The Literary Hour at John C. Campbell Folk School, Thursday, August 17, 2017, in Brasstown, NC, to feature local writers Glenda Council Beall, Glenda Barrett, and Jo Carolyn Beebe

On Thursday evening, August 17, 2017 at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC, and North Carolina Writers Network-West will co-sponsor The Literary Hour, an hour of poetry and prose reading in the library of Keith House. This event is held on the third Thursday of the month, unless otherwise indicated.  It is free of charge and open to the public, and the reading will be followed by an open Mic.  Poets Glenda Council Beall and Glenda Barrett, with poet and prose writer Jo Carolyn Bebe, will be the featured readers.  This month is unique in that we have three members of NCWN-West entertaining during The Literary Hour.

Glenda Council Beall

Glenda Council Beall’s writing has been published in numerous literary journals including, Reunions Magazine, Main Street Rag Poetry Journal, Appalachian Heritage, Journal of Kentucky Studies and online journals, Your Daily Poem, Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, and Wild Goose Poetry Review. Robert Brewer, editor at Writers Digest published one of her essays online. She read her work with Carol Crawford on the Writer's Radio Program, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Her poems have been anthologized in The Southern Poetry anthology: Volume VII: North Carolina 2014,  Lights in the Mountains, The Best of Poetry Hickory Series, 2011, Kakalak: North Carolina Poets of 2009, and Women’s Spaces, Women’s Places, among others. Her poems have won awards in the James Still Poetry Contest and the Clay County NC Poetry Contest. Her poetry Chapbook, Now Might as well be Then, is available at Finishing Line Press.

She serves as Program Coordinator of North Carolina Writers’ Network West She is also a Clay County Representative for NCWN-West, and in that capacity she hosts Coffee with the Poets and Writers once each month.

Glenda is Owner/Director of Writers Circle where she invites those interested in writing poetry or prose to her home studio for classes taught by some of the best poets and writers in North Carolina and Georgia.  Find her online at www.glendacouncilbeall.com and www.profilesandpedigrees.blogspot.com

 

Glenda Barrett

Glenda Barrett, a native of Hiawassee, Georgia is an artist, poet and a visual writer.  Her work has been widely published in magazines, anthologies and journals.  These include Country Women, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Farm and Ranch Living, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Deep South Magazine, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Woman’s World, Greensilk Journal and others.  

Barrett's Appalachian artwork is for sale on fineartamerica.com and her poetry chapbook, When the Sap Rises, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2008.  She now has a full-length poetry book titled, The Beauty of Silence, that was published in July of this year by Aldrich Press, and is available on Amazon.com

Jo Carolyn Bebe           

Jo Carolyn Beebe is a native of Mississippi. Many of her poems and stories are based on her recollections of 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.

She 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.

She is a graduate of Miami University, Oxford and has been a resident of Towns County for 21 years.

Coffee with the Poets & Writers features Author Joan Ellen Gage and Storyteller Kanute Rarey on Wednesday, August 16, 2017, at the Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC

Wednesday, August 16, 2017, Coffee with the Poets and Writers will meet at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC. North Carolina Writers’ Network-West sponsors this event which meets at 10:30 a.m. on the third Wednesday of the month.

Two members, Joan Gage, poet and Kanute Rarey, known for his storytelling, are featured on the program this month. Coffee with the Poets and Writers is open to the public at no charge. Bring a poem or short prose, 1000 words or less, and read at Open Mic. Have coffee and cookies with us. 

Joan Ellen Gage is an author of humor and inspiration written from her own unique perspective. Her recipe for her writing focuses on staying upbeat and laughing at her own foibles. Joan’s photos are the spice in the mix that serve to punctuate the writing and add that special garnish to her creations.

Gage has written and published five books, Water Running Downhill!, Embracing Your Inner Cheerleader!, A Redhead Looks At 60, Trinity's Adventures in Imagination, and a special edition of Water Running Downhill! the Rose Edition as a tribute to her friend Rose Helena Macedo Kull, all available as eBooks.  

Joan Ellen Gage has given author talks, and had several radio interviews. She is a member of NC Writers’ Network-West, serving as an administrator for their blog. Additionally, Ms. Gage has two blogs, Traveling at the Speed of Now, www.joanellengage.com, and A Redhead Blogs at 60!    https://joanszoneblogalicious @wordpress.com. Gage lives in Western North Carolina with her husband and their Belgian Tervuren dog, Magnolia.

Kanute Rary lives in Clay County, NC and is a storyteller as well as a writer. He may have been born and raised on a farm in rural Ohio, but Kanute Rarey moved to the mountains as soon as he could.  After a quarter of a century in the mountains of Alaska and North Carolina, storytelling is second nature to him. He says most of his stories are true… more or less. 

Rarey has studied storytelling with Elizabeth Ellis and Bil Lepp. Folks have heard him tell at the Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival, the Moth StorySlam in Asheville, John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, and the Swapping Ground at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN.  And you can find him regaling local folk around Hayesville, North Carolina at the Clay and Cherokee County care centers, the Clay County School System.  The guys at Pat’s Barber Shop will tell you Kanute is ready to compete in the Bigs. He is out to win the Whopper Hat.

Contact NCWN West Representative, Glenda Beall, at 828-389-4441 or glendabeall@msn.com  for more information.

Brenda Kay Ledford Published in The Lake

Brenda Kay Ledford's poem, "Mountain Sisters," appeared in "The Lake," August, 2017 issue.  This poem is in memory of Poet Katherine Stripling Byer. 


http://www.thelakepoetry.co.uk/poetry/brenda-kay-ledford

Local Author Deanna Klingel publishes new book, Spirit the Tiny White Reindeer, with Progressive Rising Phoenix Press

Progressive Rising Phoenix Press is proud to announce that Spirit the Tiny White Reindeer was released August 5th, 2017. This charming Christmas book, suitable for children of all ages, is filled with delightful illustrations by the talented Steve Daniels and rhyming text by award-winning author Deanna Klingel.

The book is a new holiday classic to be enjoyed season after season by children, parents, grandparents, teachers, and caregivers. Targeting the real meaning of the Christmas, the Christmas Spirit, the theme teaches the importance of keeping the Christmas spirit alive year round. The message is easy to grasp, and the lilting rhyme is one that children can recite and memorize on their own. It is the perfect seasonal or gift for any occasion and can be passed down from generation to generation.

"The world needs the gift that talented author, Deanna Klingel, brings us in this refreshing visit to Santa's workshop where virtues are valued, and a tiny misfit reindeer is welcome. This adorable reindeer, who personifies true Christmas Spirit, is a charming addition to each family's holiday traditions."-- Cathy Gilmore, award-winning children's author and ministry founder of Virtue Work Media.com.


Deanna Klingel, award-winning author of children's books, YA novels, and short stories, has lived many places with her childhood sweetheart husband Dave, but they now call the North Carolina mountains their home. The couple enjoys visiting their seven grown children and their families. Deanna K. Klingel often visits schools, libraries, and book stores. She is a member of NCWN-West.

Jennifer Holley Lux to Read the Poetry of Thomas Lux at Writers' Night, Blairsville, GA

An Evening Dedicated to Humorous Writing

Because we all need a little more laughter in our lives...

Bring something funny to read for open mic! 

Our featured reader is the poet, Jennifer Holley Lux, widow of Tom Lux, internationally known poet and teacher who passed away in February to the dismay of poetry lovers all over the world. His poems are full of intelligent, quirky humor, often with an undercurrent of joy. 

Tara Lynne Groth to teach Email Marketing Class for Authors at Writers Circle, Hayesville, NC, on Saturday, August 5, 2017

Tara Lynne Groth will teach an Email Marketing Class for Authors, at Writers Circle, Hayesville, NC, on Saturday, August 5, 2017.

Tara Lynne Groth writes SEO content and develops blogs for site owners. Before running her writing business she was a marketing manager and public relations director. She speaks at conferences and teaches classes on best blogging practices and search engine optimization.

Authors keep in touch with their audience by sending newsletters, book tour updates, and special event info. Email marketing has grown more reliable as social media reach becomes unpredictable.

When you have an audience who volunteers to hear from you, you need to nurture it. How can you increase open rates with crafty subject lines, prevent unsubscribes, and boost engagement? We'll review these topics, plus user-friendly email marketing services.

Groth increased the open rate of her monthly newsletter by approximately 25% in the past year, and has increased open rates for her clients by more than 20%. www.taralynnegroth.com

For details on this class, please contact Glenda Council Beall at 828-389-4441, or at:

http://www.glendacouncilbeall.com/Writers Circle Around the Table

Poet Glenda Barrett to read at Coffee with the Poets & Writers on Wednesday, July 19, 2017, at the Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC

This Wednesday, July 19, 2017, poet Glenda Barrett will read at Coffee with the Poets and Writers, at 10:30 AM, at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street, Hayesville, NC. This event is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers' Network-West, and is open to the public. An open mic for all attendees will follow Barrett's reading.

 Glenda Barrett, a native of Hiawassee, Georgia, is an artist, poet, and writer. Her work has been

widely published yearly since her first writing class in 1997 and has appeared in: Woman's World, Farm & Ranch Living, Country Woman, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Journal of Kentucky Living, Nantahala Review, Rural Heritage, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Kaleidoscope Magazine and many more.

Barrett's poetry chapbook, When the Sap Rises, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2008. She has completed two more books since that time, a book of poetry with Kelsay Books, The Beauty of Silence,  available on Amazon, and a book of Appalachian essays. Glenda worked many years in various healthcare system jobs and retired due to a form of Muscular Dystrophy.

She is very grateful to be able to devote her time to the two things she loved as a child, painting and writing. She has two grown children and lives with her husband of forty-two years in the North Georgia mountains.

Barrett is a member of the North Carolina Writers' Network-West. For more information on this event, contact Glenda Council Beall, Program Coordinator of NCWN-West, at 828-389-4441.

Write about your life with Glenda Beall

Glenda Beall, Program Coordinator for NCWN West and writing instructor, will teach a writing course at the Institute of Continuing Learning at Young Harris College, Young Harris, GA. She has been teaching memoir writing for ten years at John C. Campbell Folk School, Tri-County Community College or at ICL.

She also teaches at her studio, Writers Circle around the Table, in Hayesville, NC. Call her with any questions about classes at 828-389-4441.

Registration for the ICL class closes Friday morning, July 7.

Entertain and Enlighten your Readers with your Life Stories.

Wednesdays, 3:15 pm  - 5:15 pm    July 12 – July 26
How do we begin to write about our lives? Can we use dialogue, stories passed down from parents, and do we have to prove they are true? In today’s world where family members often live long distances from each other, it is difficult to share the interesting lives we have lived. There seems to be no time to sit on the porch and talk about the past. But we can still share our life experiences with our children, grandchildren and future generations by writing them now. In this class we will write entertaining as well as enlightening short pieces or memoir chapters and receive feedback from our classmates. 

Click Here for registration information and contact phone number.

Institute for Continuing Learning