Melanie Pruit will be our speaker via Zoom on September 12. She is a longtime Dallas poet and, until the recent pandemic, hosted the Dallas Poets Community’s First Friday monthly poetry event at a local bookstore, going all the way back to the summer of 2001. She is also a former co-editor of the DPC’s literary journal, Illya’s Honey. Her poetry has appeared in many locally published ‘zines, literary journals, and anthologies. Her interest in writing in general extends to her blog, Confessions of a Movie Queen.

Official Notice of Cancellation of the Summer Conference

I have been authorized by the President of PST to formally notify all of its members that the 2020 Summer Conference has been canceled.

This was not a step lightly taken but with the current circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty about the future, the officers and Board of PST believes that this is in the best interest of the organization and its membership. The Radisson has been very understanding and has accepted our cancellation and agreed to return 100% of our initial deposit. PST will not lose a penny over this decision.

We are all very sad that this step was necessary but the health and safety of our members take precedence in this situation. If even one person contracted the virus as a result of a conference that would be too many. In addition, we cannot be sure that the Radisson would have a full staff to meet our needs.

Please send this notification out to all PST members everywhere; the widest possible dissemination within the Society is requested. This is especially important if you are a chapter president – please forward this notice to all of your members. If anyone has made hotel reservations, the Radisson has assured us that they can be canceled without penalty. If you have already registered for the Conference, please contact the FWPS for a refund.

Steve Sanders
Publicity Committee
Poetry Society of Texas