Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
The South Dakota State Poetry Society was founded by Dr. James C. Lindberg of Northern State College and formally organized in Huron on October 5, 1927 in the Marvin Hughitt Hotel. The first officers of the organization were: Dr. Lindberg, President; Gertrude B. Gunderson of Mitchell, Vice President; and Ethelyn Miller Hartwich of Huron, Secretary. The stated purpose of the society is to encourage and foster the writing and publication of poetry by South Dakota writers. The organization was registered as a Nonprofit Corporation with the South Dakota Secretary of State on September 22, 1970.
Dr. Lindberg developed the first South Dakota Poetry magazine, Pasque Petals, which was made the official publication of the poetry society at its organizing meeting. Publication began in May of 1926 and continues today. It is the oldest poetry journal in continuous publication in the National Federation of State Poetry Societies.
South Dakota State Poetry Society is directed by a board made up of nine South Dakota poets who select an editor for Pasque Petals, oversee the annual national competition of poetry, and recommend the South Dakota Poet Laureate to the Governor. The current Poet Laureate is Lee Ann Roripaugh of Vermillion. The Poet Laureate post was a lifetime appointment until a recent change in state law that sets a four-year term. Past Poet Laureates are: Badger Clark, 1928-1957; Adeline Jenny, 1958-1973; Mabel Frederick, 1973; Audrae Visser, 1974-2001; and David Allan Evans, 2002-2014.