Carroll Taylor and Marcia Barnes to speak at the John C. Campbell Folk School

 Carroll S. Taylor, and Marcia Barnes, published writers, will appear at the John C. Campbell Folk School, 7:00 PM, August 15

Thursday evening, August 15, at the Literary Hour, Carroll S. Taylor, author of a new book, Facing Toward the East, will present her work at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Appearing with Taylor will be Marcia Hawley Barnes, author of Tobijah, chosen for Georgia's top literary award. A delightful children’s book which emphasizes that even though many of us are different, we are not alone.

Taylor's literary journey is a testament to her talent and dedication. With a remarkable portfolio that includes novels Chinaberry Summer (2013) and Chinaberry Summer: On the Other Side (2017), as well as the children’s books Ella’s Quilt (2023) and Feannag the Crow (2020), Taylor has firmly established herself as a prominent figure in contemporary Southern literature.

Renowned for her vivid storytelling and poignant reflections on Southern life, Carroll Taylor’s latest work, with its distinct themes of rebirth, redemption, and the enduring human spirit, is sure to captivate readers of all ages.

A retired educator with over forty years of experience teaching students from kindergarten through high school, Taylor continued to inspire young minds as a part-time instructor at Columbus State University, GA, where she taught essay writing, Freshman Seminar, and French. Now entirely devoted to her writing, Taylor channels her life experiences into her creative work, providing readers with a deeply personal and authentic literary journey.

Drawing inspiration from her upbringing in rural Georgia and her life in the Northeast Georgia mountains, Taylor weaves a rich tapestry of stories and emotions. The collection, her first venture into publishing a book of poetry, is a testament to her literary evolution and dedication to her craft.

"Many older cemeteries bury the dead facing toward the East for the Resurrection, but for the living, morning light represents a new day, a time for rebirth or redemption," says Taylor. "Who among the living will face the rising sun with fierce determination?"

Her poems resonate universally, appealing to readers young and old, especially those who cherish Southern literature.

Carroll Taylor serves as one of the NCWN-West Representative for the Georgia Counties that border North Carolina. She and her husband Hugh live in Hiawassee, GA. You can find her online at www.chinaberrysummer.com

 

Carroll S. Taylor

Writer, poet, and journalist Marcia Barnes stepped into the circle of writing in 2004 while living in Middle Georgia and never looked back. Her published books include “The Little Book of Secret Family Recipes” and two children’s books, “Tobijah” and “A Day with Tobijah.”  She also published a collection of poems, “Blackberry Winter.”

Marcia Barnes

Although research and writing occupied most of the day, moving to the mountains in the spring of 2009, to live on an isolated ridge opened up an opportunity to try new things like growing strawberries and an herb garden with a view.

     “And then there were the animals, the mountain lion I didn’t see, and the bears that were in view. It was always a gift to see deer, rabbits, a fox, groundhogs and many birds, even a resident whip-poor-will,” Barnes said.

     A member of North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, Barnes became intrigued when attending local poetry readings and began writing poetry. She has been published in Negative Capability Press, POEM, Slant, and Old Mountain Press.

     In 2016, Barnes began writing as a journalist for the Clay County Progress in Hayesville, North Carolina. Her columns include feature articles and reporting on local news.

     “Writing for the newspaper is never dull, never the same story twice. The best parts are the people I work with and writing for a publisher who considers integrity sacred,” she said.

     Barnes is co-host of Coffee with Poets and Writers, a monthly North Carolina Writers’ Network-West event. She lives in Clay County, North Carolina with her cat Celeste.

 

 

Literary Hour Returns to John C. Campbell Folk School

The North Carolina Writers’ Network-West’s Literary Hour returns to the John C.Campbell Folk School on Thursday, August 18, 2022, at 7 p.m., after a two-year hiatus during the pandemic. The event will be held in the Open House. The Literary Hour is free and open to the public.

The featured writers for August are Brenda Kay Ledford and Glenda Beall.

Brenda Kay Ledford

 Brenda Kay Ledford, a seventh-generational native of Clay County, North Carolina, is an award-winning author, blogger, and retired educator. Her work has appeared in many journals including Asheville Poetry Review, Our State, Appalachian Heritage, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Guidepost Magazine, 49 Old Mountain Press anthologies, and many other publications. She writes about nature and wants to help preserve the culture of this region. She's received the Paul Green Multimedia Award from North Carolina Society of Historians thirteen times for her books. Ledford will read poetry from her latest book, Blanche, Poetry of a Blue Ridge Woman, which was released by Redhawk Publishing in 2021.

Glenda Council Beall

Glenda Beall serves as program coordinator for the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West. Her essays, poetry, and short stories have been published in magazines and literary journals as well as online. Her poetry chapbook, Now Might as Well be Then, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2009. She has co-authored a collection of stories, poems, and essays Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins, Family Pets and God’s Other Creatures. 

Much of her writing is filled with stories about horses, dogs, and cats that have been a part of her family. Her love of genealogy led her to compile stories of her grandfather and his ten children in Profiles and Pedigrees, The Descendants of Thomas Charles Council (1858 – 1911). Beall’s online classes, Writers Circle around the Table, and classes for the Institute of Continuing Learning reach people from all over the country. She will read her creative non-fiction as well as short stories.

 The Literary Hour will be held on the third Thursday of the month through November at John C. Campbell Folk School in the roofed and open pavilion of the Open House. From Clays Corner in Brasstown turn onto Brasstown Road, then turn left on Scoggins Road then left again to pass Davidson Hall. Or coming from Marsh Creek, turn right onto Davidson Road and follow around to Open House. Parking is in front near the vegetable gardens.

 Anyone with a love of the written word will be transported by the talent of each month’s featured writers. Contact Patricia Zick at pczick23@gmail.com for further information.

Patricia Zick

Writers Kenneth Chamlee, Carol Crawford, and Karen Paul Holmes to be featured at The Literary Hour, Thursday, 8/22/2019, at 7:00 PM, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

On Thursday, August 22, 2019, at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School and NC Writers' Network-West will sponsor The Literary Hour. At this event, NCWN-West members will read at the Keith House on the JCCFS campus, in Brasstown, NC. This event is now held in the community room. The Literary Hour is held on the third Thursday of the month unless otherwise indicated. This reading is free of charge and open to the public. This month's featured readers will be Kenneth Chamlee, Carol Crawford, and Karen Paul Holmes.

Kenneth Chamlee is Professor of English Emeritus at Brevard College in North Carolina.  His poems have appeared in The North Carolina Literary Review, Cold Mountain Review, Ekphrasis, The Greensboro Review and many others.  He won the GSU Review (Georgia State University) National Writing Award in Poetry, ByLine Magazine's National Poetry Chapbook Competition (Absolute Faith, 1999), and the Longleaf Press Poetry Chapbook Competition (Logic of the Lost, 2001).  In 2004 he won the Word Journal Poetry Prize and in 2009 and 2016 he was a finalist in the Iowa Review Poetry Contest. 

Chamlee has received three Pushcart Prize nominations. His poems have appeared in five editions of Kakalak: An Anthology of Carolina Poets and in 2017 he was a finalist for the James Applewhite Poetry Prize.

Carol Crawford has published short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in the Southern Humanities Review, Appalachian Heritage, the Concho River Review, the Chattahoochee Review, the Journal of Kentucky Studies, and others. Her latest essay, ”Deliveries,” was in the April 2018 issue of Adelaide online magazine. She is owner of Carol Crawford Editing and author of The Habit of Mercy, Poems about Daughters and Mothers. 

Crawford has taught workshops for the Dahlonega Literary Festival, the John C. Campbell Folk School, the Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association, the Red Clay Writers’ Conference, the Carrollton Writers’ Club, and the Writers’ Circle. She has been program coordinator for the annual Blue Ridge Writers’ Conference since its inception more than twenty years ago.

Karen Paul Holmes has two full-length poetry collections, No Such Thing as Distance (Terrapin Books, 2018) and Untying the Knot (Aldrich Press, 2014). In 2012, Karen received an Elizabeth George Foundation emerging writer grant for poetry. She was chosen as a Best Emerging Poet in 2016 by Stay Thirsty Media. Publications include Prairie Schooner, Valparaiso Review, Tar River Poetry, Poet Lore and other journals and anthologies. Holmes hosts a critique group in Atlanta and Writers’ Night Out in Blairsville, which she founded. She also teaches writing classes at the Folk School, Writer’s Circle, and other venues.

A member of the North Carolina Writers' Network, the Atlanta Writers Club, and the Georgia Poetry Society, Holmes has studied with poets: Thomas Lux, Denise Duhamel, Dorianne Laux, Joseph Millar, William Wright, Carol Ann Duffy, and Nancy Simpson (whom she counts as her first poetry mentor).

For more information about this event, please contact Mary Ricketson at: maryricketson311@hotmail.com.

Writers Bob Grove and Deanna K. Klingel to read at The Literary Hour at John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC, Thursday, March 15, 2018, at 7:00 PM

On Thursday, March 15, 2018, at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School and NC Writers' Network-West will sponsor The Literary Hour, an hour of writers reading, is held at Keith House on the JCCFS campus, in Brasstown, NC. This event is held on the third Thursday of the month unless otherwise indicated. The reading is free of charge and open to the public. This month's featured readers will be Bob Grove and Deanna K. Klingel.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Bob now lives in the mountains of North Carolina. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at Kent State University and his Master of Science at Florida Atlantic University. His diversified curriculum enabled him to teach courses in English, journalism, creative writing, physics, chemistry, biology 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 an officer with the Ridgeline Literary Alliance, he has published seventeen books and hundreds of articles in sixteen national magazines. All Grove’s publications are available on Amazon Kindle, and he can be found online at www.bobgrove.org . Bob's readings entertain, and his audience laughs with delight at his humor.

Deanna Klingel calls Sapphire Valley NC home. She was born and raised in Michigan, left MSU with her husband Dave and lived in New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Raleigh, NC, Maryland, Atlanta and finally retired to the mountains.  A compulsive writer all her life, she never sought publication until their seven children were grown and gone from home.

Klingel writes primarily, not exclusively, for young adult readers. She has thirteen books published and others in the que. In addition, one of the picture books is also in Spanish, and there are teacher/classroom study guides for two historical fictions. Many of the books have received recognitions and awards. Two of her short stories were contest winners. She's a member of SCBWI, ACFW, Catholic Writers Guild, and NCWN. She blogs twice a week at booksbydeanna.com, and travels with her books across the South and beyond, appearing at schools, museums, and events. Her books are widely distributed and are available wherever books are sold. Klingel’s  website is: www.BooksByDeanna.com.

For more information, please call  the John C. Campbell Folk School at: 828-837-2775, or Mary Ricketson at: 828-361-0721.

Brasstown, NC's John Campbell Folk School readings Thursday, Oct. 20, 2016, to feature writers Mary Michelle Keller & Lucy Cole Gratton

Mary Michelle Keller

Lucy Cole Gratton

On Thursday, October 20, 2016 at 7:00 PM, the John 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 is being held on the third Thursday of the month unless otherwise notified. The reading is free of charge and open to the public. Poets and writers Mary Michelle Keller and Lucy Cole Gratton will be the featured readers, returning to the Folk School as one of the more entertaining pair of readers.

Mary Michelle Keller has lived in Town County 20 years. It is here that she began to write poetry followed by the natural progression into prose. She is a musician, artist and photographer. Keller says that all those loves give root to her poetry as inspiration. Her poem, As The Deer, published in the anthology, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, was inspired by an old hymn by the same name that she plays on the dulcimer.

Keller enjoys words; moving them around on paper until a poem, short story or essay emerges. She finds pleasure in reading to a few or many, be it her own words or those of others, and says reading at the Folk School is always a treat. Keller always enjoys reading her pieces to locals and students of the school.

Lucy Cole Gratton is a retired CPA who has lived in the Murphy area over 20 years. She received her BA in mathematics from Agnes Scott College, her MEd in secondary math from the University of Florida and her accounting hours from Florida Atlantic University.

Since her retirement she served as Executive Director for the Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition, Inc for several years and continues to assist with the accounting and tax preparation for the Coalition as a volunteer. She is a member and serves as Treasurer of the Mountain Community Chorus Inc., which rehearses at Young Harris College, presenting a concert each spring and Christmas.

Gratton is a Cherokee County representative for NCWN and a member of NCWN-West. She coordinates the program at John Campbell Folk School for NCWN-West and serves as moderator. Her poems include various topics but predominantly center around her concern for the environments and her home in the woods of Lake Appalachia. Gratton’s writing has been published in various venues but has had limited publication since she writes predominantly for the love of writing, sharing it with family and friends.

Contact: Lucy Cole Gratton, Cherokee County Representative –NCWN-West

828-494-2914 
lgratton@hughes.net