March 2017 - District 5 Meeting Minutes
Dear KAC District 5 Members,
Here's a summary of March's District 5 meeting.
Minutes March 11, 2017
The meeting was called to order by Diane Wahto, President, at 1:30 PM. Those attending introduced themselves, mentioning genres they write and current pieces they are working on. Conrad Jessmore mentioned that he has more books to give away as he is downsizing his home library. Books are free, but donations can be made to the District 5 treasury.
Griz was unable to be with us today, as he was attending his mother’s funeral. He sent his treasurer’s report: Total 7,068.23 minus $25 to Suzanne Tobias, Wichita Eagle columnist who spoke for us in November.
Roy Beckemeyer reported on the Evening of Poetry and Music to be held at the Fish Haus, 524 S. Commerce, on April 11, 7:30-9:00 PM. It was originally to be called Poety and Jazz, but one of the musicians felt that perhaps “jazz” was not an appropriate term for the style of the music. Entries for the reading are to be poems which require no longer than four minutes to read. They are still needing entries, but the deadline is March 18 (If you are still interested, call Roy Beckemeyer immediately). The process will be that the poet will read the poem one time. The second time the poem is read, the musicians will improvise behind the reading. It should prove to be an enjoyable evening. There is no door admission, but a tip jar is provided for the musicians.
The Program was “How to Write Publishable Letters to the Editor” and was presented by three District 5 members who have successfully had letters published. Here are the tips they gave for getting your letter published:
Diane Wahto: (Educator from 1965-2009, and has had letters published in several different papers around the country):
*Write on a topic that you know.
*Make it timely (Comment on old news will not be printed).
*Stand behind your beliefs.
*Do NOT write anonymously.
*Use real confirmable facts (no fake news).
*Review Letter to the Editor guidelines for the paper you are writing to. Various papers differ.
*Don’t write often. Maximum of one letter per month!
Prem Bajaj: Prem demonstrated a notebook with many, many of his published letters to editors.
*Keep a copy of your letter.
*Write what you feel strongly about.
*Don’t EXPECT to be published.
*Papers publish what people want to read, what sells papers, or they may publish something out of the ordinary. Your letter may not meet those guidelines in addition to their published guidelines.
Roy Beckemeyer: Current President of State KAC and poet laureate.
*Be concise/compact (cut, cut, cut – poets do this).
*Make reference to the RECENT article or letter to editor that you are writing about. (something
within the past 2-3 days.)
*Continue a conversation from THAT paper.
Following their presentations, Thomas Thayer also suggested some points:
*Express FACTS, not opinions.
*Avoid jargon.
*Don’t use all caps, all bold, etc.
*Again, cut, cut, cut – remove every nonessential word.
We closed the meeting with twenty minutes of writing a letter to the editor on some topic and reading some of those aloud.
Connie White, Secretary
Here's a summary of March's District 5 meeting.
Minutes March 11, 2017
The meeting was called to order by Diane Wahto, President, at 1:30 PM. Those attending introduced themselves, mentioning genres they write and current pieces they are working on. Conrad Jessmore mentioned that he has more books to give away as he is downsizing his home library. Books are free, but donations can be made to the District 5 treasury.
Griz was unable to be with us today, as he was attending his mother’s funeral. He sent his treasurer’s report: Total 7,068.23 minus $25 to Suzanne Tobias, Wichita Eagle columnist who spoke for us in November.
Roy Beckemeyer reported on the Evening of Poetry and Music to be held at the Fish Haus, 524 S. Commerce, on April 11, 7:30-9:00 PM. It was originally to be called Poety and Jazz, but one of the musicians felt that perhaps “jazz” was not an appropriate term for the style of the music. Entries for the reading are to be poems which require no longer than four minutes to read. They are still needing entries, but the deadline is March 18 (If you are still interested, call Roy Beckemeyer immediately). The process will be that the poet will read the poem one time. The second time the poem is read, the musicians will improvise behind the reading. It should prove to be an enjoyable evening. There is no door admission, but a tip jar is provided for the musicians.
The Program was “How to Write Publishable Letters to the Editor” and was presented by three District 5 members who have successfully had letters published. Here are the tips they gave for getting your letter published:
Diane Wahto: (Educator from 1965-2009, and has had letters published in several different papers around the country):
*Write on a topic that you know.
*Make it timely (Comment on old news will not be printed).
*Stand behind your beliefs.
*Do NOT write anonymously.
*Use real confirmable facts (no fake news).
*Review Letter to the Editor guidelines for the paper you are writing to. Various papers differ.
*Don’t write often. Maximum of one letter per month!
Prem Bajaj: Prem demonstrated a notebook with many, many of his published letters to editors.
*Keep a copy of your letter.
*Write what you feel strongly about.
*Don’t EXPECT to be published.
*Papers publish what people want to read, what sells papers, or they may publish something out of the ordinary. Your letter may not meet those guidelines in addition to their published guidelines.
Roy Beckemeyer: Current President of State KAC and poet laureate.
*Be concise/compact (cut, cut, cut – poets do this).
*Make reference to the RECENT article or letter to editor that you are writing about. (something
within the past 2-3 days.)
*Continue a conversation from THAT paper.
Following their presentations, Thomas Thayer also suggested some points:
*Express FACTS, not opinions.
*Avoid jargon.
*Don’t use all caps, all bold, etc.
*Again, cut, cut, cut – remove every nonessential word.
We closed the meeting with twenty minutes of writing a letter to the editor on some topic and reading some of those aloud.
Connie White, Secretary