2024 MPS Poet of the Year: Janice Canerdy
Janice was born in Memphis in 1952. She has spent all but her first two years in north Mississippi. She lives in Potts Camp just yards from Potts Camp School, where she was privileged to teach high-school English for twenty-nine years before retiring to help raise her precious grandkids. After graduating from West Union Attendance Center, she spent two memorable, formative years at Northeast Mississippi Junior College. She received a Bachelor's (1974) and a Master's (1977) from Ole Miss. Teaching while going to college at night and during the summers to earn the Master's was quite challenging.
She has been writing poems since she was very young, but not prolifically until she was in her thirties. She prefers writing rhymed, metered poems but enjoys free verse written by others. A member of MPS for fourteen years, she was North Branch President for seven years and has served as MPS Secretary, Vice-President, and President (current).
She has sponsored and judged MPS contest categories for several years. Co-editing the most recent anniversary anthology (in 2022) with Judy Davies was a special treat for her, as was serving as contact person for the 2022 spring festival, hosted at Lake Tiak O'Khata by North Branch. She also coordinated the mini-contest for the fall festival in Natchez in October 2021. MPS is a huge part of her life.
Her poems have appeared in numerous publications over the decades. Among them have been books by Quill Books, the Mississippi Poetry Society, NFSPS (anthology, Encore); journals and magazines: The Hypertexts, Halcyon Days, Light, Westward Quarterly, Lyric, Parody, Bitterroot, Society of Classical Poets Journal (and online), Lighten Up Online, Saturday Evening Post, Penwood Review, Better Than Starbucks, Poetry Quarterly, Sparks of Calliope, and LIVE (by Gospel Publishing House). She has had one book published: Expressions of Faith (Christian Faith Publishing, 2016).
To say that she was thrilled and honored when she learned she had been chosen as the Society's 2024 Poet of the Year would be an understatement. She is filled her book, Poems Ranging from Serious to Slapstick~~Like Life, with pieces imbued with her love of and respect for God, people, Mississippi, and nature; her ponderings on life and humanity; her pure enjoyment of holidays and holy days, and her sometimes-offbeat sense of humor. This new book is available for purchase on Amazon via the link below.
a.co/d/1w7JJV0
She has been writing poems since she was very young, but not prolifically until she was in her thirties. She prefers writing rhymed, metered poems but enjoys free verse written by others. A member of MPS for fourteen years, she was North Branch President for seven years and has served as MPS Secretary, Vice-President, and President (current).
She has sponsored and judged MPS contest categories for several years. Co-editing the most recent anniversary anthology (in 2022) with Judy Davies was a special treat for her, as was serving as contact person for the 2022 spring festival, hosted at Lake Tiak O'Khata by North Branch. She also coordinated the mini-contest for the fall festival in Natchez in October 2021. MPS is a huge part of her life.
Her poems have appeared in numerous publications over the decades. Among them have been books by Quill Books, the Mississippi Poetry Society, NFSPS (anthology, Encore); journals and magazines: The Hypertexts, Halcyon Days, Light, Westward Quarterly, Lyric, Parody, Bitterroot, Society of Classical Poets Journal (and online), Lighten Up Online, Saturday Evening Post, Penwood Review, Better Than Starbucks, Poetry Quarterly, Sparks of Calliope, and LIVE (by Gospel Publishing House). She has had one book published: Expressions of Faith (Christian Faith Publishing, 2016).
To say that she was thrilled and honored when she learned she had been chosen as the Society's 2024 Poet of the Year would be an understatement. She is filled her book, Poems Ranging from Serious to Slapstick~~Like Life, with pieces imbued with her love of and respect for God, people, Mississippi, and nature; her ponderings on life and humanity; her pure enjoyment of holidays and holy days, and her sometimes-offbeat sense of humor. This new book is available for purchase on Amazon via the link below.
a.co/d/1w7JJV0
A Gift of Dappled Light
A collection of poetry by MPS 2023 Poet of the Year Linda Watson Owen.
a.co/d/9rxf7o9
A collection of poetry by MPS 2023 Poet of the Year Linda Watson Owen.
a.co/d/9rxf7o9
Mississippi Poetry Journal
A collection of contest winners is compiled yearly and can be purchased. The 2023 version of Mississippi Poetry Journal is available for order on Amazon.
a.co/d/5a7loxi
A collection of contest winners is compiled yearly and can be purchased. The 2023 version of Mississippi Poetry Journal is available for order on Amazon.
a.co/d/5a7loxi
The 2022 version of Mississippi Poetry Journal is available for order by request. Please contact one of our state officers if interested in purchasing a copy.
The 2021 version of Mississippi Poetry Journal is available for purchase on Amazon. Follow the link to purchase:
a.co/d/hzeytKn
a.co/d/hzeytKn
A Separate Self
A collection of poetry written by Daniel Pickett over roughly a 20-year period, with a mixture ranging from deeply autobiographical to lighthearted musings. Each poem represents a moment or feeling in the author's life that felt worthy of having a poetic memory attached. For purchases, visit the link below:
a.co/d/iNHfBWV
A collection of poetry written by Daniel Pickett over roughly a 20-year period, with a mixture ranging from deeply autobiographical to lighthearted musings. Each poem represents a moment or feeling in the author's life that felt worthy of having a poetic memory attached. For purchases, visit the link below:
a.co/d/iNHfBWV
