburban group. Members may attend either the Northbrook meetings or the Lemont meetings or both.

ISPS News Bulletins

A Message from the President, July 2008

by John Quinn, ISPS President

George Carlin just recently died.

George was a comic, a social critic and a linguistic. He once said "... there are no bad words; bad actions and bad intentions, but no bad words." Only he said it a lot funnier than I write it.

Comics and poets have a lot in common. Both twist and taunt language. They find similarities between diverse subjects; connections, where no prior connections existed.

The poet and the comic will put unusual subjects in ordinary circumstance or ordinary subjects in unusual circumstance -- then describe the interaction. That is what makes art: the ability to find universal or at least, mutual meaning in what we do or what we are surrounded by, be it a garden or a cesspool.

From Wallace Stevens' "poignancies of a peignoir" to George Carlin's "Napalm & Silly Putty" there are meanings and pictures that just never existed before. They give us joy and feelings that are unique.

Some of what George Carlin did is labeled "ADULTS ONLY" and that is okay. He expressed his thoughts in the language he was comfortable with, even if others might not approve. He was original and fresh. Good poets are like that. I am not going to read Charles Bukowski or Alan Ginsberg at a nursery school picnic. Remember, there are no bad words.

So next time you hear a comic, listen for the similes, the metaphors, the rhythm of the language and realize that in every joke is the kernel of a poem (and vice-versa, too).

john quinn
quinn70@comcast.net

"Last Sunday" Reading To Be Held on August 31

The Illinois State Poetry Society and the Westmont Area Friends of the Arts welcome you to a poetry reading on Sunday, August 31 at Brewed Awakening, 19 W. Quincy, Westmont (just off Cass Avenue, across from the Westmont Train Station). These monthly poetry readings are co-sponsored by the Illinois State Poetry Society, the Westmont Area Friends of the Arts, and Brewed Awakening. The readings are held the last Sunday of each month. Judy DePauw and Michael Galati will be the featured poets at our next event.

There will be music at noon, with poetry from 12:30-2:00 p.m. Some time will be devoted to open mic, so bring several of your poems to share, if you wish. Brewed Awakening is an intimate, locally-owned coffeeshop. Everyone is welcome.

Judy DePauw grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She is a university student. One of her poems is on a permanent bronze plaque in the Emily Dickinson Garden at the Bettendorf, Iowa, Public Library.

Michael Galati resides in Lemont, Illinois, where he taught English for 40 years. Since he had been assigning his students to write poetry, he decided that he would try writing poetry himself. He currently participates in poetry readings and otherwise promotes the art of poetry. Michael has served as an officer in the Illinois State Poetry Society.

Evanston Open Mic at "Cafe Express"

ISPS member James L. Corcoran announces that everyone is invited to join in an open mic event in Evanston at Cafe Express (N) on Dempster St. 1/2 block west of Chicago Ave. the 3rd Saturday of every month, beginning at 7 p.m. Sign-up begins one-half hour before showtime, and please notify the MC. CALL AHEAD! 847-864-1868

Upcoming ISPS Meetings

ISPS News Bulletins

A Message from the President, July 2008

"Last Sunday" Reading To Be Held on August 31

Evanston Open Mic at "Cafe Express"

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