[PW] Re: Reply #3 RE: National Poetry Association

[Franco, Adrienne]

I went into JSTOR database and did a phrase search: National Poetry Association. 

The following announcement appeared in the periodical "College English", v. 11, no. 3 (Dec. 1949) on page 166.  This announcement solicits contributions for a related publication of poems by teachers.  Later on in this e-mail, I cite advertisements in later issues of College English which actually solicit contributions from students and teachers.

"The National Poetry Association announces January 1, 1950 as the closing date for the submission of manuscripts for its second Anthology of Teachers' Poetry. Details from the association, 3210-G Selby Avenue, Los Angeles, 34, California."

Also retreived in JSTOR by phrase search:  National Poetry Association, were what appear to be advertisements which appeared in several issues of the periodical College English, which appeared in the 1950s.  Still, these ads solicit contributions for what appears to be same anthology your father's poem appeared in, albeit later editions. Ad copy appears below (from College English, v. 18, no. 1, Oct. 1956. No page number; likely on a back page. Same ad appeared in v. 21, no. 1, Oct. 1959 on page 71.


"College students are invited to submit poetry mss. for possible inclusion in Annual anthology. 
CLOSING DATE NOV. 5. 
TEACHERS are invited to submit poetry mss. for possible inclusion in Annual anthology. 
CLOSING DATE JAN. 1.
No fees are required.
NATIONAL POETRY ASSOCIATION
3210 Selby Ave.
Los Angeles 34, Calif."

Adrienne Franco / Iona College Libraries / New Rochelle, NY  10801

-----Original Message-----
From: project-wombat-bounces at lists.project-wombat.org on behalf of Meredith Dixon
Sent: Sun 5/7/2006 12:34 PM
To: list at project-wombat.org
Subject: [PW]  National Poetry Association
 
My father recently passed away, and I've inherited a pamphlet called "America
Sings", which is a 1946-47 anthology of the work of college students across the
country.  It was published by the National Poetry Association in Los Angeles, and
it contains a poem my father wrote in his freshman year of college.

My first thought upon seeing this was, "Oh, no; my  father must have fallen for
one of those vanity-press creative writing scams!  Evidently they go back a long
way."  And perhaps he did.  

But since it is a pamphlet rather than a glossy-looking book, and since the
publishers "thank the Instructors and Heads of the English Departments for their
excellent efforts in making the Anthologies possible."  I am wondering whether by
any chance it might really have been just what it says it is: a genuine anthology
of the best collegiate poems of 1946-47 (as opposed to any poem that was sent in).

I can't find anything about a National Poetry Association of the right age online,
though there are of course several vanity-press publishers with similar names and
there seems to be a genuine National Poetry Series launched in 1978 (though I
didn't look at it closely as it wasn't the right date).   MX Bookfinder lists
America Sings anthologies for the mid-1940's (my 1946-47 one says it is the fourth
such compilation) until mid-1955, but that's no help in determining whether or not
they are genuine.

It's probably vanity press, but if by any chance it isn't it would be very nice to
know otherwise.   Does anyone have more certain information about this National
Poetry Association?

-- 
Meredith Dixon <dixonm at pobox.com>
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