Denver Pen WomenArtists Embassy International is searching for poetry on any subject suitable for a general audience. Awards will be made at the California Legion of Honor in San Francisco, Sept. 24, 2011. Each winning poet is asked to read at the event. Three Grand Prize winners will have their poems choreographed and presented on stage in a poetic dance performance.
Deadline for submission was May 15, 2011. For more information go to www.dancingpoetry.com.
I’d like to share the news that my second article was published in PRAIRIE TIMES newspaper last month. It is a “how to” piece titled “Finding Memory in All the Wrong Places.” The article describes some memory tactics that, as a busy primary teacher, I began using many years ago. The mnemonics worked remarkably well and were adopted by some of my colleagues. I’ve adapted them to fit my life as I’ve grown older.
The first article which PRAIRIE TIMES published dealt with my tenure as a “school marm” at my elementary school in Lakewood during which I implemented a 4-week history unit. I had written the curriculum to duplicate the school life of Colorado children at the one-room prairie schools which dotted the eastern plains in the early l900’s. We used slates, hornbooks, McGuffey Readers, copy books, spelling bees and lunch pails. The children and I emulated the language and mannerisms of those long ago days. The girls wore pinafores and the boys wore little cotton vests. The unit culminated with a “walking” field trip when we, in costume, walked one mile along Lakewood streets to the One Room School House at the Belmar Museum grounds. We spent an unforgettable day studying and pretending in that “early days” classroom. –Pat Kennedy
On Saturday April 3rd, the Denver Branch of NLAPW held its monthly meeting with special guest speaker editorial cartoonist Ed Stein. Stein was a fixture at the Rocky Mountain News, serving as the staff editorial cartoonist for 31 years until the newspaper closed in 2009. Mr. Stein produces at least two editorial cartoons per week for Newspaper Enterprise Association. Unlike many cartoonists, he rarely targets politicians but prefers to do cartoons that comment on how current events affect the lives of average people.
Happy Birthday, Mr. Lincoln, an anthology of pieces written by NLAPW members and edited by Sandy Chapman and Anna di Bella, has been selected to receive the George Washington Honor Medal. This award is given by the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, through a rigid selection process based on quality and content.
The Foundation felt that this book exemplified the essence of their national awards by “promoting an understanding and appreciation for our country’s rich heritage and unique freedoms.”
CONGRATULATIONS to all involved and especially to our own Sandy Chapman!!!