[Tim Murphy]

Our invaluable Lance Levens is recruiting the great Turner Cassity for the sonnet bake-off. This year as in others, there will be no judging. Cathy will pick twelve sonnets, she and Turner and I will comment. Then the fan club will vote. Since Wystan Auden and Edgar Bowers died, Mr. Cassity is the senior gay poet in English, and I relish his arrival at our board.

In June, I shall host the Wilbur Fest. I shall be recruiting a number of Wilbur scholars to help with the heavy lifting. Richard will participate.

In July I hope that Jim Hayes and John Whitworth will host the second light verse bake-off.

In August, I am very pleased to announce that Chris Childers will screen and Clive Watkins will judge the second Translation Bake-off. We'll do this as Marion did it last year, original, prose crib, translation.

In September, Mary Meriam and I will host a symposium on gay and lesbian poetry. We are starting with Gilgamesh, 3200 BC, and working our way to the present. Suzanne Doyle will be helping Mary on the ladies' side of the church, and I have asked Nemo to help me. Some of our guests will astonish you.

In October Jehanne Dubrow and Quincy Lehr will host a symposium on younger poets, poets younger than 40. This is not a subject on which I have much to offer, so it's their tennis court. Well, ok, I know Clay Stockton, Chris Childers, our hosts, Pooch. But this is the future of our art folks, the conservators of whatever legacy we can bequeath. I know Quincy and Jehanne pretty well, and boy, do I look forward to turning this board over to that pair.

In November Juster and I will host a symposium on the radical emerging poetry from chimps in Africa and bald guys from Australia.

In December, back to Deck the Halls. I will screen, and I am going to be specifically soliciting poems from many of you. As always, Rhina will judge.

That about wraps it up for Distinguished Guest for this year, but bring on your proposal. This board is open to all.