The recent League of Vermont Writers fall program, held on October 6th, was a great success! Each of the three keynote speakers -- Sonja Hakala, Ed Vincent, and Bill Schubart, gave excellent and informative presentations. It was clear from the very positive audience response that each presenter delivered vital information.

Ed spoke from his great experience as a publisher of mystery novels, and demonstrated his expertise, with many stories of how his publishing company works. Sonja detailed the various author choices currently available, from traditional publishing, to self-publishing, to ebooks. She outlined the steps to take, and paths to avoid, drawing on her experience and research used to author her book, Your Book, Your Way. Also, she reviewed publishing vocabulary and which companies could help with the various choices.

Bill Schubart also spoke from decades of personal experience that included numbers to make his point. For example, after outlining the steps to publish, he suggested that for an author to develop a book, pricing could run as much as $2,800 to $3,200. This included the necessary costs to pay critical readers, a copy editor, a literary editor, etc. He also mentioned professional ways to approach bookstores, outlined steps preliminary to printing and promoting a book, and covered royalties from traditional publishers.

The program also included genre break out sessions to help members get to know each other while working on writing as creative groups. The group overall agreed the day was very successful.

On October 8th, Vermont Poet Laureate, Chard DeNiord, conducted a workshop sponsored by Sundog Poetry. His command of the history of poetry was inspiring as he responded to questions. In his critiques of attendees’ poems, he gave examples of specific poets’ solutions to similar issues, along with his own suggestions. It is very apparent that he is an outstanding teacher, and after the session, he read from his own poems.

We are excited to launch Brilliant Light Publishing/Media, L3C as a celebration of excellent writing and poetry in New England. We are honored to have Jean Connor as our first featured poet. Her poetry emphasizes a frank beauty that handsomely articulates details, as well as the grand picture.

Welcome!

It is instructive to learn about poets’ ideation process. Ruth Stone said that poems floated toward her from the universe. Her job was to grab them and write them down. If she didn’t snag them soon enough, they would float by and disappear forever! Being quick is part of success.

Chard DeNiord in his poem, "The Gift" memorializes Ruth Stone's process.

The Gift

In memory of Ruth Stone (June 8th, 1915—November 19th, 2011)

“All I did was write them down

wherever I was at the time,

hanging laundry, baking bread, driving to Illinois.”

Mary Oliver wrote a two line poem, “Humility.”

Poems arrive ready to begin.

Poets are only the transportation.

Begin is the operative word. The arrival is an exhilarating moment. But after the poem arrives, there is still much to do. Revision ideas arrive as improvements, and they are an equally creative and important part of the process.

We appreciate these extraordinary poets’ results, as well as how they arrived:

Poet Showcase edited by Alice B. Fogel and Sidney Hall, Jr. and published by Hobblebush Books is an anthology of New Hampshire poets. The editors ask the question, “Why do we have so many poets in New Hampshire?” The poems themselves offer a wide range of answers.

Roads Taken: Contemporary Vermont Poetry, edited by Sydney Lea and Chard DeNiord, and published by Green Writers Press states, “With its mystical landscape and fiercely self-reliant citizenry, Vermont has inspired poets from its earliest days.” This certainly resonates. Vermont is an inspiring state to live in and to write in.