The North Carolina Writers’ Network-West is offering “Jaw Droppers!”, a poetry workshop led by artist and poet Rosemary Royston Saturday, July 26, from 10 to Noon at 355 Main Street N, Suite C, Hiawassee, GA.
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Rosemary Royston |
Writers and poets in the far western mountain area of North Carolina and bordering counties of South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee post announcements, original work and articles on the craft of writing.
The North Carolina Writers’ Network-West is offering “Jaw Droppers!”, a poetry workshop led by artist and poet Rosemary Royston Saturday, July 26, from 10 to Noon at 355 Main Street N, Suite C, Hiawassee, GA.
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Rosemary Royston |
Brenda Kay Ledford pictured with her new poetry book, The Persistent Trillium. Finishing Line Press published her book on May 16, 2025.
The following authors wrote blurbs for Ledford's book:
Brenda Kay Ledford takes her persistent pen and poet's heart from such wrenching topics as Haitian immigrants and child labor to the joyful sounds of Mother Nature in "The Music of Maples" and "Leatherwood Falls." --Lorraine Martin Bennett, author, "Cat on a Black Moon; former journalist with "Atlanta Journal" and Los Angeles Times; previous copy editor, producer, and editorial manager with CNN International; copy editor with "Clay County Progress"
Like a suncatcher, Ledford takes the harsh light of suffering, the glare of jealousy, the burn of guilt, and the blaze of grief and loss, and transforms them, blends them, into jewels cast on the walls and ceilings of our lives. Her approachable style makes the everyday incandescent and reminds us of the beauty even in the bleak. --Megan Lucas, Author, "Songbirds and Stray Dogs," "Here in the Dark;" Creative Writing Instructor at Robert Morris University and Great Smokies Writing Program, UNC Asheville; Editor-in-chief, "Reckon Review"
Brenda Kay Ledford describes the harshness of human nature. Her image of a rock begins a sequence of behaviors that result from life's challenging encounters. But it is the persistence of the trillium that symbolizes hope for the human spirit. --Carroll S. Taylor, author, "Chinaberry Summer," "Feannag the Crow," "Beneath the Sky and Waters," and "An Appointment with the Year Monger"
Brenda Kay Ledford's book is available at: www.finishinglinepress.com and Amazon.com
Two local award-winning authors, Poet Mary Ricketson and novelist David Westwood, are slated to read from their works Thursday, June 26, at the Literary Hour in the Keith House on the J.C. Campbell Folk School campus. The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.
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Mary Ricketson |
Ricketson is a mental health therapist in private practice in Murphy, NC, and enjoys writing groups, hiking mountain trails, and tending to her garden of vegetables, flowers, and blueberries.
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David Westwood |
Mary Jo Dyre of Murphy will serve as host. She is author of “Springheads” a novel combining elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and fantasy to create a story of self-discovery.
The Literary Hour at the folk school is offered every third Thursday of the month through October and brings local writers to the campus to share their work with the community. Students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.
The John C. Campbell Folk School offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling. For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.
Harshman is the seventh West Virginia Poet Laureate and 2024 Appalachian Heritage Writer in Residence and the One Book One West Virginia common read author.
This anthology was published by Shepherd University's Center for Appalachian Studies and Communities and the West Virginia Center for the Book in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.
For information: www.shepherd.educ/appalachian
Popular local writers Brenda Kay Ledford and Caesar Campana are the featured readers at Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories Thursday, May 15. The reading, which starts at 7 p.m. in the Keith House on the J.C. Campbell Folk School campus, is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.
Brenda Kay Ledford
Brenda Kay Ledford is an award-winning author, poet, storyteller, blogger, and retired educator. Her work has appeared in many regional and national publications including “Good Old Days Magazine,” “Grit,” “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” “Our State Magazine,” “Asheville Poetry Review,” 54 Old Mountain Press anthologies and many other journals.
Ledford’s newest poetry book, “Persistent Trillium,” will be released in May of 2025 by Finishing Line Press. Her children’s illustrated books, “Christmas in Matheson Cove,” and “The Singing Convention,” both received the “Children’s Book Awards” from North Carolina Society of Historians.
Caesar Campana
Caesar Campana escaped the cold winters of New Jersey to study Shakespeare and play football at North Carolina State University before beginning his 40-year career teaching English in North Carolina and Florida high schools. He spends his retirement between homes in Palm Coast, FL, and Murphy, NC, writing short stories, poetry and novels. He has written eight books, five of them novels. His latest novel is “Frogs in a Midnight Marsh” which tells the story of 16-year-old Angelo Perduto as he travels the world searching for the lost souls of his parents, little sister and astronaut teacher.
Mary Jo Dyre of Murphy will serve as host. She is author of “Springheads” a novel combining elements of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure and fantasy to create a story of self-discovery.
Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories (formerly The Literary Hour) is offered at the folk school every third Thursday of the month through October and brings local writers to the campus to share their work with the community. Students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.
The John C. Campbell Folk School offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling. For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.
Poet Catherine Carter and Storyteller Kanute Rarey are the featured readers at Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories Thursday, April 17, at 7 p.m. in the Keith House on the J.C. Campbell Folk School campus in Brasstown, NC. Formerly known as The Literary Hour, the program is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.
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Kanute Rarey |
A prize-winning poet, Carter is a prolific writer. She has authored four full-length poetry collections, “Larvae of the Nearest Stars,” “The Swamp Monster at Home,” and “The Memory of Gills,” and the soon to be published “By Stone and Needle,” and has two chapbooks, “Marks of the Witch” and “Good Morning, Unseen.” Her poems have appeared in numerous literary journals.
Rarey needs no introduction in this area. A well-known and popular storyteller, he developed the “Reminiscing, Storytelling and Capturing Personal History,” program for residents in area care centers, senior centers and retirement communities. It combines discussion and storytelling to remind listeners of the present and the past and help them find joy in the moment.
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Catherine Carter |
In addition to her own poetry, Carter and co-editor and co-translator Brian Gastle produced the first full-length verse translation into modern English of John Gower’s 33,000-line Middle English poem “The Lover’s Confession.” She is a professor at Western Carolina University, where she teaches English and creative writing.
“On a good day, I can re-queen a hive of honeybees and roll a whitewater kayak, and on less-good days, I collect stings, rock-rash, and multiple contusions,” she said about two of her extracurricular interests.
Rarey, in addition to storytelling, helps with the annual Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival in Hiawassee which just finished its 11th season this month. He also started a storytelling group, Mountain Area Storytellers. His passion for storytelling began with a workshop led by national storyteller, Elizabeth Ellis, at the Campbell School. “Elizabeth opened the door to that canary cage and the bird flew out,” he said.
Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories is offered every third Thursday of the month through October and brings local writers to the campus to share their work with the community. The public as well as students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.
Kanute Rarey, a well-known and beloved storyteller, is the March 27 featured reader at Mountain Wordsmiths. The Wordsmiths meet monthly over Zoom at 10:30 a.m.
Many of you already know Kanute, but if you don’t know him, here’s your opportunity.
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Kanute Rarey |
From his first week-long workshop in 2015 with national storyteller, Elizabeth Ellis, at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, Kanute says, “Elizabeth opened the door to that canary cage and the bird flew out.”
His first step in storytelling and one that he is most proud of is a program he developed in 2016 for folks at area care centers, senior centers and retirement communities. Called “Reminiscing, Storytelling and Capturing Personal History,” it combines discussion and story to remind us of the present and the past and helps us find joy in the moment.
In 2015, he started helping with the annual Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival, a growing festival and the first of its kind in the area. In 2018, he started a storytelling group, Mountain Area Storytellers.
Kanute enjoys sharing with others his lively stories and poetry. They are often about his adventures discovering the world and his unique experiences in life that brought him to the mountains. “I am in awe of the many wonderful writers we have in our community. It is a joy each day to wake to the morning sun as it breaks across our surrounding mountain tops and lights each new day”.
To join over Zoom email Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com for the Zoom meeting link.
On March 20, The NCWN-West monthly readings by two members of NCWN, Lorraine Bennett and Glenda Beall, will begin on the third Thursday of the month at 7:00 PM in the Keith House at JCCFS. The community is welcome and the students at the folk school are urged to drop in. No charge.
The program is hosted by author, MaryJo Dyre. She will introduce the two guests who will share their original work, poetry or prose, fiction or nonfiction. You might laugh, you might tear up, but you will be glad you came. Everyone gets the opportunity to ask a question or make a comment about writing, the guests, or ask how to join NC Writers Network and NC Writers Network-West.
Anyone who lives within the area of nine counties in North Carolina, Cherokee, Clay, Swain, Graham, Jackson, Haywood, Transylvania, Macon, Henderson, or in the bordering counties of Georgia, South Carolina, and Tennessee and joins NCWN will automatically become members of NCWN -West, North Carolina Writers' Network.
The writing community in far western NC grew from a small number who did not know each other to a thriving membership after the mountain branch was formed in the early nineties. Before the Internet, holding meetings for writers in the mountains was almost impossible. Due to terrain and distance, the program was fashioned in a way for each county to have a representative from NCWN-West who brought local people together once a month for a meeting about writing where authors, poets, journalists, and anyone who likes to write, could find kindred souls, where they could share ideas, give helpful advice and receive encouragement from others like them.
Today NCWN-West sponsors a group for writers throughout each month. A poetry critique group, Room for Poets, meets at the Young Harris Library, 698 Miller St., Young Harris, GA On the second Thursday of Each Month from 1 to 3 p.m. Maren Mitchel or Michael Wright facilitate 706-379-3732
Coffee with the Poets and Writers meets monthly at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville. This group began in 2007 and is the most popular gathering where a guest gives a presentation and then the floor is open to anyone who wants to share a poem or read a short prose piece. Joan Howard and Marcia Barnes, both published writers and poets, facilitate this group.During the Pandemic, groups could not safely meet as usual, so Carroll Taylor, poet and author from Hiawassee, Georgia, began hosting an online group that is enjoyed by writers across the country as well as those who are local. Mountain Wordsmiths features outstanding writers from far and near. An Open Mic time follows the guest and those present may share an original poem or short prose piece. Anyone can join in by contacting Carroll Taylor who will send the link for entering the event held at 10:30 AM on the fourth Thursday. No one is expected to read or share unless they want to. Carroll says anyone interested in listening is welcome to attend.
In Henderson County, NCWN West holds meetings in which writers from several counties attend. The Representative for Henderson County is Kathleen Calby. Please contact: kathleencalby@gmail.com for more information.
Visit www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com to learn more.
https://collaborature.blogspot.com
Visit this site for information about an upcoming poetry contest that will pay the winners.
An Evening of One Act Plays is the latest event in the popular Scribes on Stage Series. The first half features Midnight, a brand-new play by local playwright Carroll S. Taylor, and a new presentation of Get Up and Bar the Door, a 1935 play written by students at the John C. Campbell Folk School.
During intermission, enjoy a wide selection of snacks and beverages in the newly-updated lobby, and meet and greet the local authors who are performing their work.
During the second half of the evening, you'll hear local poets and authors Richard Cary, Mary Ricketson, Michael Wright, and Sandy Benson share their new writings.
Tickets are available online and at the door.
Peacock Performing Arts Center
301 Church Street, Hayesville, NC
828-389-2787
The first Mountain Wordsmiths of the 2025 season will feature Susan Posey on Thursday, January 23, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. The monthly event is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.
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Susan Posey |
From an early age, Posey loved the woods of Western North Carolina and their wild plants. While in Cashiers, she learned from a cousin about the family history on her mother’s side. The Welsh family of Reeses in this area are descendants of David Reese, a planter in Anson, now Mecklenburg County. A family story recalls the journey of her many-times great-aunts who came down the primitive trail, later called The Great Wagon Road, alone. They were herb women and collected plants of the New World as they traveled in the 1750s to North Carolina’s frontier to see their brother David.
Posey greatly admired the courage and fortitude it took to do this. When she retired, she wrote a historical fiction book imagining what the two sisters and their adventures must have been like. After six years of writing and research, this became A Home on Wilder Shores, her first novel. At the request of readers, she wrote a sequel, A Weave of Old and New.
NCWN-West continues to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. Mountain Wordsmiths gatherings always take place on Zoom. Attendees are welcome to bring a poem or short prose piece to read during Open Mic. Please limit the reading to 3-5 minutes.
Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com or ncwngeorgiarep@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Our group is informal, and we welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as we share our thoughts about writing.
This is a wonderful contest run by The North Carolina Poetry Society in partnership with the NC Writers’ Network, Winston-Salem Writers, and Press 53. It was an honor to be one of the judges, even though I had to read almost 400 poems! Since judging was blind, it was fun discovering whose poems we’d chosen.
Here is the list of winning poets and the schedule for when their poems will be on display throughout the state of North Carolina.
For more information about the contest, scroll down on this page: https://mailchi.mp/36c71a42cba4/february-2023-emuse-6766415?e=4d3ec1be01
David Plunkett, Tom Davis, and Brenda Kay Ledford have poetry in this anthology that honors military veterans.
" This is a remarkable volume, " said Joseph Bathanti, North Carolina Poet Laureate (2012-14) & 2016 Charles George VA Medical Center Writer-in-Residence.
For information: https://longleafpress.org