Minutes of the Denver Branch of the National League of American Pen Women
September 5, 2020
Members Present: Atlanta Sheridan, Diane Chambers, Kay Taylor, Kelly Ann Compton, Andrea Antico, Beverly Chico, Ann Klaiman, Ray Cober, Nancy Peterson, Karen Gonzales, Sue Luxa, Laurel Becker, A. Marie Kriss
Diane opened the virtual meeting on Zoom at 9:35am.
Inspirational Reading: Diane read a poem from the book, Women’s Voices of the 20th Century, by Sheila Phelan Wright, a former member of the Denver branch. The poem was entitled From the Past I Come. Diane chose it because she thought it expressed how we are all trying to transport ourselves into the future.
Introduction of Guests:
Diane welcomed the guests and asked each of them to introduce themselves.
–Aimee Guerts told the group that she was hoping to find a group of writers to inspire her in the craft of writing.
–Sydney Popovich said that she and her husband write together and that she is looking for a place to both grow and contribute.
–Adrianna Voss, a children’s author, wants to be around other writers.
–Linda Volin is a poet and an author of preteen novels.
Approval of Minutes: Ray moved to accept the minutes as written and Ann seconded. The minutes were approved unanimously by the members.
Treasurer’s Report: Diane noted that there were no activities affecting our existing funds and that the balance remains $958.54 in the account for the Branch. There was some discussion about the monthly Zoom fee of $15.62 currently being incurred. Kelly Ann moved to enroll in a yearly Zoom account which is currently being offered at a 30 percent discount. Kay seconded the motion. It passed unanimously.
Committee Reports:
Website – Virginia, our web-mistress, consulted with a web professional to take a look at the site, and assess what needed to be done. She has worked with him before. He made a list of things that needed to be done and did not charge for this. A new e-mail form has been added to the “Contact Us” page. It’s designed to challenge and catch suspected SPAM. All broken links and plugins (apps) were updated. Virginia is currently attempting to update and replace an obsolete but vital part of the site. It involves getting three applications to work together. She has consulted the creator of one of the applications, and as of this report, is waiting for an answer.
Membership – Diane reported that word is getting out about our group. She surmised that it might be due to notices she has placed on Colorado Writers’ Cafe Meet Up or maybe the need more writers are feeling to connect with other writers during the pandemic. She also noted that Zoom meetings might be more attractive to potential new members because driving is no longer a barrier. Kelly Ann explained the rules and benefits of membership in Pen Women. Guests were asked to contact either Diane or Kelly Ann with additional questions about membership.
History – Diane asked for a volunteer to assume the position of Historian for the Branch. Aimee said she might be interested in assuming this role if she joined the group.
Tapestry– Diane gave a brief history of the project for the guests. She reported that one of the panels was to be awarded to a Denver Public school which won our Tapestry contest. Ann offered to deliver one of the five remaining boxes of panels to Salida HighSchool. Karen suggested that folks watch the informative Tapestry video on our website for more background on the project.
Programming – Diane announced that in October, Caitlin Berve, a Boulder editor, will make a presentation on how to write effective descriptions and settings. In November, there is a possibility of Trai Cartwright presenting on “How to Turn your Book into a Screenplay.” Members liked that idea. Diane will contact Trai. Karen contacted the Lighthouse about making a presentation to the group. The Lighthouse needs more information on exactly what topic we would like presented.
Wednesday Evening Critique Group – Atlanta described the role of the critique group to help members get feedback from others on their writing. The following people expressed an interest in being notified about joining the group: Laurel, Adrianne, Sydney, Diane, Atlanta, Ray, Aimee, and Kelly Ann.
Old Business – Karen said she did not attend the last Mid-West NAPW meeting and therefore had nothing to report. Diane will send a notice out the group about the next meeting of that group so that others might attend (virtually). Diane mentioned that the Pikes Peak Branch of Pen Women has split with National due to conflicts.
New Business – National has a new Facebook page where members can get additional exposure for their work. Andrea was congratulated for being a semi-finalist for the CIPA EVVY award for her children’s book, The Sugar Plum Tree. The book can be found on kindereads.com.
Announcements– Laurel Becker received the American Fiction Award for children’s Literature for her book, Tales from Weaver Pond.
The meeting was adjourned at 10:30.
After the meeting Ann Klaiman presented a poetry workshop to the group. A summary of her workshop follows:
Member Ann Klaiman lead our Zoom group of 19 writers through a poetry workshop. Her introduction included definitions of poetry, including “Poetry is writing that doesn’t go all the way to the right-side of the page,” and a recommendation to ignore the current advice that,”Rhyming is typically considered outdated, unless you’re really, really good.” Rhyme if you want to. The remainder of the workshop focused on writing a free verse poem (which, incidentally, doesn’t use rhyme). At the end of the session, Diane recommended sending completed poems to her (dianechambers@hughes.net). If you send one to her, or to Ann (aeklaiman@aol.com), by next Monday, September 14, Ann will share the grouping of poems amongst the poets who sent one. Anyone who would like a copy of the workshop’s handout can request one from Ann.
Respectfully submitted by,
Kay Taylor