Poets Joan Ellen Gage and Don Long to be featured at CWPW, Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at the Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC

On Wednesday, November 14, 2018, at 10:30 AM, Coffee with the Poets and Writers (CWPW) will feature local poets Joan Ellen Gage, and Don Long. This event will be held at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street, Hayesville, NC. The readings are free and open to the public, and an open mic will follow the readings. CWPW is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers' Network-West.

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. 

Joan 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 Macedo Kull. All books are available as eBooks. Additionally, Ms. Gage has two blogs, Traveling at the Speed of Now, www.joanellengage.com/ and A redhead blogs at 60, at https://joans-zone.com/. Gage is working on a new book entitled, Words of Defiance and Empowerment.

Gage is a member of her area’s writing group, NC Writers’ Network-West, serving as the administrator for their blog. 

Donald Long is a retired army Lieutenant Colonel. He flew helicopters and airplanes, and had two tours in Vietnam. Upon retiring, he worked with the Federal Government as a Safety Professional. 

Starting in his teen years and all throughout his adult life Long has written poems, mostly for his consumption, but occasionally on request, for personnel at special occasions during his careers. For a short while after retiring from the Army he had a business called “People Poems” writing poems for others for a fee after they provided him with pertinent information. Although the business was doing well, his second career necessitated that he close it.

Long writes poems for personal reasons and likes to make them rhyme. One of his poems, “I’m Glad It’s Mine” has been used during citizenship swearing-in ceremonies in central Florida and for central Florida Flag Day ceremonies.  Another poem about being a Vietnam Veteran was featured at the 2013 Florida “Convention” for Vietnam Helicopter Pilots.  One story about his Vietnam Experience entitled “Combat in Chump Valley” has been published in two different military related anthologies, The Harsh and The Heart and Vietnam Helicopter Crew Member Stories, Volume 2.  The story has also been featured in the VHPA Aviator Magazine. Long’s other hobby is genealogy.

For more information, please contact Glenda Beall at glendabeall@msn.com.