Word of the Day, Daily Verse and Poem, Web Site of the Day, Special Feature, and much more. Please save the date for the 1st annual Multicultural Women Writers Festival on Saturday, October 9, 2010! Join Multicultural Women Writers as we welcome many of the world’s most dynamic, inspirational and dynamic women writers to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to share their wisdom and inspiration with our audience. We are so honored that the keynote speaker is Patricia A. McKissack, Professor of English and Director of Multicultural Scholarship at UMass-Amherst. We will also have an amazing lineup of speakers and workshops, including Maya Angelou, Terry Bisson, Sandra Cisneros, Marilyn Nelson, Sapphire and Ntozake Shange. For full schedule and details, please see the Multicultural Women Writers Festival. The Multicultural Women Writers Festival is a sponsored project of the Arts Council of Greater Minneapolis. We’re in the process of creating an email list that will include not only the regular email updates but special announcements about our Festival and other events of interest. However, in order to subscribe, we ask you to email us at: festival@intercon.org and let us know if you’d like to receive updates. I have two special emails for the members of my e-mail list. Each month I provide members with a list of the poems published in the latest issue of Poem of the Day, along with my commentaries and some news about new writing and publishing opportunities. To receive the monthly poem e-mail, email us at: poetryfriday@intercon.organd put “subscribe” in the subject line. And every other Thursday, I send out a list of the poems published in that week’s Poetry Friday post, along with some new and upcoming writing contests and readings, and news about publishing opportunities. To receive this list, please email us at: poetryfriday@intercon.organd put “subscribe” in the subject line. The Multicultural Women Writers Festival is a sponsored project of the Arts Council of Greater Minneapolis. As I have been working on my presentation for the Multicultural Women Writers Festival, I have come to think about it as the story of my experiences with poetry as a career and as a life-long woman poet. I have never had any formal training in literature, or in any of the humanities, and yet, because I have also been a professional editor and editor-in-training, I can attest that poetry does offer opportunities to be a critical reader. I have been an editor for over twenty-five years and I have had the opportunity to work for prestigious publishers like Houghton Mifflin, Harcourt Brace & Company, and Oxford University Press. I feel that my experience with poetry, from both the inside and the outside of the publishing world, has contributed to a deeper and more informed understanding of poetry. I’ve noticed that poetry has helped me develop not only an interest in life, but an appreciation of my own cultural background, and an understanding of the world. My life experiences are reflected in my poems, yet, at the same time, I was able to see beyond my own circumstances, even when I was writing about how I felt as a Black woman, a writer, a mother and a professional. In my poetry and short stories, I was able to find humor in my experience, while also acknowledging my pain and my losses. I want to acknowledge that the opportunities for women poets, particularly multicultural women poets and poetry editors, are often limited. I think that we are often not given the space to explore our talents and our skills, and to really discover and appreciate what we can do. When we are exposed to the artistry of others, or are given the opportunity to create our own artistry, the results can be astounding. Even though this is my first year at Intercon, I have been an editor for over twenty-five years and have edited many hundreds of poems and creative writing. I know that it is important to allow women poets the time and space to fully express their artistic talent, and it is important to acknowledge the talents and creativity of professional editors. There are many publications that celebrate the writing of women poets and editors of color. Some of these are print publications like “The Sisterhood Anthology” published by the Center for Black Women’s Wellness. This organization recognizes the importance of not only publishing the work of women poets and poets of color, but of celebrating their accomplishments. As a professional editor and poet, I want to recognize the achievements of Black women who have spent their lives developing their writing and skills. I’m honored that this year, I’m going to be able to give our keynote address for the Multicultural Women Writers Festival. It’s an honor that I’m very thankful for. I look forward to hearing the contributions of other women writers and poets, and will continue to encourage writers of color to use the power of words to effect change in the world. So, again, my name is Marilyn Pons and I am here to share my poetry with you. May poetry allow us to be better readers, and to be better people. We’re in the process of creating an email list that will include not only the regular email updates but special announcements about our Festival and other events of interest. However, in order to subscribe, we ask you to email us at: festival@intercon.org and let us know if you’d like to receive updates. I have two special emails for the members of my e-mail list. Each month I provide members with a list of the poems published in the latest issue of Poem of the Day, along with my commentaries and some news about new writing and publishing opportunities. To receive the monthly poem e-mail, email us at: poetryfriday@intercon.organd put “subscribe” in the subject line. And every other Thursday, I send out a list of the poems published in that week’s Poetry Friday post, along with some new and upcoming writing contests and readings, and news about publishing opportunities. To receive this list, please email us at: poetryfriday@intercon.organd put “subscribe” in the subject line. I’m in the process of composing my presentation for the Intercon Women Writers Festival. I hope to convey some of the excitement I have for the festival and, of course, for the opportunity to take part in this marvelous festival. I’ve always had a fascination with women writers and I find that I have taken up women’s studies as a professional pursuit of mine. As a scholar, I know that a woman’s perspective is often marginalized in the world of literature. I want to be part of creating an environment where women writers are given the opportunity to express themselves and their experiences. I’ve also had the great honor of being a poetry editor for many years and have worked on anthologies that include poems written by women writers and writers of color. I think that these experiences have helped me to appreciate the talent of women writers, and to understand that we can not only see the world through different eyes, but that we have something unique to contribute. I’ve been interested in writing since the sixth grade and was exposed to creative writing early in my life. I wrote poems for school and for contests, both individually and as a member of the high school Debate Team. My mother was a teacher and also encouraged my artistic talents, but her greatest influence in my life was in encouraging me to be curious about the world around me and its myriad of experiences. I’m very lucky that I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world and explore and experience it. As a result, I’ve been able to use poetry to express my experience. I find that my life experiences reflect in my poetry. I’ve had the opportunity to work in the fields of human resources and education, and have been an editor for twenty-five years. When I look at the opportunities for women writers, I find that there is an interesting interplay between artistry and commerce. Just as the commercial world has tried to marginalize us, I believe that we need to challenge the artistry of our work. If women writers and poets don’t take the time to challenge the male-dominated field of literature, and to explore and articulate our experiences as women and female poets, I fear that there will be a continuing marginalization of women’s poetry. It’s so important for women to appreciate what they do, to understand the potential that exists in each of us, and to use our art to convey our experiences. I hope that I can be a part of making women’s poetry more visible, and to encourage women writers to share their art with the world. I will also be taking a group of women of color to the International Women’s Poetry Festival in San Francisco. Women of color are not given the opportunity to be present for these events, so I’m very excited about this opportunity. And of course, there’s more to being a poet and being a woman than race or ethnicity, but I’m going to be speaking about my experiences in the writing world, and how I believe that being a woman of color has impacted my writing, and vice versa. I think that there’s a really wonderful interplay between our experiences and the power of words. I think that we can use poetry as a way to explore our lives, our experiences, and to help us make sense of the world around us. I also believe that there