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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So, You Wanna Be a Poet
We all want it, in some way or another. For our words to be indelible, celebrated, and widely read. To write the next “Birches” or “Wild Geese.” To have our poems read aloud into microphones at weddings, funerals, and commencements. To be this generation’s Elizabeth Bishop or John Keats. We want our words to matter; […]
Candidates Sought for SD Poet Laureate, 2019-23
On June 30, 2019, the four-year term of South Dakota Poet Laureate Lee Ann Roripaugh will end. The SD State Poetry Society has been given the responsibility by SD statute 1-22-7 of nominating a candidate to the governor who will be appointed poet laureate. The term of office begins July 1, 2019. The new SD […]
Celebrate: We Want to Know
Celebrate: We want to know Sing to me of South Dakota, tell it like Carl Sandburg did about Chicago’s big shoulders. Tell me about the workers of infinite variety within this state. How goes their day? Tell me the what, tell me the why, tell me about a day in your life. Did Spring creep […]
Poetry: A Liberated Art Form
I find poetry to be the most liberated literary art form in the English language. Poetry is the art form that the writer has license to bend and break grammatical and spelling rules. Poetry is the anvil where ideas can be forged and molded with the least contamination of conventions. With freedom comes responsibility. Without […]
History of SDSPS
The first organizational meeting of the South Dakota State Poetry Society was held on October 5, 1927 in Huron, SD. The Society was founded in 1927 by Dr. James C. Lindberg at Northern State College. Its official magazine Pasque Petals was first published in 1926 in Aberdeen, SD. Since 1959 has been the body to […]
Swim in the Sea of Life
Poetry can be a great conduit for ideas and feelings. It takes practice and work to develop the technique of writing poetry. But if a person doesn’t have anything to say then it doesn’t matter how good their technique is, their poetry is likely to sound trite and hollow. It can be entertaining to do […]