President's Message
Hear from IPA President Dawn Terpstra
Postcards from Summer Camp
Dear IPA Friends,
This post comes straight from the vault of summer nostalgia. Do you remember summer camp? The build-up to that week in June or July—the months of excited anticipation ahead of spending (what felt like) forever away from home, free to do whatever you wanted, under the watchful eyes of the camp counselors, of course.
I remember dreaming about the intoxicating smell of the summer camp stables—tending to the gentle trail horses, grooming them, feeding them their oats, corn and hay. Morning rides through the sunshadowed woods were glorious. On the back of a horse I felt like there was nothing I couldn’t do. Naturally, summer camp was more than horseback riding.
There were afternoons at the pool, sticky arts and crafts projects, the s’mores and sing alongs beside the fire under the stars. There were the ghost stories told in our cabin after lights out—four giggling girls trying to make someone scream at the mysterious source of pounding on the cabin wall. While away from home, I always made time to write my family a postcard about all the fun I was having. Thinking of home colored those messages with homesickness. But always before the “I miss you,” I made the pitch —“When I come back next year I want to…”
It has been decades since those summer camps, but those memories of free-spiritedness have a way of returning, even in my 60s. Currently, my suitcases are open, clothes, books and supplies scattered on the floor nearby, as I prepare for the last year of what my colleagues and I call “summer camp for adults”—residency at Rainier Writing Workshop at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington.
While there’s no horseback riding or swimming or sticky-glued crafts, there’s plenty of appreciation of the art and craft of writing, an abundance of lectures, stories and poems, and a beautiful collegiality between students who have become friends and who will remain close through their writing careers. I am thrilled that my family will come out for graduation from this three-year program and hear me read from my creative thesis, a collection called Ritual Fires.
While I wish I could write those postcards home to mom and dad, I will feel their presence inside my work, like that mysterious tapping on the walls of the cabin during summer camp. My poems are filled with longing, nostalgia, and grief for place, people, and moments that live in memory and now, in what I have created. For those graduates in my class, their prose, hybrid, and poetry projects are exquisite. I am in awe of them and their work and honored to have taken this journey alongside them.
I hope you’re enjoying moments this summer where your spirit feels free and released. Perhaps you will return to those long-ago memories of early independence or fashion some new spirit-freeing experiences.
Do you remember writing letters or postcards home? Imagine yourself writing those people you loved who were far away from you at the time. Try writing to them now, through the lens of the past. Make this the summer of writing your free spirit. Find the marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers—time to (re)create your own summer camp.
~ Dawn Terpstra, IPA President
Archive of President's Messages
April 2025: "What Is the Value of IPA Membership in 2025?" "Poetry must be new as foam, and as old as the rock." — Ralph Waldo Emerson For nearly 80 years, the Iowa Poetry Association has supported the creativity and desires of its members by providing them with an outlet for their poetry and a community in which to gather. Throughout the years, poets have shared work “new as foam,” pushing the edges of an art form “as old as the rock.” The face of Iowa’s poetry association has evolved over the decades in a way that honors Iowa’s diversity of poets and poetry forms. From IPA’s first anthology published in the 1940s to the most recent Lyrical Iowa, including contest winners and other work by poets of all ages, the annual free two-day Poetry Palooza, the free two-day Poetry on the Prairie, the IPA Poetry Slam Final Stage (with qualifiers from four previous competitions), the monthly online IPA LIVE, and more, members have proudly pointed to their own contributions in Iowa’s poetry legacy as this community continues to grow. How have we arrived at this point, offering some of the most outstanding state poetry association programming in the country? Outstanding leadership over the decades, the resolute determination of many individuals, and lots of strong coffee to facilitate meetings where visioning and planning took place. As an association, we are at the point where coffee and belief will only get us so far. It’s time to supplement the hard work with money, which is why the IPA Board is proposing a membership dues increase to $20 annually. IPA’s membership dues have held steady at $8 for 25 years. Of that annual due, $3 per member goes to the National Federation of State Poetry Societies (NFSPS). This means that IPA keeps $5 per member to fund an organization of almost 300 poets, one of the largest poetry associations in the country. Iowa has also had the lowest membership dues of any state poetry association. The next lowest is Missouri at $14 (for members at large), the highest, New York at $60 with the median level of membership dues at $25. Even at a new $20 level, IPA’s membership dues will fall below the median. IPA has been extremely fortunate to work with the Poetry Palooza committee, which has committed itself to private fundraising to support free and open access to this two-day festival that include some of the nation’s top poets. Poetry Palooza also receives some funding through a variety of grants. The same is true with Poetry on the Prairie. This year’s four IPA qualifying poetry slams have been held in venues that donated the space. Prizes for the top three placeholders were also donated. The cost of mileage for the IPA slam chair was the only cost associated with these remarkable events. Eleven poets per event competed for a chance to become one of the twelve moving on to state, with the winner advancing to the BlackBerry Peach National Poetry Slam. (IPA does pay for the admission fee for the poet representing us on the national stage.) Printing and mailing costs associated with the newsletter and anthology continue to increase each year. The editor of Lyrical Iowa continues IPA’s commitment to free contest submissions by any poet (students and adults), and also continues its commitment to keeping costs low—only $15 per issue. Lyrical Iowa annually publishes around 300 poems, unlike some state associations with anthologies that publish only winners, and publish biennially, for around $20 per issue. Another cost associated with IPA includes supporting the Iowa Student Poet Ambassador each year. Through this program, a collaboration of arts and education-focused non-profits, lifts up the achievements of a high school student selected for his/her achievements in writing poetry. This young poet participates in a variety of events during the year designed to bring recognition to young people in the arts. IPA is also modernizing and simplifying its website. Soon you will be able to make electronic payments for workshops and dues, if that is your preference. Over the years, IPA board leadership has been provided by committed volunteers who dedicate countless hours to listening to members, planning educational events, and publishing/performing opportunities. While I have detailed the major costs of membership, what I ask of each of you is to consider the value of this membership. The opportunities associated with this community of poets doesn’t resemble those of 25 years ago, or even 10 or five years ago. Hopefully you find you have several meaningful connections to the Iowa Poetry Association. During the business meeting taking place during IPA’s online workshop on April 12, we will share more information about membership fees, including a variety of patron membership levels, including recognition of these donors. If you aren’t planning to attend the workshop you are welcome to join the business meeting taking place at noon. For those of you who find the increase too much, but would like to retain membership in IPA, there will be a fee waiver opportunity. IPA needs all of you to help guide and inspire us into the next year, the next decade, the next generation. If you would like to share your thoughts on any of this, please email me at ipa@iowapoetry.com. I would love to hear from you. Best Regards, Dawn