August 1, 2019

The Meeting began at 6:15 P.M.

MEMBERS PRESENT: 

Sharon Buckman, Marilyn Kessler, Dennis Mclean, Tim Phillapart, Gail Galvan, Beverly Stanislawski, Katherine Flotz, Caron Von See, Sharon Palmeri, Al Koch, Amy Brailey, Diane Stratton, and Bob Philpot

OLD BUSINESS: 

A vote of approval for the July 18, 2019, minutes was first given by KATHERINE FLOTZ and seconded by DIANE STRATTON.

LITERARY NEWS: 

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI received several awards for poems entered in the Ohio Poetry Society contest.  Her poem “Just a Paris Friday Night” won a first place prize of $60.  She also received three Honorable Mentions for her poems “Sisters,” “When We is Just Me,” and “Tribute.”  Congratulations, Beverly!

CAREN VON SEE received a publishing contract from Balboa Press to publish her novel My Treasure Chest.  She is currently in the revision stage.  Congratulations, Caren!

TIM PHILLIPART has had several poems published in an Anthology, and has also been selling books of his poetry at Wisconsin Craft Fairs.  Congratulations, Tim and Savoy Inc. Publishing Company.

READINGS:

MARILYN KESSLER read Chapter 4 entitled “Damned Fool” from her currently untitled novel.  In this chapter, Papa is still working his claim and missing his family.  Having to bail out his younger and more irresponsible brother helps make his decision on a date to return home.  A roommate of his has been killed for working another man’s claim.

TIM PHILLIPART read four free verse poems.  The first, “There Will Be Fireworks” plays on the holiday theme in looking at things that cause conflict, which, whether intended or not, will lead to “fireworks.”  “Rocking the Church” takes a humorous look at the thinks people do to stay awake in church.  “Tassels and Silks” gives corn a fun personified life-cycle.  Finally, “Sad I Don’t Live” looks at what life would be like if the beauty around us that is so enthralling were commonplace instead of magical. 

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI  read three of her award winning poems (Ohio Poetry Society prize winners).  “Just a Paris Friday Night” (first place!) is a pantoum poem written in remembrance of the terrorist attacks in Paris.  “When We is Just Me” is a truly poignant poem expressing the feelings one experiences in the loss of a spouse and the difficulty of getting used to saying me instead of we.  “Sisters” is a Dorsimbra poem which contrasts two siblings.

  

AL KOCH shared “August” which highlights the highs and lows of this month that is the tail end of summer and not quite the beginning of fall.  Woven with memories of seasons past, he helps us enjoy the fleeting, changing seasons.

CARON VON SEE read Chapter 15 pages 3-7 of My Treasure Chest.  In this section, Antonio tries to solve the problems between Angelo and Uncle Lorenzo.  Angelo wants to develop new wines while Uncle Lorenzo is stick in the past (Albeit with an award winning wine).

KATHERINE FLOTZ read a free verse poem entitled “The Golden Years” in which she compares our process of growing older with the growth of trees at a cottage.

DENNIS MCLEAN read the pages 18-21 of his novel entitled The Eye of the Gift Horse.  In this section, Spook agrees to stand in the “Snap up tree” (a plot created by Maddie and Gretchen, to “rescue” the kidnapped Andrea.)  Sidney wishes he’d had the courage to volunteer.

DIANE STRATTON read “Garden Growing” in which she considers the fact that all of the trials (weeds, being sabotaged by animals, etc.) actually makes the gardener grow almost as much as the plants!

The Meeting Adjourned at 7:50 P.M.

Respectfully submitted by Amy Brailey 

July 18, 2019

Attendance: Marilyn Kessler, Sharon Palmeri, Bev Stanislawski, H. Valia, Dennis        Mclean, Diane Stratton, Helena Qi, Amy Brailey, and Al Koch.

Minutes were approved by Marilyn Kessler and Bev Stanislawski.

News:  Valia had three poems printed: “Bell Tolls” in Northwest Indiana Literary Journal;   “Grandfather” in Wards Literary Magazine, and “Heart Beats” in Poetry Medicine. AL Koch still waiting for his book to be published. Diane Stratton was featured in a one-page article in the July edition of the senior “Times “newspaper.

Readings:

Marilyn Kessler read chapter 3, “Colorado” from her novel. Papa goes in search of his brother who is looking for gold in Colorado.

Bev Stanislawski read two poems: “Watchtowers,” a free verse, which described the beauty of western mountains;  and “Life’s Lessons,” a sonnet, which explained that life can be easy or hard, but we all have our turns to take.

Dennis Mclean  brought Chapter 2, “The Snap-Up Tree” from his Eye of the Gift Horse novel. The characters have various adventures while looking for Indian Rock. He left us hanging with the last line: Guess what, Gretchen,” Maddie said. Gretchen abruptly stopped dancing. “I kidnapped your sister.”

Amy Bailey having returned from her trip to Germany, provided by an Eli Lilly Teacher Creativity Grant read “Kasper’s Story.” It is based on the legend of Oberammergau and a terrible plague which helped to explain how the Passion Plays were started.

Al Koch helped us to hear and to appreciate some “Beautiful Noises” that we experience in our lives. He encouraged us to “celebrate the soundtrack of our Mayberry of the Midwest.”

Diane Stratton related an experience of watching  a somewhat “odd” woman who visited her church. The woman was very animated while engrossed in worshipping. Diane finally wondered if more of us should “Worship from the Heart, Not the Head.”

H. Valia reminded us of the 50^th anniversary of the Moon landing in his poem “When Man Landed on Moon.” He personified the moon as a female who saw the Eagle approaching and put out a welcome mat. ”She was overwhelmed with joy when the first guest stepped out.”

Helena Qi. took us on a trip with her to Verona. She not only detailed her itinerary but provided some photos to help us visualize the surroundings. She included much information to help us learn more about the history of this lovely city.

Sharon Palmeri read an article from a weekly column she wrote in 1990 when she when he worked for The Lake County Star “entitled “Here’s to Your Health.” This column was about how she planned on achieving a healthier life style.

After listening to a determined saleslady, Sharon purchased over $130 worth of vitamins which were guaranteed to help her get healthy. While they did help for a while, Sharon learned that by just taking myriad vitamins and over indulging in “health food” was not the way to achieve her goal.

Meeting adjourned 8:30

Respectfully submitted,

Beverly Stanislawski

June 20, 2019

MEMBERS PRESENT:

Kathy Flotz, Beverly Stanislawski, Caren Von See, Marilyn Kessler, Bob Philpot,

Al Koch, Dennis McLean, H.S. Valia, Shirley Vaughan, Diane Stratton, Helena Qi.

OLD BUSINESS:

A vote of approval for the June 20, 2019 minutes was first given by AL KOCH and seconded by SHARON BUCKMAN.

NEW BUSINESS

Al Koch’s son continues to assist his father with publishing his book. The galley proofs have been sent to the editor.

READINGS:

CAREN VON SEE CH. 14—Antonio and Sara continue planning the trip to the States. CH. 15—Antonio addresses Angelo and Uncle Lorenzo’s arguing.

MARILYN KESSLER CH 2—Grandmother opens her family Bible and reviews the numerous family names musing that only happiness is recorded here. Grandmother writes a note about John trekking to Colorado to find gold.

AL KOCH—relayed his tale his herculean efforts to rebuild a defunct, vintage soda fountain, which he put in his basement.

HARDARSHAN SINGH VALIA—read a poem titled “Message on a Canvas” where the viewer admires a painting and offers prayers of gratitude.

SHIRLEY VAUGHAN— Attendees volunteered to read various parts in a Shirley’s Screenplay play about the futuristic world of the Planet Turaeus.

HELENA QI—read her travel log about her family’s trip to Milan and the sternly decorated train station, which carries memories of the notorious fascist era.

McLEAN—read a chapter from her book The Eye of the Gift Horse about the self-satisfied contentment he felt when he was with his family.

BEVERLY STANISLAWSKI—relays two poetic tales about a wolf escaping the woodman’s ax titled, “The Wolf’s Bane”, and another titles “The Family Quilt” about a mother preparing for her daughter’s wedding.

KATHERINE FLOTZ—read her poem "To Cole on His Bar Mitzvah" praising her grandson’s character.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 P.M.

Respectfully submitted:

CAREN VON SEE