SDSPS was organized in 1927 and incorporated as a South Dakota non-profit on August 8, 1970.
Our Mission
To encourage and foster the writing and publication of poetry by South Dakota writers and to promote excellence therein; to arouse in students of high school and college age, interest in the creative writing of poetry; to foster or publish Pasque Petals, a magazine, on a regular basis, thereby continuing the publication which was begun before the Society was organized, which publication is devoted chiefly to poetry, to stimulate by such proper means as the sponsoring of contests, awarding of prizes, and by other means of encouragement, the writing of poetry; and by these means to aid in the cultural growth of South Dakota.
SDSPS acknowledges that we share the traditional lands of the Oceti Sakowin, or Seven Council Fires nations, the proper name for the tribes of the Santee-Dakota, Yankton-Nakota, and Teton-Lakota people, referred to collectively as the Sioux.
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2016 Annual Poetry Contest Winners Announced
Warm thanks to all who entered our 2016 Annual Poetry Contest. Congratulations to the following poets, as selected by judge Jodilyn Andrews: South Dakota Portrait First – “Eddie Little Sky Retells His Ancestors’ Story” by Barbara Blanks, Garland, TX Second – “Drumming Circle” by Marsha Mittman, Spearfish, SD Third – “Our Rite of Spring” by Norma […]
South Dakota Poets You Should Know: David Allan Evans
The South Dakota Poet Laureate until last year (2015), Evans has an understated, imagistic aesthetic that is deceptively simple. His poetic voice is deeply rooted in concern for the natural world and in exploring how humans encounter nature. It’s a great example of what South Dakotan poetry can be in the 20th and 21st centuries. […]
South Dakota Poets You Should Know: Jeanne Emmons
I’m a fan of Jeanne Emmons’s poetry in general, and though the poems in Rootbound are my favorites, a good poem of hers that you can access easily online is “The Poetry Class at The Girl’s Club” from The Glove of the World at her publisher’s website, The Backwaters Press: The Poetry Class at […]
South Dakota Poets You Should Know: Darla Biel
Hello! I’m Barbara Duffey, a board member of the SDSPS and an assistant professor of English at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, SD. For the next three months, I’ll be writing weekly blog posts, each highlighting a contemporary South Dakota poet whose work merits your attention. My criteria for the current project is poets whose […]
April is the Cruelest Poetry Month
Poetry month is again on its way out. Poof. Were you able to write a poem-a-day? Read one? Every other day? If you’ve even written or read one poem this month, kudos. If you’ve been prolific and productive daily, quadruple kudos! I start off each poetry month with the same mindset: I’m going to write […]
Strophes
Copy and paste this link to access Strophes, the newsletter for the NFSPS (National Federation of State Poetry Societies). http://www.nfsps.com/Strophes2016_Apr.pdf Write on–