Writers' Night May 12: Viva México and more...

"Diana's poems leap with the color and music of Mexico, where she spent most of her life."

A former resident of Mexico—Diana Anhalt’s parents moved there from New York in 1950 in order to escape possible persecution during the McCarthy era­—she now lives in Atlanta. 
 
Her poetry books are Because There is No Return (Passager), Second Skin (Future Cycle), and Lives of Straw (Finishing Line). Her work's been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in Nimrod,  The Comstock Review, Atlanta Review, and many other literary journals. She's also the author of the non-fiction book, A Gathering of Fugitives: American Political Expatriates in Mexico 1948-1965 (Archer Books), as well as essays and book reviews published in both English and Spanish. She says, "I'm waiting for my writing to acquire a southern accent." 

Don't miss The Literary Hour at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC, March 16,2017 at 7:00 PM

On Thursday, March 16th, 2017 at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School and NC Writers Network- West are sponsoring The Literary Hour, an hour of poetry and prose reading held at Keith House on the JCFS campus, Brasstown, NC. This reading is usually held on the third Thursday of the month. It is free of charge and open to the public. Poet Joan Howard and writer Bob Grove will be the featured readers. Both of these authors are residents of the area and published extensively. It should be an entertaining evening.

Joan Howard: Her poetry has been published in The Lyric, The Road Not Taken: The Journal of Formal Poetry, Lucid Rhythms, Victorian Violet, Our Pipe Dreams, Aurorean, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Miller's Pond, the 2012 Georgia Poetry Society's anthology Reach of Song, POEM, Wayfarer, and others.

Joan is a former teacher, a current member of North Carolina Writers' Network-West, and has studied German and English Literature.  Howard goes birding and kayaking and spends time in Athens, Georgia, and the beautiful waters of Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee, Georgia.

Bob Grove: Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Bob now lives in the mountains of North Carolina. Including studies at Cleveland State University, Baldwin-Wallace College and the University of South Florida, he received his Bachelor of Arts degree at Kent State University and his Master of Science degree at Florida Atlantic University. His diversified curriculum enabled him to teach courses in English, journalism, creative writing, general science, physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, space science and psychology.

Bob has been an ABC-TV public affairs director, an on-air personality, and the founder and publisher of Monitoring Times magazine. A prose critique facilitator for the North Carolina Writers Network and a director of the Ridgeline Literary Alliance, he has published 19 books and hundreds of articles in 21 magazines.

Now retired after 35 years as founder of Grove Enterprises, an international supplier of radio communications equipment, Bob has more time to write. He has published a mystery novella (Secrets of Magnolia Manor), his memoir (Misadventures of an Only Child), a collection of children’s stories (Adventures of Kaylie and Jimmy), and has written several flash fiction stories as well as some poetry. He has been awarded several gold medals in the North Carolina Silver Arts literature competition.

Bob’s public readings are popular as a performance art form, typified by his well attended annual reading, in costume and British dialect, of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol at the John C. Campbell Folk School. He has been a featured speaker at 14 national conventions and a U.S. Congressional committee.

His collected writings on technical topics (Antenna Basics, Antenna Anthology and Ask Bob) are now available online, as is his informative Abnormal Psychology which he uses as a teaching text in continuing education classes, and Antiquing: A Collector’s Guide for appraising and auctioneering.

Several of Bob’s books are available on Amazon Kindle, and a sampling of his shorter works may be viewed on his website: bobgrove.org.

We're Back: Writers' Night Out 2017 Schedule

This little guy won't be reading but you can!

Union County Community Center

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Blairsville, GA

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2nd Fridays of the month at 7 pm

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Reading followed by open mic

Here's our calendar:

April 14: Robert Kendrick and Newton Smith

May 12: Diana Anhalt

June 9: Glenda Beall

July 14: Christopher Martin

Aug 11: Tribute to Tom Lux + humorous poetry open mic

Sept 8: Andrea Jurjevic and Jason Allen

Oct 13: Natalie Grant

Nov 10: Dana Wildsmith

Open mic follows for poetry or prose readers (3 minutes each)

Contact Karen Paul Holmes for more info
kpaulholmesATgmailDOTCOM



 

Staci Lynn Bell has poetry published in an Old Mountain Press anthology, won medals for poetry and prose, and has a poem accepted in the Fall issue of Kakalak

Local poet Staci Lynn Bell's poem, "Escape" has been published in Old Mountain Press Anthology, Wish You Were Here. Staci's  poem, "Unanswered Prayers" has been accepted for publication in the fall edition of. Kakalak 2016.
 
Additionally, Bell's poem, "Time," won a bronze medal and her short story, "Cheyenne" won a silver medal in the NC Cherokee and Clay County's Silver Arts 2016. 

Staci Lynn Bell is a Chicago native who attended the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She relocated to South Florida, gaining popularity as a 25 year radio and television personality. Bell’s poetry and prose have also been published in Wild Goose Poetry, Wolf Warriors Anthology,and 234 Journal. She lives with the loves of her life, her two dogs, in Hayesville, NC.

In case you missed Karen Paul Holmes & Bill Ramsey at Coffee with the Poets and Writers on June 15, 2016, enjoy some video excerpts

 

 Karen Paul Holmes reading at CWTP&W on June 15, 2016

 

Bill Ramsey reading at CWTP&W on June 15, 2016 

You can find other videos of these writers, and other NCWN'West writers, on the network's YouTube page, at: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu63wy0hyAFhgTPRo7by4og

Ronald Moran and Jonathan Rice entertained at Writers' Night Out, NCWN-West event, June 10, 2016, at Blairsville, Georgia

Ronald Moran

Jonathan K. Rice

Ronald Moran, former Clemson professor, dean, and a Fulbright
Lecturer, joined Editor Jonathan K. Rice at Writers’ Night Out on Friday, June 10 at the Union County Community Center in the heart of Blairsville. Moran read first, not only featuring published poems from Eye of the World, but also recently written ones. Quite a bit of his work was witty and met with laughter and acknowledgment. Rice followed and read from Shooting Pool with a Cellist (Main Street Rag), and Killing Time (Main Street Rag). Rice’s love of music was apparent in his poems, as was his keen eye. The poets were followed by open mic, where several writers in attendance shared both poetry and prose.

Writers’ Night Out is sponsored by NC Writers' Network-West and takes place on the second Friday of the month. Prose writers or poets wishing to participate in the open mic can sign up at the door to read for three minutes. The Union County Community Center hosts the event at 129 Union County Recreation Rd., Blairsville, Georgia 30512, off Highway 129 near the intersection of US 76, phone (706) 439-6092. Food is available for purchase in The View Grill, but please arrive by 6 pm to get served.
Rosemary Royston

https://theluxuryoftrees.wordpress.com/about/

John C. Campbell Folk School Reading June 16th, 2016, will feature Jo Carolyn Beebe & Brenda Kay Ledford

JOHN CAMPBELL FOLK SCHOOL

On Thursday, June 16, 2016 at 7:00 PM, John Campbell Folk School and N.C. Writers Network West are sponsoring The Literary Hour, an hour of poetry and prose reading held at Keith House on the JCFS campus. This is held on the third Thursday of each month unless designated otherwise. The reading is free of charge and open to the public. Brenda Kay Ledford and Jo Carolyn Beebe will be the featured readers, both of whom are accomplished poets and writers and well known in the area.. Brenda Kay Ledford is a seventh-generational native of Clay County. An honor graduate of Hayesville High

Brenda Kay Ledford

School, she earned her Master of Arts in Education from Western Carolina University. She studied Journalism at the University of Tennessee and was editor of "Tri-County Communicator" at Tri-County Community College. She holds a diploma of highest honors from Stratford Career Institute in Creative Writing.
Ledford's prose and poetry have appeared in many publications including "Angels on Earth Magazine," "Our State," "Asheville Poetry Review," "Poem," "Woman's World Magazine," "Chicken Soup for the Soul," "Country Extra," "Blue Ridge Parkway Celebration," "North Carolina Civil War Museum," and 30 Old Mountain Press anthologies. Finishing Line Press published three award-winning poetry chapbooks. Aldrich Press printed her poetry book, Crepe Roses, that won the 2015 Paul Green Multimedia Award from North Carolina Society of Historians. She has received the Paul Green Award seven times for her literary works and collecting oral history. She was featured on the "Common Cup" on Windstream Communication's cable television. Ledford blogs at: Blue Ridge Poet. Jo Carolyn Beebe is a native of Mississippi. Many of her poems and stories are based on her recollections of

Jo Carolyn Beebe

conversations with her grandparents. Her Grandmother Anderson said, "The Bartletts are kin to Daniel Boone. They came through the Cumberland Gap with him." Great-grandfather Ricks showed her a greasy circle in his front yard where no grass would grow. "This is where the Indians cooked their food," he told her. Beebe also has her own memories of life in a small, rural town. Her story, "The Way You Hypnotize a Chicken," really happened when she and a friend hypnotized one of Grandmother's hens. And where else but in a small town could two little girls play in the funeral home and pick out their everyday casket and their Sunday casket?
Jo Carolyn has been published in "Main Street Rag," "Clothes Lines," "Women's Spaces Women's Places," "Lonzie's Fried Chicken," "Lights in the Mountains," Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, and by Abingdon Press. She has been most gratified with her family history book THE BEEKEEPERS AND SONS OF ANDER. Beebe is a graduate of Miami University, Oxford, and has been a resident of Towns County for 21 years.