The June issue of MacQueen's Quinterly has three works by Robert L. Dean Jr., D5, one of which earned Clare's "Editor's Choice Award" for this issue.

The ekphrastic poem which got the Editor's Choice Award is talked about in the contents entry titled "Editor's Choice Award." The title is "Hands," is written to a photo taken by an Oklahoma photographer named Gay Pasley. "Hand's" is also mentioned in the "Ekphrastic Works" section, as is Dean's other ekphrastic piece in this issue, "Newsboy." The third poem, "The Bus to Elysium," is listed under Prose Poems. Here's the link to Contents:

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MacQueen’s Quinterly: Contents: Issue 4

Congratulations to D2 Member, Edna Bell-Pearson, and to Meadowlark Books, with for making the 2020 Kansas Notable Award list! Travel from Liberal to Marysville, Kansas, with the author in this post-World War II memoir.

July 15, 2020, Topeka, Kansas: State Librarian Eric Norris announced today the 15th annual selection of Kansas Notable Books. The fifteen books feature quality titles with wide public appeal, written either by a Kansan, set in Kansas, or about a Kansas related topic.

“I am proud to present the 2020 Kansas Notable Book list. This year’s list covers a wide swath of our cultural and natural history,” said Eric Norris, State Librarian. “The rich array of works on this year’s list examine petroglyphs across the prairie and go on fantastical high seas adventures with pirates; explore the careers of academics, athletes, and aviators; and consider the importance of family from the viewpoint of a young Exoduster in the 1880s and as a world traveler in a present day small western Kansas town. This year’s list will both educate and entertain. I encourage every Kansan to contact their local public library and celebrate the artists and artistry of Kansas.”

A committee of librarians, academics, and historians nominated titles from a list of eligible books, and state librarian Eric Norris selected the final list. In 2006, the first Kansas Notable Books list was announced. Since then more than 200 books have been recognized for their contribution to Kansas literary heritage.

​Kansas Notable Books is a project of the Kansas Center for the Book. The Kansas Center for the Book is a program at the State Library of Kansas and the state affiliate of the Library of Congress Center for the Book. The Kansas Center for the Book exists to highlight the state’s literary heritage and foster an interest in books, reading, and libraries.

KAC D5 member, April Pameticky, has put together a powerful issue of River City Poetry that assembles Kansas Poets’ responses to the events of June 2020.
Members who have poems in this issue include Roy Beckemeyer, Dixie Brown, Arlice W. Davenport, H.B. Berlow, Robert L. Dean Jr., and Gretchen Eick.

We've all been spending a lot more time at home these past few months. What have you been doing during that time? Choose one or two activities and write a SHORT bit of prose or poetry (2-3 minutes) to share with District 5 members at our July meeting, which will start promptly at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 11, on Zoom. Your writing prompt is "What I did on my 2020 Staycation."

It's easy to join us. Just download the free Zoom application (if you don't already have it) by going to zoom.us.
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You who are members of districts other than D5 need to request the Zoom link from Connie White, President of D5, by e-mailing her at craepa@cox.net. She will confirm your KAC membership and then send your invitation and the Zoom link.