Denver poets will get a voice

By Rick Thompson
The Metropolitan

People interested in Colorado poets will soon have a new way to keep up with them.

The forthcoming Poesis Poetry Guide for Colorado will provide listings of poetry publishers, literary agents, contests, poetry readings, classes, workshops and other word-based happenings in Colorado.

The book, published by OâNeill Publishing and the Professional Book Center, will be available Oct. 15. The Columbine Poetry Society and the Colorado Council on the Arts provided grants to fund the project.

ãThereâs a vibrant poetry scene in Colorado,ä said Catherine OâNeill Thorn, a Denver poet and owner of OâNeill Publishing. She hopes the guide will connect the public with that scene.

OâNeill Thorn, a Metro graduate, founded Poesis, a monthly poetry newsletter and calendar, in 1991. It was published for four years until financial problems shut it down. After people told her they missed the newsletter, OâNeill Thorn decided to publish the guide.

ãThere are poetry readings going on every night,ä she said. ãPeople just need to know who to call and where to go. With the newsletter, they went.ä

In addition to listing readings, the guide will contain a directory to help people find poets for readings and workshops.

Even though Colorado has a large number of poets, bringing them together is not an easy task. OâNeill Thorn discovered this when she began to gather material for the book. She thought poetry networks established by the newsletter would have maintained themselves, but instead found disparate elements scattered around the state.

Her staff made over 700 phone calls and relied on many other poets for information to bring the guide together. When OâNeill Thorn turned to the media for exposure, she found they werenât too interested.

ãUntil we as poets are united as a community,ä she said, ãthe media wonât respond.ä

OâNeill Thorn hopes the first edition of the Poesis Poetry Guide for Colorado will be its own advertisement, encouraging others to get involved. She plans on updating the book yearly, but future editions will depend on funding.

ãThereâs a lot of poetry going on in Colorado, and itâs doing a lot of good. Weâre trying to form a community for poets so their voice can be heard.ä

Deadline for listing poets and poetry events in the
Poesis Poetry Guide is Sept. 1, 1997.
Contact OâNeill Publishing 697-1317
Publication date for Colorado is Oct. 15, 1997.
The Guide will be available at independent bookstores
or direct from OâNeill Publishing.