September Meeting Features Franchesca Alamo Franchesca Alamo, a seventeen-year-old Houston native, is a high school senior at Duchesne Academy of the Sacred Heart. She wrote her first poem in second grade at age eight. She has been a member of Poets Northwest since 2004, and enjoys reading, writing, drawing, surfing the ‘net, and listening to many different genres of music; she has been published in multiple anthologies and has won several poetry awards since then. She was the featured poet at the First Fridays Poetry Reading Series in June of 2008 and was, around that time, published in her own personal chapbook titled “House of Wonder.” More recently, she was, along with her mother, a featured poet at the Poetry Society of Texas - Poets Northwest Chapter in August of 2009.

Laura Peña has become the new secretary of Gulf Coast Poets.  See the 2010 list of officers below.  There are some other volunteer vacancies that need to be filled.

Many thanks for prior service go to our long-standing secretary, Debi Fairchild.  She has a series of anthology book-signings planned for 2010, some of which will interfere with our meetings.  So that we will be spared from trying to find volunteers at each meeting she may not be able to attend, Debi has stepped down from office.

DUES:  2010 fees for all but lifetime members (who pay no further fees) were due on December 31st.  If you're a charter member (joined by September 15th, 2006) then your dues ($10.00 per year) must have been renewed by the January 9th meeting and your membership in PST must be current  for you to keep that status.  If you're a chapter member (joined after September 15th, 2006) your dues are $15.00 per year.  All dues may be paid by mail or at the meeting.  Please include an updated membership application with your check (made out to the Gulf Coast Poets.)  If you mail in your check instead of presenting it in person, please send to our new address:  Gulf Coast Poets, Leo F. Waltz, Treasurer, P.O. Box 57418, Webster, Texas  77598-7418.  Lifetime members are also encouraged to update all contact information on a regular basis.  Thanks.  Applications for regular or lifetime membership will be available at the meeting or may be downloaded from the Gulf Coast Poets (see below) website:  http://gulfcoastpoets.info/

GULF COAST POETS CRITIQUE GROUP  in 2010 the Gulf Coast Poets Critique Group will meet at the Seabrook Coffee Oasis at Kirby and Nasa Parkway on the following 4th Mondays:  June 28, July (Vacation), August 23, September 27, October 25, November 22, December (Vacation).  Open to the public, an RSVP is required for attendance.  Those under 18 may only attend with parental permission.  Email us FMI about time and what to bring.  Email: GulfCoastPoets [at] gmail.com

MEETINGS:  Starting this year, Gulf Coast Poets Meetings will be held every 2nd Saturday except in July (PST Summer Conference) and August (Vacation) and in December*.   Field trips will be announced and members will be encouraged to attend them, however, meetings will not be cancelled unless a simple majority of members sign-up to attend an event elsewhere.  *If a majority of members agree, we will again plan for a holiday party in December. 

OFFICE:  If you would like to hold office in the Gulf Coast Poets, please contact the President with your full name, phone number, and which office you would like to hold; include a brief biography that talks about related experience, if any.  Only current GCP members may apply for office.  NOTE:  Because we operate under the rules of the Poetry Society of Texas, the President of any chartered chapter of the Poetry Society of Texas must also be a member of the Poetry Society of Texas.  Our officers are all current members of the Poetry Society of Texas; our President first joined PST in 1999.