blueprints

Finishing Tools for the Event Itself | 241
be more mobile, though. A young local poet you approach in
March to read in September may no longer be local by the
time fall rolls around, so if you think relocation might be an
issue, ask about plans.
4. Consider the needs of your audience members.
a. What kind of time commitment will their participation
require? The greater the commitment, the more lead time
is necessary. In the case of a weeklong conference, for
example, you will want to give people a year’s notice; for
a weekend-long event, a few months will do; for an evening
event, a few weeks.
b. How will you reach your audience members? If your target
audience is made up of students at a particular school
or university, you can effectively use posters, flyers, e-mail,
and teacher announcements to get the word out in short
order, which means you can schedule outreach closer to
event dates. If your audience is spread throughout the
community, you will need enough lead time to use the
media effectively and pass out flyers at earlier events.
5. Consider whether staking out a particular day of the week or
month is feasible.
a. Consult the schedule of your venue, considering all its
programs and the demands on its staff as well as staff
preferences.
b. Consult your board and staff—if a key person has regular
commitments on a given day, select another day.
c. Consider to the greatest extent possible the regular commitments
of your target audience, including other poetry
and arts events as well as holidays and days of worship.
d. Consider the likely limitations on the schedules of poets,
remembering that many are academics and have courses
to teach.
6. Working with your facility, your staff, your partners, and your
board, identify open dates. Double-check calendars for major
competing events and holidays.
7. Working with your staff and partners, identify which poets you
would like to invite to participate.