Showing posts with label Brenda Kay Ledford. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Brenda Kay Ledford. Show all posts

Thursday, April 2, 2015

Coffee with the Poets April 8, 2015

Brenda Kay Ledford
Nancy Simpson


April is poetry month and there is no finer way to celebrate than attending Coffee with the Poets, a monthly event held at Joe’s Coffee Shop and Trading Post, 82 Main Street, Hayesville, NC. North Carolina Writers Network-West sponsors this event which meets at10:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 8, 2015.

Recently a visitor to our area said, "This should be on a list of things to do here!"

Two widely published local poets, members of NCWN West, Brenda Kay Ledford and Nancy Simpson, 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. Joe’s Coffee shop serves fine coffees and teas, and snacks can be purchased.

Brenda Kay Ledford is a well-known poet and native of Clay County, NC. She holds a Master of Arts in Education from Western Carolina University. She has done post-graduate work in Appalachian Studies, and the theme of most of her writing is her Appalachian heritage.

Brenda received the Paul Green Multimedia Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians seven times for her books, her collections of oral history, and her blog Historical Hayesville. Her work has appeared in Our State, Carolina Country Magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Appalachian Heritage, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Asheville Poetry Review, Country Extra Magazine, Blue Ridge Parkway Silver Anniversary Edition Celebration, and many other journals.

Finishing Line Press published Brenda’s poetry books: Shewbird Mountain, Sacred Fire, and Beckoning. She co-authored Simplicity with Blanche L. Ledford.  She is also an outstanding photographer as you can see on her blog, Blue Ridge Poet.

Nancy Simpson lives in Hayesville, NC. Through 2010 she served as Resident Writer at the John C. Campbell Folk School. She taught many of the poets and writers in this area in her classes there and at Tri-County Community College. She also taught poetry for ICL at Young Harris College.

Nancy is the author of three poetry collections: Across Water, Night Student, and most recently Living Above the Frost Line, New and Selected Poems (Carolina Wren Press, 2010). She also edited Echoes Across the Blue Ridge (anthology 2010). She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and a BS in education from Western Carolina University. She received a NC Arts Fellowship and co-founded NC Writers Network-West.

Simpson’s poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Southern Poetry Review, Seneca Review, New Virginia Review, Prairie Schooner and others. Her poems have been included in anthologies, Word and Wisdom, 100 Years of N.C. Poetry and Literary Trails of N.C. (2008). Her poems have also been featured in Southern Appalachian Poetry, a textbook anthology published at McFarland Press.
Visit her blog, Living Above the Frost Line to learn more about her.  

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


Friday, November 14, 2014

Interview on You Tube with award-winning Netwest Poet

Brenda Kay Ledford, award-winning poet from Hayesville, NC was interviewed by Pam Roman of  the Clay County Chamber of Commerce regarding her new book, Crepe Roses.

See the complete interview here.

Congratulations, Brenda Kay.

Thursday, June 5, 2014

The Literary Hour at JC Campbell Folk School

On Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School and N.C. Writers Network-West are sponsoring The Literary Hour, a monthly hour of poetry and prose reading held at Keith House on the JCCFS campus. The reading is free of charge and open to the public. 

This month presents an exceptional opportunity to meet and listen to the featured readers, Nancy Simpson and Brenda Kay Ledford, whose poetry mostly centers around the mountains.

NANCY SIMPSON
 
Nancy Simpson is the author of three poetry collections: Across Water, Night Student, and most recently Living Above the Frost Line, New and Selected Poems (Carolina Wren Press, 2010). She also edited Echoes Across the Blue Ridge (anthology 2010). She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and a BS in education from Western Carolina University. She received a NC Arts Fellowship and co-founded NC Writers Network-West. For more than 30 years, young writers have known her as “beloved teacher.” Simpson’s poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Southern Poetry Review, Seneca Review, New Virginia Review, Prairie Schooner and others. Her poems have been included in anthologies, Word and Wisdom, 100 Years of N.C. Poetry and Literary Trails of N.C. (2008). Her poems have also been featured in Southern Appalachian Poetry, a textbook anthology published at McFarland Press.

Nancy lives in Hayesville, NC. Through 2010 she served as Resident Writer at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Presently she teaches Poetry Writing at the Institute for Continued Learning at Young Harris College.

BRENDA KAY LEDFORD

Brenda Kay Ledford is a seventh generational native of Clay County, NC, and holds a Master of Arts in Education from Western Carolina University.

She writes about her heritage and has done post-graduate work in Appalachian studies. Brenda received the Paul Green Multimedia Award from North Carolina Society of Historians seven times for her books, collecting oral history, and blog, Historical Hayesville.

Her work has appeared in Our State, Carolina Country Magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Appalachian Heritage, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Asheville Poetry Review, Country Extra Magazine, Blue Ridge Parkway Silver Anniversary Edition Celebration, and many other journals.

Finishing Line Press published Brenda’s award-winning poetry books: Shewbird Mountain, Sacred Fire, and Beckoning. She co-authored Simplicity with Blanche L. Ledford. These books are available at the John C. Campbell Folk School Craft Shop. 

Monday, October 21, 2013

LEDFORD PUBLISHED IN BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY BOOK

Brenda Kay Ledford's poetry, "Holy Ground," and "Full Wolf Moon," were published in the BLUE RIDGE PARKWAY coffee table book.

Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway sponsored this book project to celebrate 25 years of service to the Parkway.  The silver anniversary commemorative edition included photographs, poetry, and prose by 47 writers.

The photography of Dr. Nye Simmons, a physician from Knoxville, TN, was featured.  He photographed the Parkway for 10 years.  This book brought the best images of his portfolio to the pages, paired with selection of the region's leading authors.

According to John Muir, "Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play and pray in, where nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul."

For millions of people, the Blue Ridge Parkway is such a place.  The 469-miles, carved across the Blue Ridge Mountains between 1935 and 1987, connects two national parks-Shenandoah in western Virginia and Great Smoky Mountains in western North Carolina.

Today there are 10,000 members of Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway and over 2,000 volunteers.  For more information about Friends, contact:  800-228-PARK (7275), www.BlueRidgeFRIENDS.org.

Thursday, June 20, 2013

BRENDA KAY LEDFORD FEATURED AT JOHN C. CAMPBELL FOLK SCHOOL



Brenda Kay Ledford will read from her poetry chapbook, BECKONING, published by Finishing Line Press, at the John C. Campbell Folk School on Thursday, June 27 at 7:00 PM.  This event is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network West and the public is invited to this free event.

Clay County Native
A native of Clay County, NC, Ledford is a retired educator.  She received her Master of Arts in Education from Western Carolina University and studied Journalism at the University of Tennessee.

          She’s former editor of Tri-County Communicator at Tri-County Community College and previous reporter for the Smoky Mountain Sentinel. She received an award from North Carolina Press Association for her feature on the John C. Campbell Folk School.

         Ledford belongs to North Carolina Writers’ Network, North Carolina Poetry Society, Georgia Poetry Society, and a charter member of the Byron Herbert Reece Society.  She’s listed with A Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers, North Carolina Literary Map, and Who’s Who in America.

Her work has appeared in many journals including “Lyricist,” “The Broad River Review,” “Pembroke Magazine,” “Asheville Poetry Review,” “Main Street Rag,” “Charlotte Poetry Review,” “Wild Goose Poetry Review,” “Town Creek  Poetry,” “Appalachian Heritage,” “Journal of Kentucky Studies,” “Our State,”  “Byron Herbert Reece Society Website,” and many anthologies.
Awards
Ledford received the Paul Green Award from North Carolina Society of Historians for her three poetry chapbooks and last year for her blog:  http://historicalhayesville.blogspot.com.  She won the 2012 Royce Ray Award from “Aires.”  Her poem, “Velma,” received the Editor’s Choice Award from “Reflections Literary Journal.”  Three of her poems won the 2012 Writers’ Ink Guild’s Poetry Contest and were published in Fields of Earth Anthology.

Her latest poetry chapbook, BECKONING, was endorsed by Glenda Beall, director of Writers Circle, and Robert King, publisher of FutureCycle Press.

Says Beall, “Brenda Kay Ledford’s collection sings with color and harmony.  She lets us take a peek into her world as she shares her Appalachian roots in verse. We relate to the constancy of seasons in nature and in our lives. Digging in the dirt as her mother does each spring preparing her garden, lifts the spirit, and decorating graves of loved ones on Memorial Day perpetuate the love of generations. Throughout the snow, first greening of spring, summer’s roses, autumn’s harvest, and star-studded asters, the images in the book offer the reader the opportunity to feel, see, hear, and taste the beauty as well as the inevitable sadness of life.”

Ledford’s book, BECKONING, is available at the Clay County Chamber of Commerce and online at:  www.finishinglinepress.com and www.amazon.com.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Brenda Kay Ledford, Featured at Coffee with the Poets at Blue Mountain Restaurant


Join us for Coffee with the Poets, 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, April 10. Blue Mountain Restaurant on the corner of Hwy 141 and Old Hwy 64 hosts this event each month. The restaurant is between Murphy and Hayesville, NC. The public is invited to attend.
Brenda Kay Ledford, author of Beckoning

Our featured reader for the month of April is Brenda Kay Ledford, author of a new poetry book, Beckoning, published by Finishing Line Press. 
Her book is available locally at the Clay County Chamber of Commerce; Hayesville, NC; and online: www.amazon.com and www.finishinglinepress.com
Brenda Kay’s work has appeared in many publications including Yesterday’s Magazette, Our State, Pembroke Magazine, Appalachian Heritage, Broad River Review (Gardner-Webb University), Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, The Reach of Song, and other journals and anthologies. Ledford co-authored the book, Simplicity, with her mother, Blanche L. Ledford.

She’s listed with A Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers and is a member of North Carolina Writers’ Network West, North Carolina Poetry Society, Georgia Poetry Society, and Byron Herbert Reece Society.

Ledford received the Paul Green Award from North Carolina Society of Historians for her three poetry chapbooks.

April is poetry month and there is no finer way to celebrate than attending Coffee with the Poets, now in its seventh year. Open Mic is for anyone who brings a poem or short prose piece.

This program is sponsored by NCWN West. For more information contact Glenda Beall, 828-389-4441.




Monday, March 4, 2013

What makes a good blog? Hope Clark has the answer,

“Every piece of content you write on a blog has to either solve
a problem or entertain the reader.”  Hope Clark

Hope Clark is someone I greatly admire. Her blogs and her newsletters are food for writers, in my opinion. So when she says a blog must either solve a problem or entertain the reader, I know she is right.

My Writers Circle blog is designed to give writers information about workshops and classes and the writers who teach at my home studio. At times, I throw in a post on the craft or my opinion.

Writing Life Stories has been all over the place since the beginning. It has changed in theme and content, but that is because I have changed since the blog was started in 2007. Many of my readers manage a blog or many blogs on various subjects. I understand that a blog concentrated on a theme like quilting, chicken farming, or single mothers raising kids, that discuss the problems and offer solutions is going to have a large audience. Those blogs require a concentrated schedule and plan I think. That might be too much work for me at this time in my life.

How I became a blogger and Netwest Writers was Born

It was fall of 2007 at a panel discussion at a writers conference that I realized what a blog was and what it could do. A young mother had written a book on stay at home moms working from home and she found out she could sell more of her books on a blog than by going through a New York Publisher. On the panel were three other writers who had found success from writing a blog.

I came home and told my husband I was going to learn how to blog, not for myself, but for the writers and poets in our chapter of NCWN. I had taken the job of Program Coordinator for NCWN West. Nancy Simpson and I had often talked about the problem of getting the voices of mountain writers in our area over the ridges and past the ranges into the rest of the world. I believed a blog was better than a website. A website at that time was static and unchanging. A blog gave us freedom to share new material everyday if we wanted. And the blog was free!

I was scared. After all, I didn't know anything about this new technology. Would our members accept this and use it? Would it do what I hoped it would? Soon I was holding classes on blogging and some of our members, Brenda Kay Ledford, Nancy Simpson, Carol Thompson, and Sam Hoffer began their own sites. What pleased me the most was that all of us were beyond the young stage. We were all over fifty. It wasn’t long before Netwest member and Poet Laureate of North Carolina, Kathryn Stripling Byer created a blog. When she became Program Coordinator for Netwest, she brought readers from everywhere to the Netwest blog.

I have been disappointed that more of our members have not used the Netwest Writers blog. We have a number of authors listed who have the capability to write posts and other members can ask for and get permission to post on the blog. It was created for our members.

I am so thankful, however, that Netwest Writers blog has been successful in promoting our writers and helping them reach across the state and around the world. We have readers from many different countries every day.

Nicki Leone, president of the NCWN Board of Trustees at that time built a website for the state organization and plopped our Netwest blog right on the front page. Since they have thousands of visitors every single day, those visitors saw us here in the mountains, clicked on our blog with little effort and read about our writers and our poets and playwrights. The voices of our writers have indeed reached beyond the mountains.

Where do we go from here?
I hope that other members of Netwest will post articles that appeal to readers. One of our members said the blog had simply become a bulletin board of upcoming events. We need to change that. We need posts that will keep us worthy of exposure on the home page of the NCWN website. We need an administrator who will help keep the blog on the radar of the search engines. Who out there is ready to do that?




Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories at JCCFS, Thursday Evening June 16

Reading this month at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, are two long time members of NCWN West. Glenda C. Beall and Brenda Kay Ledford.
The reading begins at 7:00 PM at the Keith House.  Everyone is invited to attend and we hope you will.There is no admission charge.

Glenda Council Beall lives in Hayesville, NC. Glenda finds memories come to surface in her writing. Many of her poems, such as Clearing New Ground, from her poetry chapbook, are narratives that tell stories she remembers from childhood.
She is a multi-genre writer, but she first began publishing poetry in 1996, shortly after moving to the mountains. Her poems have appeared in literary journals such as Main Street Rag, The Journal of Kentucky Studies, Appalachian Heritage, Red Owl Magazine, and online in Wild Goose Poetry Review. One of her poems was chosen for Kakalak, North Carolina Poets, 2009.
Glenda’s poetry can be found in numerous and various anthologies including the recently released, Women’s Spaces, Women’s Places, and in From Freckles to Wrinkles from Silver Boomer Books. In 2009, her poetry chapbook, Now Might as Well be Then, was published by Finishing Line Press. Two poems from that book were recently re-published online by Future Cycle Press. Her poems will also appear in the Poetry Hickory anthology for 2010.
Her short stories have been published in online journals, Muscadine Lines; A Southern Journal and The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature. Her personal essays have been published in Echoes across the Blue Ridge, Reunion Magazine, and in Cup of Comfort for Horse Lovers.
Breath and Shadow, an online journal will publish a non-fiction article, Pass it on,  in their July issue.

Glenda is past Program Coordinator for North Carolina Writers Network West, and now serves as Clay County Representative for Network West.

A graduate of the University of Georgia, she earned her BS degree in education. She began studying writing in 1996, attending classes taught by teachers in the writing program at the Folk School. She has attended workshops and writing conferences through the North Carolina Writers’ Network for fifteen years and has learned the ends and outs of writing and publishing. When she isn’t working on her own poems and stories, she enjoys teaching others the joy of writing.  She is on faculty at John C. Campbell Folk School and will teach a writing class this summer, August 21 – 27. She is Director of Writers Circle, a writing studio at her home.



Brenda Kay Ledford is a native of Clay County, NC. Her work has appeared in many publications including Yestersdays Magazette, Our State, Pembroke Magazine, Appalachian Heritage, Broad River Review (Gardner Webb University), Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, The Reach of Song and other journals and anthologies. She is listed with  A Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers and is a member of North Carolina Writers' Network West, North Carolina Poetry Society, Georgia Poetry Society and Byron Herbert Reece Society.

Ledford received the Paul Green Award from North Carolina Society of Historians for her three poetry chapbooks. She co-authored the book, "Simplicity," with her mother, Blanche L. Ledford.
Ledford's readings are  performances.  She is a story teller as well as a poet and writer and you never know what surprise she has for her audience.

Thursday evening, June 16, promises to be an evening of fun for those who enjoy writing and writers. .

Friday, May 13, 2011

20TH ANNUAL CLAY COUNTY HISTORICAL AND ARTS POETRY CONTEST Names the Winners

First Place, Brenda Kay Ledford, Second Place Linda M. Smith. Third Place Kim Chastain (not pictured)

Winners of the Clay County Historical and Arts Council Poetry Contest read their poems and received their awards on May 5, 2011 at Hayesville High School Lecture Hall. The contest was judged by poet Nancy Simpson.

Nancy Simpson was presented a painting and plaque from the Clay County Historical Arts Council which read: To Nancy Simpson in appreciation for her years of devotion to the creative and cultural development of student and adults in Clay County.














painting by Reba Beck.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

SEE YOU AT THE BOOK NOOK

(News Article Written by Glenda Beall)

Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalachians, is now available at local book stores in the area. The Book Nook in Blairsville, GA will hold a book signing on Saturday, September 18, 2010, 11:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M

The store is located one block south of the Blairsville Square on Hwy. 19/129. Jeff Hansen, owner of the Book Nook recommends calling the store at 706-745-7076 to reserve copies of this popular book.

The anthology, edited by Nancy Simpson, author of the poetry collections, Living above the Frost Line, Night Student and Across Water, follows the theme of life in the Appalachians past and present. Many of the best writers south of Asheville and from surrounding counties in Georgia were selected for this book. Robert Morgan, educator and author of the recently published Boone and author of Gap Creek, an Oprah Book Club pick, wrote the introduction. North Carolina fiction writers Lee Smith and Ron Rash wrote tributes for the book.


Bettie Sellers, former Poet Laureate of Georgia,









Carole Thompson, published author and poet, from Blairsville





and Jo Carolyn Beebe of Hiawassee, Georgia, will be there.























Nancy Simpson, who is well-known for her years of teaching poetry and mentoring writers, and Brenda Kay Ledford award-winning poet from Hayesville, NC will be there.


Many people are purchasing the book to leave in their vacation cabin or condo for guests to enjoy. Others like the price of only $16.00 and they buy several for Christmas gifts.


A photo by Philip Sampson of Blairsville was chosen for the cover from a large number of submissions by artists and photographers throughout the southern Appalachians. Inside pictures are by Tipper Pressley of Brasstown and Seth Russell, formerly of Murphy.


Echoes across the Blue Ridge has something for every reader from short stories or non-fiction and poetry with subjects as varied as hunting dogs to reclaiming and restoring rivers.


Other well known writers with work in Echoes across the Blue Ridge are Steven Harvey, essayist and professor at Young Harris College, Kathryn Stripling Byer, former Poet Laureate of North Carolina, Gary Carden, storyteller and legendary playwright, and Thomas Rain Crow who has written and published more than twenty of his own works, including Zorro’s Field.


Come celebrate this southern Appalachian anthology at the Book Nook on Saturday, September 18th in Blairsville, Georgia.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

FOR POETS AND THOSE WHO LOVE TO READ POEMS

SATURDAY, MARCH 20, 2010

MESSAGE FOR POETS AND THOSE WHO LOVE TO READ POETRY BY SOUTHERN AND APPALACHIAN POETS

Hello Felow Poets and Friends of Poetry,

Living Above the Frost Line is a site that promotes poetry, especially poems written by Southern and Appalachian poets. Some poets featured in the past (found in the archive still) are Kathryn Stripling Byer, Bettie M. Sellers, John Stone, Janice Townley Moore, Glenda Barrett, Glenda Beall, and many others.

Ruth Moose of Chappel Hill, NC is the featured poet for the month of March, 2010.

Brenda Kay Ledford will be the featured poet in her birth month--April, 2010.

The featured poet is chosen by Nancy Simpson. Most of the poets featured are members of N C Writers Network West, have a book or books published and currently have a book for sale. They may be featured at any time, but birth month is preferred. It is not too soon or too late to have a few of your poems featured with a photo and a short bio. Short stories and memoir chapters are also sometimes reprinted, such as in the recently featured work of Dana Wildsmith.

To have your poetry featured and your book announced, please contact poet Nancy Simpson at
LIVING ABOVE THE FROST LINE. www.nancysimpson.blogspot.com or through e mail
communicaton nancy.simpson38@yahoo.com

Friday, December 12, 2008

Poems and Stories of Christmas at Moss Library in Hayesville

L. Glenda Barrett
R. Brenda Kay Ledford
C. Shirley Uphouse


Three Netwest members will read at the annual night of poems and stories of Christmas at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC, Thursday evening, December 18, 7:00 PM.

Shirley Uphouse of Marble, NC, Glenda Barrett of Hiawassee, Georgia and Brenda Kay Ledford of Hayesville will share their memories and stories of the holiday season.
The event is sponsored by Friends of the Library and Netwest.

Brenda Kay Ledford is one of the authors in the new anthology, Christmas Presence, published by Catawba Publishing. Brenda Kay, a poet and writer with two poetry books, Shew Bird Mountain and Sacred Fire, recently published by Finishing Line Press has been published in numerous magazines and literary journals such as Pembroke Magazine, Asheville Poetry Review, Main Street Rag, Appalachian Heritage, and Our State Magazine. Her first poetry chapbook, Patchwork Memories, received the 2005 Paul Green Multimedia Award from North Carolina Society of Historians.

Glenda Barrett's poetry chapbook, When the Sap Rises, was published earlier this year by Finishing Line Press. Her poems and stories have been widely published in magazines such as Woman's World, Yesterday's Gazette, and most recently accepted for the Journal of Kentucky Studies. Her story, The French Harp, one of the holiday stories in the anthology Christmas Presence, has been reprinted in The Georgia Magazine.

Shirley Uphouse, past Program Coordinator for Netwest, is author of a memoir, My Friends, My Dogs, and her work is widely published in magazines such as Dog Fancy, Smoky Mountain Living and others. One of the stories in her memoir can be read online in The Show Ring, http://www.blogger.com/. Shirley has been a professional dog show judge for over 25 years.

This event is a warm and inviting way to start the season each year. The audience gets involved by reading their own original poems and stories. While enjoying a table laden with a variety of refreshments served by Moss Library staff, attendees enjoy socializing with the writers and others from the community. Bring something to read or come and listen. Authors will be happy to sign their books.

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Christmas Presence authors signing in Hayesville,NC Dec. 6

Phillips and Lloyd Books on the square in Hayesville, NC

Brenda Kay Ledford of Hayesville, NC is one of the 45 women writers in the anthology Christmas Presence, edited by Celia Miles and Nancy Dillingham.

Glenda Barrett of Hiawassee, GA wrote "The French Harp" a true story about her beloved grandmother, which is included in Christmas Presence.

Carole Thompson of Blairsville, GA Netwest Rep.
Her story is "A Bag of Sugar for Paula" an inspiring story that takes place in a most unlikely place - a grocery store.

Also on hand Saturday for signing is Cherokee County native, Nancy Sales Cash, author of Ritual River.









Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Christmas Anthology of WNC Women writers

Thanks to editors Celia Miles and Nancy Dillingham, forty-five western North Carolina women writers have had their Christmas stories, poetry, essays, or memoirs, published in an anthology titled "Christmas Presence." It is a beautifully bound book "filled with the unique voices of women writers who have roots in and connections to western North Carolina. These works add seasoning to the cultural landscape of a region already rich in custom and lore. Most of the writers are members of the NCWN and include Glenda Barrett, Celia Miles, Nancy Dillingham, Dee Dee Parker, Nancy Purcell, Susan Snowden, Barbara Ledford Wright, Lana Hendershott, to name a few. The book, "Christmas Presence," can be ordered from Catawba Publishing Company at (704) 717-8452 or http://www.catawbapublishing.com/. It will be available in local book stores and if not, they can get it for you. ISBN #: 978-1-59712-259-7. The stories will bring back fond holiday memories and the book would make a fine gift for a reading friend.

The signings are listed below--jus ignore the first two. We're hoping for an Osondu signing in Waynesville and one in Marshall.


AUTHOR EVENTS
10-12:00, Oct. 25, Highland Books, 277 N. Broad St., Brevard, NC ( 884-2424)---in conjunction with the college's homecoming, Celia with Nancy Purcell (and Lana Hendershott read) and former dean/author E. Roberts (sold 12 books and the store kept 8, plus sold 10 of my two novels)
10-3:00, Nov. 1, Sanctuary of Stuff, Farm N Art, Woodfin, NC---a first time, long-day event; come and see us

11-1:00, Nov. 7, AB Tech, Holly Library (254-1921)--refreshments

10-12:00, Nov. 8, Curiosity Shop, 48 Valley River Ave., Murphy (835-7433)---with Nancy Sales Cash; Carole, Barbara, Brenda, others in the area, please come and join us; also 1:00-3:00 in Andrews, Curiosity Shop.

6:00, Nov. 19, Accent on Books, 854 Merrimon Ave., Asheville, (252-6255)--Byron Ballard arranged this; all who wish to read, please let us know
1-5:00, Nov. 29, Mountain Made, Grove Arcade, downtown Asheville (350-0307)--come by and visit; we'll be outside the store--and at Mountain Lore in Hendersonville 10:00-11:30)

2-4:00, Dec. 2, Hendersonville Library--Sherry Austin will be moderating this event; refreshments offered; all you H'ville writers, let us know if you wish to read; a two-hour slot but an hour or so of readings should be sufficient. Susan Snowden is doing publicity in Henderson County.

12-3:00, Dec. 6, Book Fair, McDowell Public Library, Old Fort--this event was formerly held in the historic Carson House; Julia N. Duncan will read; others welcome

10:45, Dec. 10, Givens Estates, 2360 Sweeten Creek Road (274-4800)--Mary Lou Welther arranged this event; we're hoping those authors/storytellers nearby will participate

Authors' bios reveal they have more than 45 published books among them.




This article by Nancy Purcell, Netwest Rep from Transylvania County, Brevard, NC

Monday, November 3, 2008

Common Cup features Brenda Kay Ledford

Poet, Brenda Kay Ledford of Hayesville, NC, is being featured on Channel 4, cable TV from Windstream in north Georgia. On this program, she is interviewed by Jim Geer, host of the program, Common Cup, a show that highlights community events and local people of interest.



Brenda discusses her mountain heritage and how Nancy Simpson started her on the road to writing her award winning poetry. The cover design of Brenda Kay's collection, Sacred Fire, published by Finishing Line Press, comes from her own photograph of the historical courthouse on the square located in Hayesville.



This show on Common Cup will be shown several times each day for a week. Readers in north Georgia mountains and in Clay County can see it if they subscribe to Windstream Cable TV.

Sacred Fire on sale at Phillips and Lloyd books in Hayesville, NC and the John C. Campbell Folk School gift shop. Order online from Finishing Line Press.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Blog Class

Kay Lake (center standing) teaches computer classes to Netwest members in Hayesville, NC


Netwest hosted a free class on building a blog and eleven attendees are bloggers tonight. The group met with instructor Kay Lake at the Moss Library in Hayesville, NC today. They varied in range of experience from some who had never seen a blog to one who helps friends with websites. Within in a short time energy filled the room, and once the initial fear of the process passed, the new bloggers took to the keyboards like chickens pecking corn. Brenda Kay Ledford was the first to post to the Netwest blog. I'm sure we will see more from her in the near future.
As the internet grows in importance in the life of writers, and all people around the world, we must keep up with technology, no matter our age. Younger generations have set the pace and it is a fast one.
I heard more than one "damn" and "I can't, I just can't" today, but the frustration soon gave way to feelings of accomplishment and pride. As Kay Lake told us today, learning new things builds dendrites which connect cells in our brains. Stroke victims are often prescribed computer lessons to heal and rehab the brain
What better way than to build a blog and write every day? More senior adults use computers on a regular basis than younger folk. Of course the younger ones have gone on to more sophisticated technology than email and google research.

Today I was told I should subscribe to Skype. Guess that is the next project I'll try in order to increase my dendrites.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

AFTER A WEEK OF HEARING THE WORD







Hello Friends of Netwest,
Something is happening. The seasons are changing. It's difficult to keep my feet on the ground. I'm telling you. I'm flying off the earth. It started last Sunday at Koneheta Park in Cherokee County at our 17th annual picnic. There have been a lot of good Netwest picnics over the years.

I've missed only one. The Cherokee County members out-did themselves. They welcomed writers as far away as Jackson and Haywood. There were also writers from Clay,Cherokee and some from Georgia. The food was the best ever. I didn't see one Ingles cake on the table.
Playwright, Gary Carden was the featured writer. He was born to entertain. He paid homage to Appalachian poet, Jim Wayne Miller who exhorted in his poem: "Come home to your father's house."
There were at the same time, near us, some boys practicing baseball with their coach. The boys could not keep their minds on the game. Every time Gary Carden raised his voice, shouting, "Come home to your father's house," a boy would miss hitting the ball or would miss the catch. The louder Gary Carden read Jim Wayne Miller's famous words, the more the boys missed the ball and the louder and the meaner their coach yelled insulting words at them.
Sitting between Gary Carden, who was telling his heart out and between the boys who wanted to drop the ball and come over to see who was talking, drawn to poetry I believe, and sitting there in hearing distance of their mean-mouthed coach, who needed someone to gag him, I almost lost my way for a moment. What a presentation from our special guest! The readings continued with old favorites such as poets Brenda Kay Ledford and Mary Ricketson reading their newest poems. You must know, my ears also love to hear those new and younger voices and there were some of those. As it turned out, it was the best NCWN West annual picnic ever.
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I tried to get my feet back on Terra Firma. On Thursday evening I went to John C. Campbell Folk School to our scheduled monthly reading. Each month two of our members read there to a captive audience. By that I mean, they read to the folk school students who have come from all over America to learn a craft. In the audience we also have local writers and Netwest members who come to support the program.
The featured writers were two of Netwest's most accomplished: fiction writer Jo Carolyn Beebe from Hiawassee, Georgia and poet, Michael Beadle from Canton, N.C. Oops. I started losing traction, floating. What a show! I enjoyed Jo Carolyn's stories. They were filled with vivid imagery. As she read, I felt as if I were turning the pages of a book with colorful illustrations.
Michael Beadle is a performance poet. He started reciting loudly, pacing, looking at me. I lost myself. What a joy to remember that there are different kinds of poetry. He recited free verse and read haiku to the beat of a drum. It was inspiring. His best was a free verse poem about a boy wanting his estranged parents to kiss again, so he creates a kiss by taking his father's coffee mug and without washing it, pours his mother a drink. Where their lips touched the mug, he had their kiss. It's the kind of lyric poem I long to hear.
On Friday, (just yesterday) all I wanted to do all day was write. I wondered if my life could get better. I reheard poems and phrases in my head. I floated on joy.
But the week wasn't over yet. Netwest had scheduled the award winning play, Birdell, by Gary Carden. Gary had donated the play to Netwest for a fundraiser. It was to be performed in Murphy. I went out into my garden to gather flowers to be used as props, got dressed and went to help set up for the play.
I knew I would enjoy this play written my our own Gary Carden. But, I was not prepared for this moving story, set in Appalachia long ago. I was not prepared for the professional, outstanding performance of Bobbie Curtis, who took me back to that time in the mountains. She made me laugh and she made me cry, the emotions that remind me I am human. Oops.

Up, up again.
Yes, after a full week of taking in the word, the word itself, I am still floating. My thanks to all of you who are responsible for my elevated condition. Don't worry about me. Don't call my doctor. I'm fine. I'm alive, healthy and happy.
Nancy Simpson
Consultant, NCWN West







Friday, July 4, 2008

Glenda Barrett Publishes Poetry Chapbook



By Brenda Kay Ledford
Like peeling an apple and slicing it, Glenda Barrett gets to the core in her poetry chapbook, WHEN THE SAP RISES. Finishing Line Press in Georgetown, KY published the book.
Barrett describes with her Southern voice hardships, heartaches, health issues, family, farming and fishing. She writes the way she lives—unpretentious. There’s a reverence for the land and her ancestors. She says in her poem, “Echoes”:
…I can follow in the footsteps
of my ancestors,
people who were truthful,
who held firm to their beliefs
and rose above their hardships.
People whose voices still echo
across these Blue Ridge Mountains.
“I was born here, and I’ll die here!”
Her ancestors worked hard on the farm to feed their family. They hoed the fields in the hot sun, but loved the land. In the poem, “Southern Soil,” they proudly said, “I own this land all the way to the top of the mountain. I’ll not sell one piece of this land the longest day that I live.”
A native of Hiawassee, Georgia, Barrett recalls hoeing the cornfield as a teenager. In her imagination, she can still hear the sharp click of her hoe hitting the hard, stony ground.
Her father was a farmer. He plowed gardens for neighbors, didn’t charge a dime. When Barrett sees corn ripening and bales of hay scattered across a pasture, she thinks of him.
Barrett has fond memories of her grandma. They fished together, had picnics of Vienna Sausage and soda crackers. She recalls walking barefoot as a girl over the dirt road to her grandmother’s house. It was a place filled with unconditional love.
It’s no wonder Barrett dedicated her poetry chapbook to her grandmother, Hattie Foster. She told Barrett wonderful stories and inspired her to become a writer.
The title of her book, WHEN THE SAP RISES, came from her grandmother’s sayings. She predicted the weather by observing nature. Barrett writes in her poem, “When the Sap Rises”:
... “See those thick corn shucks.
We can be on the lookout
for a rough winter.”
One day when I visited, she said,
“In the spring of the year, when the sap
rises is a hard time for sick folks,
another time is in the fall,
when the sap goes down.”
The sap seems to rise on the cover of Barrett’s poetry chapbook. She painted an old-time house including a rock chimney, tin roof, a giant tree in the yard, a front porch, and greens in the garden. A dirt road circles the farmhouse and merges with a lavender sunset over the misty mountains. It’s serene and flows with an undercurrent of faith.
Barrett took an oil painting class at Young Harris College and received an Associate of Arts Degree in 1969. She’s painted over thirty years and her art is displayed on the online art gallery, Yessy.com.
She also studied at North Georgia College and took creative writing under Nancy Simpson at Tri-County Community College. Barrett worked twenty years in the health care profession before she developed a neuromuscular disease.
The doctors echoed words like heredity and genetics before giving her the diagnosis. “At times, I am silent, stare into space, and retreat to a place no one else can go,” she says in her poem, “Family Ties”. It’s a place where she no longer wonders what her father thought.
Her poem, “Kindred Spirit,” describes a cardinal at the feeder. Barrett feels a deep connection with the bird because it is blind in one eye. She expresses her health issues in this verse:
…A feeling of knowing,
no matter what happens,
there will always be hope
and endless possibilities.
The moisture from my breath
leaves a circle on the windowpane,
and I watch from my scooter,
until the cardinal flies out of sight.
Barrett is recovering from a recent surgery on her foot. She’s in a scooter now, but hopes to walk soon. She finds comfort in her family and talking with friends on the telephone. She also enjoys reading and crafting poetry.
A member of North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, Barrett’s work has appeared in many magazines and five anthologies. Her poetry has been published in Kaleidoscope, Nostalgia, Wellspring, Hard Row to Hoe, Living with Loss Magazine, A Time of Singing, Mindprints Journal, Wordgathering Journal, Farming Magazine, Artists Against Domestic Violence, and Nantahala Review. She has poetry upcoming in Breath and Shadow.
According to Nancy Simpson, “Glenda Barrett gives us the most authentic Appalachian voice to rise out of the southern mountains in years. Whether she is eating an apple with a knife or if she is knee deep fishing in Owl Creek, here is a woman who is as immersed in her environment as in her daily existence. Barrett’s concerns for family and heritage go beyond what happened, for her poems celebrate life, transcend sorrow, and show the reader what was learned.”
Barrett’s books are available locally at Mary Ann’s Restaurant in Young Harris, Georgia. You may also order online at: http://www.amazon.com/ and http://www.finishinglinepress.com/ .
This article first appeared in the Smoky Mountain Sentinel newspaper.

Friday, March 28, 2008

COFFEE WITH THE POETS


Coffee with the Poets is held in Hayesville, NC
the 4th Wednesday of each month, on the town square
at Phillips and Lloyd’s Book Store.

On March 26th, Linda M. Smith was the featured reader.
Michelle Keller coordinated the event. The audience was
made of Hayesville folks and some visitors from
Andrews and from across the Georgia line. Coffee,
tea, pastry, and poems --all delicious.

During the open mic session, award winning poet
Brenda Kay Ledford read a newly completed poem.

NCWN West Consultant, Nancy Simpson
read her most recently published poem,
“ The Ghost of Candide” which is dedicated to former
Georgia Poet Laureate, Bettie M. Sellers. Simpson
said the poem was written in 1978 and finally, after
30 years, it has found it’s home in print at
Cooweescoowee Review at Will Rogers University
in Oklahoma.

Glenda Barrett, whose chapbook, WHEN THE SAP RISES,
is forthcoming in June 2008 from Finishing Line Press,
also read one poem in the open mic reading,
as did Maren O. Mitchell and others.

Mark your calendar on the 4th Wednesday in April,
and come enjoy Coffee with the Poets. All practicing poets
are welcome to read a poem in the open mic reading.
Glenda Beall. NCWN West Program Coordinator is the
founder of this innovative program.

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Give a Good Reading, But First Sell Yourself

Like many writers, I was shy and self-conscious the first time I read my poetry to strangers. I felt as though I were splitting my chest and handing my heart to those people. I was terrified they would throw it on the ground, stamp on it and kick it around. So frightened was I that I wrote down every single word I planned to say when I stood before this small crowd, even to “good evening, I’m so glad you are here tonight” to “thank you all for coming.” I rehearsed this reading at least ten times and still my hands were sweaty and my heart racing when I stood behind the podium. That was ten years ago. I was on the right track and didn’t know it. Planning is the key to being self assured and being comfortable in front of a group.
A professional writer knows the value of planning a performance of his work. A reading is a performance. As Tom Bradley says in “How to Give a Rousing Reading” from The practical Writer, “Literary events are theater, not literature per se.” Vocal quality is about 82% of everything. Some writers study drama to better project their voices. Bradley insists the writer should always stand but not behind a lectern, and never let anyone hand you a microphone without a stand. He says it is best to avoid a microphone entirely, even if your vocal ability is not the best. Personally I like a lectern to hold my script, especially when I’m reading poetry from different collections, but I enjoy moving away from it at times to be closer to my audience.
Brenda Kay Ledford, award winning poet and writer, is also a storyteller. Her southern mountain accent suits her tales of life in Appalachia. At a recent gathering she read a couple of poems from her chapbook, Shew Bird Mountain. She then stepped from behind the podium to dramatize a story of her childhood using all her storytelling skills. No minds ever wander during this woman’s readings.
An author who decides to read a chapter from his novel has the most difficult task. He must do an outstanding job of setting the scene, making the audience care about what he is going to tell them before he reads the first word. This kind of reading is hardest for a new, unknown author. His audience has not read any of his work; therefore, his job is to sell them on himself and his words. At a recent reading, I looked around at the group, mostly writers, as a long-winded fellow read chapter after chapter of dialogue between his fictional characters. His audience had no idea who these characters were or why they were important in this story. I was not surprised to see lots of heads bowed and eyelids drooping, nearly closed.
Carole L. Kelley, author of two books, And Now Hello, and its sequel, And Now Goodby, part of a trilogy, was in our town, reading and signing her first book. She began by telling how she, the owner of her own company, a business woman who had never written a book, made the decision to choose the setting of Brazil where she had never been, for her story. She told us how she developed the characters, and a brief synopsis of the entire book without giving away the ending. By the time she finished this buildup, we could hardly wait to hear her share parts, not complete chapters, but selected parts that sparked the curiosity of those present. This reading was designed purposely to draw the audience into the story, a little at a time, until we were totally hooked.
In all the years I’ve observed writers promote, read and sign books, I’ve learned one thing. Most Americans have and enjoy a sense of humor. You can’t fail if you begin and end with something humorous. Sandwich the most serious subjects in the middle. Just as a story needs a good beginning to entice an editor to turn the pages, you want the first words of your reading to intrigue your audience.
Some writers end their readings with a section from the book that stimulates extreme curiosity in the audience. This motivates the crowd to make an immediate bee line for the book table. Thomas A. Williams tells us in his book, Poet Power, how he prepares his audience before he reads. He encourages them to applaud whenever they feel they want to, not wait until the very last poem has been read. Williams even tells them to stamp their feet, call encouragement or do whatever the work inspires them to do. He makes friends with those eager faces who are expecting him to “entertain” them with his work. The smiling face and personal attitude of the poet or writer is often the first step to breaking the ice and winning over the crowd. Follow these suggestions to enhance your performance:
• Tell an anecdote about yourself or your writing.
• Read sure-fire work from other outstanding poets or writers, and tell stories about their struggles.
• Ask questions. Do anything to get your listeners involved.
• Introduce each poem or story before you read it.
• Lighten up the crowd with humor.

When you deliver an outstanding presentation or performance, your audience loves you and wants to read your book, and you will not have to wake them up when you finish.