This page last updated 21 December 2007
At present, this page is divided into two basic areas:
Karen's Powerlifting and Bodybuilding
The Poetry section simply provides examples of Ken's work.
The Powerlifting and Bodybuilding section keeps our friends and associates up on Karen's latest exploits in Powerlifting and her past work in the bizarre and often quizzical world of women's bodybuilding.
I have been writing I would say fairly successfully - though some might not agree - for some time, publishing my first poems way way back in 1974. In the years since, I've published somewhere around 300 poems (along with a short story or two, reviews, and an occasional diatribe now and again) in perhaps 60 magazines. One book, Cordwood, came out in 1985 and had more typographical errors in it than a freshman's C program has bugs, or a jackleg plumber's run has elbows. I finally harvested some courage and did another book, Sciences, Social, in 1995 with Palanquin Books out of the University of South Carolina at Aiken. For this book, I was offered a chance at the proofs, and things are much much better.
Below is a recent poem, and two selections from Sciences, Social.
All year he plants for the best of harvests,
Turning damp earth, the black of it
Almost too rich, cold to the touch.
Anything will grow in it, year after year
With the soil forgiving. I swirl
Dust in the rainshadow, measuring each row
By the little water I can bring in,
Watching my profitability blow away
In the same winds that bring me the smell
Of his good fortune. No matter.
When he has plenty, he is easy to take;
When I have little I bargain well.
Winning is as good as justice.
Copyright West Branch 1997, Bucknell University
I heard them singing. Had we slept
With the window closed I'd
Have missed it. Having not time
To dress or even find at the back of the closet
My robe, I threw the covers over you
And made for the back door. Twice
Crossing the yard I stepped in animal droppings,
Stubbed my toe on one of the child's blocks.
I heard them singing. Turning the barn,
At the fence I saw all four of them,
Smallest to large, lined on the lowest rail,
Their mouths guilty with the act.
You said the siren had just gone by,
The fence the boundary nearest the noise.
I could have dreamed the most of it,
Rushed out still half asleep, put
The actual together with the imaginary
And out of such genetics come up
With occurrences rational to explain only what
There never was. I remember shivering
In the morning not quite six o'clock,
My four dogs lined on the rail, excrement
Between my toes and I trying to cover my nakedness.
And then you behind me in a housecoat.
From Sciences, Social, 1995, Palanquin Press, University of South Carolina at Aiken. McClellan Shoots His Dogs originally published in Iowa Review, The University of Iowa
Up the street the dust is crawling.
Slowly, in waves like wheat
The small particles inch,
Some twisting side to side,
Others in a straight line.
Children press their noses to the window to see.
Plump, middle-aged women
Stand on their porches with hands
In apron pockets. The dust
Turns at Main and Bank.
Sidewalks of dust empty into the avenue,
Alleys of dust mix into the thoroughfare.
Backroads of dust merge into
Major highways. Men from the Exchange
Stand on the steps and slap their thighs.
After amazement, laughter has begun in parts of the city.
The dust continues to march amiably westward.
Everyone is watching as though it were some show.
From Sciences, Social, 1995, Palanquin Press, University of South Carolina at Aiken. News originally published in Cincinnati Poetry Review
Some additional work you can view by clicking the title:
Cooling Passions
Memory
The Mule
Unison
If Sex Is Important To Marriage
You can contact us at kpoyner@prodigy.net
A few links you might find of interest:
The Maryland Writer's Center
Zero City ezine
Poetry on the Web
University of Akron Press
After enough bodybuilding contests where either women's figure was all the rage, or simply the local gym's girls seemed to place undeservedly highly, Karen elected to try once again powerlifiting. In her first modern meet, she won the USAPL Mid-Atlantic regional at both the Masters 45-49 105 class and the Open 105 class. Her powerlifting total of 475 was not great, but she has gone on to take the USAPL Virginia State records in the 50-54 age division with a combined total of 580 -- and to set eleven 100% RAW federation world titles, and to take the WABDL 47-53 age 105 lbs class world deadlift record.
Karen currently holds the 100% RAW World 45-49 bench record at 130 lbs, and the 100% RAW World 50-54 bench record at 132.5 lbs. All of her lifts from the 2005 100% RAW Nationals remain 45-49 age group 105 lbs class records.
She also holds the World WABDL deadlift Masters 47-53 105 lbs class record at 275.5 lbs.
Karen is shading more to RAW in her competitions these days, but does use a Champion suit where it is legal for her dead lifts. However, irrespective of whether the contest is RAW or equipped, she does not use a bench shirt, so all of her bench totals are RAW. This holds her back a bit in national equipped competitions. Competing in April 2006 for the USA at the World Masters Bench Press meet, she was the only person of 350 competitors to compete all three attempts with no bench shirt. Her final lift of 55 kg was unremarkable, but nonetheless not the worst of the meet.
Below a few pictures by Nick Griner at the 2002 Presidential Cup in Gaithersburg, Md.
Karen thought, and I agree, that these were some of the best pitcures ever taken of her.
Irrespective of how many contests she has won, all the controversy she has seen, and the petty politics and petty personalities that stain women's bodybuilding, I think nonetheless that bodybuilding itself has been good for her. Competing is simply a way of adding focus and spice to the workouts.
For all the diet and health books written, I think you can simply note that in the pictures above Karen is 46 years old, and you can say enough said.
Above is the posedown for the Overall. Karen took the lightweight, but did not gain the overall.
At our home in Virginia, the day after the INBF 2001 Mid-Atlantic Regional.
The INBF 2001 Mid-Atlantic Regional, hosted by Rodney Gaines, we found to be an overall well run and enjoyable show.
Karen made the switch to powerlifting after 14 years of competing in bodybuilding. Bodybuilding seems, perhaps paradoxically, to have more ego in it than powerlifting. Additionally, the emphasis in the women's sport on women's figure, as though it were a replacement for bodybuilding, clouds the sport with worries of body image and gender role overtones. This sport should be fun, not a debate on what the appropriate view of women in our society should be.
Many things can be done to improve bodybuilding shows. We are not talking about the large step of uniting the federations, or in any way extracting the sport from the alphabet soup of petty kingdoms that so cheapens the efforts of true athletes. We are merely lobbying for a few common sense ideas that might make the sport at least seem a little more ethical, and perhaps in the long run force it to be. First, all promoters should post competitors' final scores. We would prefer that the final judging spread sheet be published or posted (almost everyone has a web site where it might be displayed) to include all scores from all judges for all competitors, but that might be a step too far. We have found that judges guard their anonymity, and that promoters prefer that outsiders do not have the full judging picture. Second, we would propose that drug testing selections -- not results, as that brings up privacy issues -- be noted and that confirmation of each test taken be made public. Competitors skipping out on drug tests should not be allowed, and those who do skip out on drug tests should be immediately disqualified, with any titles forfeited.
We think any competition should include enough judges that the highest and lowest scores given each competitor can be thrown out. We think tabulators should be away from the judges table, and focused on tabulation, not split between tabulating and judging.
A few pictures above and below taken at a local gym which, sadly, has now closed. These were taken after the end of contest season, when diet is not such a worry.
For the nonce, Karen is not ready to retire and, finding bodybuilding too fickle and perhaps tainted a sport, she is firmly ensconced in powerlifting. Her goal is to press her RAW bench ever higher, and to perhaps in the suited deadlift challenge the World IPF record. That is not to say she may not one day do another bodybuilding show, but her success with, and enjoyment in, powerlifting certainly draws her into that sport.
And below is what you look like when you hoist a world (WABDL) record deadlift.
1991 USNFA Eastern Natural, Women's Open
1994 GDFA Nationals, Women's Open
1996 NABF Judgement Day in Latrobe, Women's Masters
1997 NABF Hazleton Supernatural, Women's Masters
1998 AAU Chesapeake Open Bodybuilding Championships, Women's
Masters
1998 NGA Potomac Cup, Women's Open Lightweight, Women's Open
Overall
1999 AAU Colonial Open, Women's Masters
1999 NGA Mount Rogers, Women's Open Lightweight
2000 NGA Potomac Cup, Women's Masters
2000 ANBA Cinnaminson Shredfest Women's Masters, Women's Open Lightweight
2001 INBF Mid-Atlantic Regional, Women's Masters 40+, Women's Open Lightweight, Women's Overall
2001 Steele Jungle Asheville Supernatural, Women's Open Lightweight
2002 INBF Atlantic Coast Natural, Women's Masters 45+
2002 Steele Jungle Asheville Supernatural, Women's Open Lightweight
2002 INBF Presidential Cup, Women's Open Lightweight
2004 USAPL Mid-Atlantic Powerlifting/Bench Press, 45-49 105 Powerlifting (475) and Bench (130), Open 105 Powerlifting (475) and Bench (130)
2004 100% RAW Powerlifting Federation World Bench Press, Open and 45-49 Bench Press (120), World and Va. State Records
2004 USAPL Va. State, Open and 45-49 Bench Press (130), Va. State Masters 45-49 105 class record
2005 100% RAW Powerlifting Federation National Champion Women's 105 lbs class, Powerlifting and Bench Press, Open and Masters 45-49 world record 160 squat, 125 bench and 220 deadlift, Best Lifter Powerlifting and Bench
2005 USAPL National Bench Press Championships, winner 105 lbs Open and Masters 45-49 and RAW, 57.5 kg National Meet Record (masters 45-49)
2005 USAPL Nation's Capital Cup, winner Women's 105 Masters 45-49 Powerlifting and Bench, and Best Lifter both powerlifting and bench, state record 180 squat, 130 bench, state record 230 deadlift, state record 540 total (masters 45-49 105 class).
2006 USAPL National Bench Press Championships (Denver - March), winner 105 lbs Masters 50-54 and RAW, 57.5 kg National Meet Record
2006 USAPL National Bench Press Championships (Charlotte - September) winner 105 lbs Masters 50-54 and RAW, 57.5 kg
2006 IPF World Masters Bench Press (Miami), 105 lbs Master 2 (50-59) 4th place, 55 kg.
2006 USAPL Capital Cup (Washington, DC), 105 lbs Master 50-59 1st place powerlifting, 1st place bench, best lifter, best bencher
2006 WABDL SunCoast Classic (Jacksonville, Fla), 105 lbs Master 47-53, 1st place deadlift (world record), 1st place bench
2006 100% RAW World Championships (Currituck, NC) 105 lbs Master 50-54 and Open, 1st place (both world records)
2007 100% RAW Ironman Nationals (Stanardsville, Va) 105 lbs Master 50-54, 1st place
2007 100% RAW Deadlift Nationals (Stanardsville, Va) 105 lbs Master 50-54 and Open, 1st place (both world records)
2007 100% RAW United States Bench Press (Stanardsville, Va) 105 lbs Master 50-54 and Open, 1st place
2007 WABDL United We Stand (Newcastle, Pa.) 105 lbs Master 47-53 and 105 lbs Open 1st bench press and 1st deadlift (world record) and best deadlifter
2007 WABDL World Championships (Anaheim, Ca) 105 lbs Open 3rd Bench, 105 lbs Open 47-53 1st Bench, 105 lbs Open and Masters 47-53 1st deadlift
Masters 45-49 105 lbs class Virginia State records
Masters 45-49 105 lbs (48 kg) class National Bench Press Meet record
Masters 50-54 105 lbs class Virginia State Records
Masters 50-54 105 lbs (48 kg) class National Bench Press Meet record
100% RAW Powerlifting Federation
Open 105 class World Records
Masters 45-49 105 lbs class World Records
Masters 50-54 lbs Class World Records
World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters (WABDL)
Masters 47-53 105 lbs class World Records
Masters 47-53 105 lbs Virginia State Records
A few links you might find of interest
The American Natural Bodybuilding Association
American Council on Exercise
American Bodybuilding
Truly Huge
OCB Bodybuilding
DC Bodybuilding
USA Powerlifting
Virginia Powerlifting
World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters
Note: save where otherwise noted, all text and pictures are the sole property of Ken Poyner and should not be used without appropriate permission.