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Official Organ of the United Amateur Press
Combining the Official Organs of the United Amateur Press Association and the United Amateur Press Association of America – (Merged 1967)
No Secretary-Treasurer’s Report
The Mailer may be late with the October bundles due to the United Amateur being delayed in printing waiting for Velma’s monthly report which never came. It doesn’t happen often, but the mail has been known to foul up letter mail.
A Message From Your President
In my August bundle I found two advertisements about books. I’m sure it was not done with the knowledge that we are not allowed to do this in our bundles. If we advertise things to sell for profit and the post office discovers it we will immediately lose our bulk mailing permit. I have a book, and like most people would love to tell this, but under no circumstances will I quote a price, etc., in the bundle.
Please don’t do this as it would put our organization in jeopardy. We must all try so hard to obey rules to keep going. Mention your book if you like, but don’t tell prices, etc.
Additional Vote Tally
(Write-in Votes)
For President: Bonnie Green 2; Bessie Brann 1.
Vice-President: Worht Parrish 2; Willametta Keffer 1.
For Secretary-Treasurer: Patricia Saunders 1.
Bureau of Critics Chairman: Lee Allen Wheeler 8; Lauren Geringer 1; Rosanne Pierce 1.
Chief of Publishing: Willametta Keffer 2; Velma Lamoreaux 1.
Historian: Ray Allen Albert 1.
Mailer: Mannie “Ed” Schaffer 16; Patricia Saunders 3; Denver Stull 3; John Brann 2; John Meyers 2; Ray Albert 1; George Chaffee 1; Dorothy Craig 1; Kent Chamberlain 1; Eleanor Crum 1; Merry Harris 1; Lauren Geringer 1; Charles Hunt 1; Martin Keffer 1; Nyal Karrick 1; Chester Larson 1; Zora Reeves 1; Maurice Osborn 1; Carl Webb 1; Worth Parrish 1; Keith Rogers 1; Lee Allen Wheeler 1.
Board of Directors: Doris Hall 5; Guy Miller 5; Dorothy Craig 2; Beatrice Cooper 2; J. Ed Newman 2; Betty Millar 2; Worth Parrish 2; Mary Parrish 2; Gloria Procsal 2; Denver Stull 2; Ray Albert 1; Miriam Campbell 1; William Davis 1; Bertha Jones 1; James Kurtz 1; Eleanore-Melissa 1; Maurice Osborn 1; Russell Paxton 1; Lee A. Wheeler 1; Rosanne Pierce 1; Robert Schladetsky 1; Mannie “Ed” Schaffer 1.
Lifetime Honor Roll: Ruby and Henry Neese 23; Merry Harris 16; Eleanor Crum 9; Worth and Mary Parrish 9; Lauren Geringer 7; Orma Jane Charter 5; Mannie “Ed” Schaffer 5; Dorothy Craig 4; Doris Hall 3; Betty Millar 3; Eleanore-Melissa 2; Ralph Babcock 1; Lucy Ellen Eaton 1; Bonnie Green 1; Bertha Jones 1; Rosanne Pierce 1; Maurice Osborn 1.
Already Lifetime Members of the Honor Roll: Willametta and Martin Koffer (9); Velma and Lloyd Lamoreaux (9); Bessie and John Brann (1).
Mannie the Man for Mailer in 1989
Although Mannie “Ed” Schaffer failed to file for re-election, he received 16 write-in votes for Mailer and the job is his for the taking. Perhaps members pleased with his excellent service for nine months in 1988 will write him urging him to continue in 1989.
UAP Officers – 1988-1989
President – Ruby Neese, Liberty, NC 27298
Vice President – Patricia Saunders, Cambridge WI 53523
Secretary-Treasurer – Velma M. Lamoreaux, Marshalltown, IA 50158
Mailer – Mannie “Ed” Schaffer, Dogpatch, AR 72648
Official Editor – Bessie Brann, Fort Scott, KS 66701.
Manuscript Bureau Manager – Orma Jane Carter, Spencer, OK 73084
Recorder – Dorothy M. Craig, Washington, IL 61571
Bureau of Critics Chairman – Merry Harris, Ocotillo, CA 92259
Chief of Publishing – Lauren R. Geringer, Iowa City, IA 52240
Historian – Bertha M. Jones, Birmingham, AL 35218
Board of Directors – Chairman: Eleanor G. Crum, Cranston, RI 02905.
Gerald Bradish, Saskatchewan, Canada, S0H 4K0; Willametta Keffer, Roanoke, VA 24014; Merry Harris, Occtillo, CA 92259; Bonnie J. Green, Astoria, OR 97103
Dues – $7.00 a Year
Critic’s Review
August 1988 Bundle
Merry Harris, Chairman Bureau of Critics – Ocotillo, CA 92259
Around the Corner with Zee – Congratulations, publisher Zora Reeves, on your brief but meaningful essay on miracles man-made and God-Made. The success of this essay is based on both its message and the simplicity of its style. Ornate writing is outre, and one brands himself as a rank amateur by trying to use seven-dollar words and ostentatious phrasing. The cardinal rule for writing is, or should be, “Keep it simple.” Zora also treats us to her usual smorgasbord of humorous verse. (Usual? Never!)
Bloomfield Bard – An excellent portrayal of August, the hotblast month, is presented by publisher-poet Keith Rogers. Please note such imagery-packed lines as “while the hot sun fans his forge” and “Heat waves rise like shimmering prayers.” It is the use of vivid, dynamic imagery which often marks the difference between a masterful poem (such as Keith’s) or (lacking such imagery) a dud.
Down Australia Way – I feel cheated because I couldn’t see well enough to read the poems in this issue. Willametta, whose vision is far better than mine, will review this publication separately.
Grapevine – Its tendrils reach out to bind us in ties of friendship. This jam-packed issue contains six pages of news about UAP members, contests of interest to us, and other items of interest. I don’t know how Willametta Keffer found time to publish her FOUR journals, write an excellent essay (after careful research) on caves for Boxwooder (NAPA), and start a series on ajay romances for The Fossils!
Intimate Journey – Publisher Dee Burnlees honors one of UAP’s best loved and most prolific poets by her publishing an entire page of her poetry. The featured poems by Eleanore-Melissa Barker are up to her usual excellent standards, two of them being find examples of how patterned poetry can be used to illustrate or intensify meaning.
Joy in Faith – “Pedestrian” by Helen Amos covers two emotion-creating topics – aging and faith – without becoming morose or preachy. Didactic – morally instructive – poetry has long been out of fashion outside of UAP, but I have never seen anything wrong with a strongly moralistic poem if it is not too obviously preachy or holier-than-thou. Claire Reilly and Remelda Gibson, as well as many other of our poets, can write on religious subjects without becoming preachy. Because they, like Helen, keep it simple, their sincerity shines through their writing. “He is There” by Kate Funk also shows this simplicity and sincerity. The same reader who can be turned off by a see-how-holy-I-am or see-how-evil-you-are poem can find a simple expression of heart-felt faith inspiring and uplifting.
Willametta Keffer, publisher, shows her editorial skill by placing together Edith Oldham’s “Weeping world” about homeless, poverty-stricken people who live in abject misery, and my “Hopelessness,” which I mention mostly to draw attention to the fact that it contains a sustained metaphor. That is, in the poem, the life of the I of the poem becomes a galleon shipwrecked on the shoals of hopelessness. Don’t be afraid to use imagery – it will enrich your poetry. Figures of speech always create pictures in the reader’s mind.
At this point I would like to refer you to another poem by Edith Oldham, on the back page of United Amateur. In it she writes, “March whirls in / Dancing on tiptoe…” This is an excellent personification. A personification gives an object or thing human traits. You have only to remember: a personification gives things human qualities: a simile likes one thing to another, using the word like or as; and a metaphor says one thing IS another: Since the metaphor is hardest to master, I’ll give you an example of the difference between the two. “March came in LIKE a roaring lion” is a simile (a trite one). “March IS or WAS a roaring lion” is a metaphor. Shakespeare used metaphor when he said “All the world’s a stage.” If he had said “All the world is LIKE a stage,” he would have used simile. It’s that easy. “Expectations” by Roxie Smith and “Talents” by Helen Pelosi are traditional poems which uplift and inspire.
Kimesville Tarheel – I’ve noticed improvements in at least two other journals since publisher Ruby Neese so effectively revamped hers, which is now worthy of a laureate. The dog-on-the-grave enigma is a real puzzler. Carl Webb also presents an enigma, of older vintage, in “Believe it or Not.” Gloria San Agustin expresses an eternal truth in “Thoughts on Happiness”: “Happiness is nowhere but within oneself.”
Kudzu Press – I hope everyone will heed Denver Stull’s remarks concerning The Greenhouse Effect on earth’s temperatures, which could destroy the world as we know it. We must act SOON to stop pollution, or it will be forever too late. Publisher Denver continues his personal memoir. Interesting poems by prolific John Meyer, Paul Burns and Lucy Ellen Eaton add a grace note.
Literary Newsette – “Hurdy Gurdy Man” by John E. Coulbourn celebrates a bygone troubadour of sorts. This poem recaptures the strange street music of the turn of the century. Notice how our poet emulates the sounds of the hurdy gurdy by using words such as loudest tintinnabulation, tinniest, tinkling, etc. This imitation of sounds (or as near as one can come to it) has a horrendous name: onomatopoeia – one of those words you have to have tattooed on your wrist because you can never find it in the dictionary if you can’t spell it. Hannah Mendelsohn presents a tour de force of poetry and prose in “Yankee Go Home.” Cristine Lynn gives us an interesting essay on birds and bird-watching. “Homage to Anne Sexton” by Kent Chamberlain is a tribute to a tragic modern poet, whose genius sent her on frequent trips into madness. How I envy the fortunate seniors described by Helen Amos in “Away with Rocking Chairs!”
Long Trail – Publisher Charles Hunt describes with restrained humor “The Marching Band.” Even funnier is his “Gopher’s Melons,” in which one of several watermelon rustlers gets more than he bargained for – where it hurts most.
People Watcher – An irate American Indian takes exception to the Americanized spelling of Navajo in a recent People Watcher, and fails to speak with the voice of unification in this, the Year of the American Indian, when most of us of the spirit and the blood are trying to promote world brotherhood. This issue of People Watcher is mostly composed of letters to the editor, interspersed by two poems.
Question Mark – Publisher Lenore Hughes’ fine tribute to Ray Albert, our longtime resident humorist complemented by two of Ray’s always interesting poems.
The Showcase – Publisher Willametta Keffer put forth extra effort to publish “The Journal of Edward Thatcher” in time to coincide with the centenary of the Jack the Ripper murders, probably the world’s greatest long-unsolved mystery. Willametta chose a rather eerie and therefore fitting personal memoir by Kate Funk, about driving through a swampland, to accompany the Rev. Thatcher’s strange revelations.
Soft Voices – Publisher Marion Wyllie discusses such diverse topics as why people face the door in elevators in an elevator and subjects concerning senior citizens. She also presents two three-line poems by Helen Amos.
Unicorn’s Horn – Publisher Marilyn Houck presents another exemplary Vision Quest in her series on animals.
United Amateur – In addition to the usual reports, contains a tempting array of short poems by some of our best poets. (My horrendous three-liner excepted – the more I read it, the less I like it!) Kudos to Lucy Ellen Eaton, Kate Funk, Lillian Clevenger and Paul Burns, whose poem struck a responsive chord in this catastrophe-prone (and I do mean prone) household.
Down Australia Way
Brian Missen, Aug. 1988 (Vol V. No. 1)
Reviewed by Willametta T. Keffer
To those of us who have belonged to UAP for any length of time, DAW from Brian Missen comes as if it were a long, newsy letter from a pal; and it is greeted and read with the same enthusiasm as if it were directed only to us, individually. This issue brings us up-to-date on the happenings in Brian’s life, and ties in with what he has written before (only I’d forgotten about Melbourne’s smog). Ever since the convention in Marshalltown when Max and Wilma Barker shared the reels of their movies taken in Australia, the distance has seemed shorter, and as we read, we find we are adjusted to June being autumn there. If Brian could know how much his paper was enjoyed, he might issue it oftener; and we hope we’ll not need to wait too long to read of his trip to Brisbane.