About IPA

The Iowa Poetry Association is a non-profit organization whose sole objective is to promote interest in and appreciation for better poetry by Iowans. Each year, IPA offers two workshops in the Des Moines area, where poems are critiqued by eminent teachers, editors or publishers. In addition, the IPA LIVE! online program of monthly mini-workshops and readings brings poetry learning and reading opportunities to IPA members across the state. The quarterly newsletter connects members to important updates and events, as does our Iowa Poetry Association Facebook group. Membership is open to any individual or group with an Iowa address.

We are an affiliate society of The Academy of American Poets and The National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Inc.

To read IPA's Constitution and Bylaws (revised Jan 2019), click here.

Contact us by E-mail at ipa@iowapoetry.com

Executive board members:

President: Dawn Terpstra, Lynnville Dawn Terpstra is a Pushcart nominated poet, writer, and hobbyist beekeeper, who lives along a quiet gravel road in rural Iowa. She enjoys finding topics, speakers, and connections with IPA members as she schedules and hosts IPA LIVE! Her poetry appears in current and forthcoming publications including Verse Daily, Plainsongs, Briar Cliff Review, Midwest Review, The North Dakota Quarterly, Quartet, Ekphrastic Review, Halfway Down the Stairs, SWWIM, and Lyrical Iowa. She is the author of a chapbook, Songs from the Summer Kitchen from Finishing Line Press. Dawn is working on her MFA in Creative Writing at Pacific Lutheran University's Rainer Writing Workshop. To learn more, visit www.dawnterpstra.com. ipa@iowapoetry.com
First Vice President: Rodney G. Reeves, Burlington Now retired from working after a varied life that included twelve years as a movie theatre manager in three different Iowa towns and twenty five years making corrugated boxes for a local company in Burlington, Rod is involved in church life at Zion United Church of Christ in Burlington where he has served on the council several times and currently is an elder. In addition to The Society of Great River Poets (SGRP) and IPA, he works with the Des Moines County Historical Society, the Players Workshop community theater, Burlington Art Center and the Des Moines County Genealogical Society. As current 1st vice-president of IPA, Rod hopes to encourage development of more local writing groups around the state so more poets can find the encouragement he has with SGRP. rodneyreeves1954@gmail.com
Second Vice President / Historian: Heather Ann Clark, Winterset Heather Ann Clark holds degrees from Drake University in BFA Theatre Directing and BA Writing, with Poetry and Playwriting concentrations. She is currently finishing a Master of Arts in Communication - Public Affairs and Advocacy from Drake University. Heather lives in Madison County, where she enjoys awe-inspiring sunsets, summer nights of meteor showers, and her Bald Eagle neighbors. ms.h.clark@hotmail.com
Secretary: Barbara Edler, Keokuk Barbara Edler currently works part time teaching college composition courses at Iowa Wesleyan University in Mount Pleasant, Iowa. After teaching English for forty years, and TAG for four, she retired in 2020. A lifelong Iowan, she enjoys exploring the beauty of nature, especially in her back yard where she can view the Mississippi River each day. She is an active participant of the Ethical ELA five day write and has a few of her poems published in Bridge the Distance. When she isn't reading student work, books for pleasure, or writing poetry, you can most likely find her rooting for the Hawkeyes or playing cards. bedler58@gmail.com
Treasurer: Shelly Hamlin-Rodrick, Ankeny Shelly's first literary loves were Louisa May Alcott and Kurt Vonnegut. She's a little bit Emily Dickinson, a little Annie Dillard, and has been recognized for her short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. She's an Iowa native who's lived in Hawaii, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Illinois. A former lifestyle editor and library paraprofessional, she authored a set of rules for alphabetizing, and is strongly team Oxford comma. She hikes, bikes, runs, and believes poetry can save the world. cishell.ink@gmail.com

Editors:

Editor-in-chief: Marilyn J. Baszczynski, Earlham Marilyn Baszczynski is a retired French teacher, originally from Ontario, Canada. Writing since childhood and largely inspired by living in the country, she weaves life's journeys and detours into her poems. Marilyn joined IPA in 1999, is Past-president, and helms IPA's Lyrical Iowa anthology as Editor-in-chief and contest coordinator since 2017. Marilyn's book, Gyuri. A poem of wartime Hungary (Whistling Shade) was published in 2015. A second chapbook, daughter, while i'm still here, is forthcoming in April 2024 (Finishing Line Press). Her poetry has also appeared in various journals and anthologies. ipa@iowapoetry.com
Associate Editor: Jared Pearce, Oskaloosa Jared Pearce's books include Down Their Spears (Cyberwit, 2021) and The Annotated Murder of One (Aubade, 2018). Further: https://jaredpearcepoetry.weebly.com. pearcecjared@gmail.com
Associate Editor: Steve Rose, Indianola Steve Rose has published numerous poems and a little flash fiction in a bunch of places. To name some: The Midwest Review; And So it Goes (A literary anthology devoted to the memory of Kurt Vonnegut), Sun Beams, the Joan Ramseyer 2020 Memorial Anthology; Voices of the Plains; Lyrical Iowa and (the best title ever given to a literary journal) The Dime Bag of Poetry. He has published two books of poetry: Hard Papas and Nebraska and Other States. He has also published a scad of scholarly work that no one should have to read ever again. If wishes were horses, he would have been born as Townes Van Zandt or Leonard Cohen, or, even better, Will Rogers. steve.rose@simpson.edu
College Editor: Rustin Larson, Fairfield Rustin Larson's poetry has appeared in The New Yorker, The Iowa Review, and North American Review. He is a poetry professor at Maharishi University. Among his published books are Library Rain, Conestoga Zen Press, 2019 which was named a February 2019 Exemplar by Grace Cavalieri and reviewed in The Washington Independent Review of Book. rlarson@mum.edu
High School Editor: Joy Lyle, Keota A graduate of the University of Iowa, Joy Lyle earned the B.A. and M.F.A. degrees in English with an emphasis in Poetry from the internationally acclaimed Writers' Workshop. She teaches composition, communications, and poetry writing for Indian Hills Community College using various delivery methods, including online. Her poetry has been published in several journals, including Lyrical Iowa, Cutbank, Poetry Northwest, Mid-America Poetry Review, Flyway: Journal of Writing and Environment, and the anthology Leaves by Night, Flowers by Day. She is a member of the National League of American Pen Women, serves as the high school editor for the Iowa Poetry Association, and edits a journal of student poetry for Indian Hills Community College and organizes poetry readings. She has lived on a farm her entire life and enjoys spending time outdoors, gardening, reading, and spending time with her family. joy.lyle@indianhills.edu
Grade School Editor: Della Weems, Adel Della Weems is a person who loves words. As a kid she wrote stories and poetry, and luckily, received so much positive feedback that she never gave up on the power of expression. It made perfect sense for her to major in English and become an English teacher. She continues to read and write and hopefully influence others. Della is married and has six adult children who are also wordsmiths in their various careers. dardelweems@gmail.com

Standing Committee Chairpersons:

Communications: Allison Bartholmey, Colfax Allison Bartholmey teaches TAG (Talented and Gifted) for the Baxter and West Marshall school districts. She found out about the Iowa Poetry Association through a student's family a few years ago and has been excited to learn more about writing and see students published in Lyrical Iowa. Allison lives in Colfax with her husband Aaron, and she loves piano, poems, and parks (and also alliteration!). allison.marie.engel@gmail.com
IPA LIVE! Coordinator: Dawn Terpstra, Lynnville See bio and photo above. ipa@iowapoetry.com
Nominations: Rodney G. Reeves, Burlington See bio and photo above. rodneyreeves1954@gmail.com
Slam Poetry Co-chair: Kelsey Bigelow, Des Moines Kelsey Bigelow is a spoken word and page poet based in Des Moines. She aims to be the motivator and mentor people don't always get in life. In her work, she molds incredibly specific emotions into something human, digestible, and cathartic. She believes we grow in empathy by talking about our shared experiences, no matter how difficult. As a professional spoken word poet, multi-slam champion, published author, workshop leader, and more, Kelsey is on a mission to show others two things: 1. You can live the life you dream, and 2. It does get better. Find Kelsey's work at kelkaybpoetry.com. kelsey@kelkaybpoetry.com
Slam Poetry Co-chair: Laura Johnson, Marion Laura Johnson is a poet and writer in Eastern Iowa who is a founding co-editor of the literary journal Backchannels. Laura is an MFA candidate at the University of New Orleans and is a graduate (Ba, MA) of the University of Iowa. Laura's poetry and short fiction has appeared in Goat's Milk Magazine, The Dewdrop, Thimble Literary Magazine, and Wild Roof Journal, among others. Laura has spent more than twenty years teaching and facilitating creative writing courses and groups for teen and adult writers. She is a literacy and writing specialist who believes everyone's story should be heard. Laura's debut chapbook, Memento Vivere (Cabin Bear Books), is available at http://laurajohnsonwriter.com and wherever you buy books. laurajwrites24@gmail.com
Spring/Fall Workshop Coordinator: Julie Allyn Johnson, Norwalk Julie Allyn Johnson, a sawyer's daughter - the eldest of six girls - lives in Norwalk and loves long walks in the woods, any time of year. She adores Halloween, photography, gravel-travel, art, poetry and haiku, reading, linocut printing and hiking in the Rocky Mountains. Her current obsession is tackling the rough and tumble sport of quilting and the accumulation of fabric. Julie's poetry can be found in various journals including Lyrical Iowa, The Briar Cliff Review, Phantom Kangaroo, The Disappointed Housewife, Anti-Heroin Chic, Typehouse Literary Magazine, Better Than Starbucks and Chestnut Review. bjohnsonisu@gmail.com
Teacher Liaison: Allison Berryhill, Atlantic Allison Berryhill teaches at Atlantic High School. Allison taught in Exira and Audubon before taking a 14-year hiatus to raise her six children with farmer-husband Dan Hoegh. In 2003 she joined the staff at Atlantic High School where she advises the journalism program and teaches freshman English and creative writing. As a board member of the Iowa Council of Teachers of English, she hopes to strengthen the connections between IPA and Iowa English teachers. Allison is an accordion player, a front-porch poet, and a wedding officiant. Follow her at @allisonberryhil for photos of #IowaSky and schoolblazing.blogspot.com for random musings. 308berryhill@gmail.com