Current Events-2009
The Fraser Valley Regional
Library & MSA Poets Potpourri Society present
The Blue Moon Reading Series
At the Clearbrook Library
32320 George Ferguson Way
Abbotsford, BC
(In the meeting Room)
Admission is free. All are welcome
Sign up for the open mike portion before the featured guest reads.
6:30pm-8:30 pm
Tuesday, April 14/09
Tuesday, June 9/09
Tuesday, Aug 11/09
Tuesday, September 8/09(International Literacy Day)
Tuesday, October 13/09
April 14/09: Featured poet & New Anthology
 Violet Nesdoly lives in Surrey with her husband Ernie. She is the mother of two adult children. She works as a freelance writer. She has won many prizes for her poetry and short stories and her work can be found in Time of Singing, M.B. Herald, Prairie Messenger, Birds and Blooms, utmostchristianwriters.com, and others. Her first book of poetry was called ‘Calendar’. Her second book of poems, Family Reunion, was released in February 2007 in conjunction with her appointment as the first Utmost International Christian Poet Laureate in the spring of 2006.
VISIT YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY!
Current Events 2009
Our society offers two great opportunities to listen to local and guest poets and also to provide a forum for new participants to share their poetry. Currently we have members who read in English, Punjabi and Spanish and we invite readers to share their poetry in these or other languages.
Both reading opportunities are held at the Clearbrook Library from 6:30 to 8:30 pm.
Open Microphone Participants share their poetry. Upcoming readings are scheduled for:
February 24
March 24
April 28
Blue Moon Series Guest readers are featured with some time left for participants to share their poetry. Upcoming meetings are scheduled for:
February 10
April 14
June 09
This event has been supported by the Canadian Council for the Arts and the League of Canadian Poets
We Welcome New Members
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
Violet has her own web page (http://www.violetnesdoly.com) and blog (Promptings at http://vnesdoly.blogspot.com).
 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.
Poetry Anthology - Poetic Spirits of the Valley
For twenty-five years MSAPPS (Matsqui-Sumas-Abbotsford Poets Potpourri Society) has been an actor on the Fraser Valley literary and cultural stage.
It has
provided a venue to local writers, largely poets, to give birth and voice to their best thoughts. Collected in this little volume are the history and poetic thoughts of the members of MSA PPS and its friends...more info |