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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Louine Schaufler Youth Poem Contest High School Winners
The High School Contest was judged by John S. Nelson, PhD, English Professor Emeritus, Dakota State University. He observed: It’s been a delight to see the poems from high-schoolers across South Dakota and see that there are young people who see the value in using language to create a worthwhile experience for their readers. I …
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Louine Schaufler Youth Contest Middle School Winners
The Louine Schaufler Youth Poetry Contest was established to encourage poem-making from South Dakota students. The contest is open to middle school and high school students across the state. The 2022 Contest had 16 middle school entries and 42 high school entries. The middle school contest was judged by Marcelle Remund who is from South …
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David Allan Evans Podcast
Welcome to Off The Bricks, poets and poetry lovers! Today’s program features David Allan Evans, the former Poet Laureate of South Dakota. David is a longtime, stalwart voice of midwestern poetry. David shares poems that trace his writing from his earliest work about sports through his experiences with Asian poetry teaching in China to ekphrastic collaborations with a …
What SDSPS Means to Me by Jodi Andrews
The “What SDSPS Means to Me” series of blogs will document how SDSPS impacts its members. If you are an SDSPS member, we’d love to read a blog post of what the poetry society means to you. Please email your blog submission to jodilynmandrews@gmail.com. This series is meant to make visible the “why” and “what” …
South Dakota State Poetry Society Records
By Jodi Andrews This last week there was a celebration of the South Dakota State Poetry Society Records at Briggs Library at SDSU in Brookings, SD. A couple dozen people gathered to celebrate all the past issues of Pasque Petals archived to Briggs Library. We heard Bruce Roseland, Ruby Wilson, and Christine Stewart-Nuñez read their …
What SDSPS Means to Me by Dana Yost
The “What SDSPS Means to Me” series of blogs will document how SDSPS impacts its members. If you are an SDSPS member, we’d love to read a blog post of what the poetry society means to you. Please email your blog submission to jodilynmandrews@gmail.com. This series is meant to make visible the “why” and “what” …