Zoom Poetry Workshop Oct 3: Inspiration & Prompts

 One Art Journal of Poetry Presents 

From Personal to Universal: Using Emotion to Craft Deeper Writing

with Karen Paul Holmes, NCWN-West member 

Thursday, October 3, 7:00-9:00pm (Eastern) 

Duration: 2 hours 

Price: $25 

Workshop Description: 

Writing the personal can make your poems more expansive, more capable of striking a true chord in others. In this workshop, we’ll explore ways to “go inward to go outward”— to draw from emotionally resonant personal experiences and observations to find deeper connection with readers. We’ll discuss a range of poems that effectively navigate concepts of joy, anger, grief and other emotional states. Join us for a two-hour session focused on giving you the freedom to express emotions and the tools to craft the poems you want and need to write. You’ll leave with prompts and a healthy dose of inspiration. 

About The Instructor:

Karen Paul Holmes won the 2023 Lascaux Poetry Prize and received a Special Mention in The Pushcart Prize Anthology. Her books are No Such Thing as Distance (Terrapin) and Untying the Knot (Aldrich). Her poems have been widely published in journals such as Plume, Diode, Glass, and Prairie Schooner and have also been featured on The Slowdown and The Writer's Almanac. After a long career in Corporate America, which included leading workshops at international conferences, Holmes became a freelance writer and has taught creative writing to adults at various conferences and venues, including John C. Campbell Folk School. She’s a member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network. 

To register: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/oneartajournalofpoetry/1393439

Give Yourself the Write Start in January... with a Folk School class

January 26 Weekend: "Your Write Time" 

all genres & levels of writing experience welcome

taught by Karen Paul Holmes

Come be inspired and productive while having fun in a place of beauty. Whether you’re already writing or looking for a place to begin, give yourself the gift of time in a setting conducive to creativity. Magic—inspiration, encouragement, and laughter—abounds inside the studio. 

Gain editing and publishing tips from the instructor and learn from and support your classmates’ polished and unpolished work. Return home with the motivation to continue your writing and maybe even pursue publication. 

Local residents usually qualify for a discount. 

For more information and to register visit John C. Campbell Folk School: www.folkschool.org

About the instructor:  Karen Paul Holmes won the 2023 Lascaux Poetry Prize and received a Special Mention in the Pushcart Prize anthology. Her two poetry books are No Such Thing as Distance (Terrapin Books) and Untying the Knot (Aldrich Press). She's is widely published in literary journals, including Plume, Gargoyle, and Prairie Schooner, and her poems have been read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer's Almanac and by the US Poet Laureate on The Slowdown podcast. Karen founded the Side Door Poets in Atlanta in 2010 and still hosts the group monthly. At about the same time, she started a monthly Writers' Night Out in the N. Georgia Mountains and hosted it until recently. She is also a freelance writer and has taught writing workshops at local and international conferences and various venues. Karen is a member of the North Carolina Writers' Network. www.karenpaulholmes.com

Writers Night Out Resumes April 14 with poet, teacher, cancer survivor Michael Diebert

Michael Diebert

      Update: Please note that due to technical difficulties with Zoom on April 14, Michael Diebert has been rescheduled for June 9. Details will be posted at at a later date. We apologize to those who tried to tune in for the April event. 

Writers Night Out via Zoom resumes Friday, April 14, at 7 pm featuring poet, editor, teacher, and cancer survivor Michael Diebert.  The reading and discussion will be followed by an open mic session.  Writers Night Out is a North Carolina Writers' Network-West event.

    Michael Diebert, a native of Kingsport, Tennessee, is the author of the collections Thrash (Brick Road, 2022) and Life Outside the Set (Sweatshoppe, 2013). He has served as poetry editor for The Chattahoochee Review, led workshops for the Chattahoochee Valley Writers' Conference and the Blue Ridge Writers' Conference, and served as president of Georgia Poetry Society. 

    Micheal teaches writing and literature at Perimeter College, Georgia State University. Recent poems have appeared in EcoTheo Collective, Book of Matches, Anti-Heroin Chic, and River Teeth. A two-time cancer survivor, Michael lives in Avondale Estates, Georgia with his wife and dogs.

    An Open Mic session will follow Diebert's reading, offering anyone joining over Zoom an opportunity to read their own works.  Please plan for a 3-4 minute maximum time for poetry or prose and limit reading to two poems only, please.

    To sign up for Open Mic, please send Glenda an email (with a sentence she can use to introduce you) by clicking here: glendabeall@msn.com.  To get the Zoom link email Glenda. 

Literary Hour at John Campbell Folk School September 15

The North Carolina Writers’ Network-West’s Literary Hour will be held at the John C. Campbell Folk School on Thursday, September 15, 2022, at 7 p.m. The event will be held in the Open House. The Literary Hour is free and open to the public.

The featured writers for September are Karen Paul Holmes and Lorraine Bennett.

 

Karen Paul Holmes has published two poetry books, No Such Thing as Distance (Terrapin, 2018) and Untying the Knot (Aldrich, 2014). Her poems have been featured on The Writer's Almanac and The Slowdown. Publications include Diode, Valparaiso Review, Verse Daily, and Prairie Schooner. Holmes founded the Side Door Poets in Atlanta, which she still hosts. She also started Writers' Night Out for the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, which is now in its twelfth year. Held via Zoom on the second Friday of the month, Writers’ Night Out is hosted by Holmes and Glenda Beall. She also teaches periodically at the John C. Campbell Folk School. She will read mostly new poems at the Literary Hour as well as a short selection from No Such Thing as Distance.

 

Lorraine Martin Bennett is a print, web, and broadcast journalist who grew up in Murphy, North Carolina. She graduated from Murphy High School and UNC Chapel Hill. She has been a journalist with the Atlanta Journal where she met her late husband, Tom, a columnist for the Cherokee Scout. She also wrote for the Los Angeles Times and became the newspaper’s first woman to head a domestic bureau. She joined fledgling CNN as a news writer, becoming copy editor, producer, and editorial manager before ending her television career at CNN International. In retirement, she writes essays, short stories, flash fiction, poetry and still practices her craft by copy editing and occasionally writing articles for the Clay County Progress. Her essays have appeared in the Personal Story Publishing Project (Daniel Boone Footsteps, Winston-Salem) for the past two years, with another coming out soon. Her first novel, Cat on a Black Moon, a psychological thriller, will be published by Austin Macauley (London, Cambridge, New York) later this year. She will read the first two chapters from her new book.

 

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 the featured writers. Contact Patricia Zick at pczick23@gmail.com for further information

Joseph Bathanti and Mountain Wordsmiths

 The large group of writers who attended Mountain Wordsmiths Thursday morning had the pleasure of hearing Joseph Bathanti read and talk for about thirty minutes. Then he answered questions and had dialogue with those who were eager to talk to him about his poetry, his writing program, and his environmental views about mountaintop removal. 

One of the things I like best about Joseph is his casual demeanor and his genuine appreciation for his audience. We all felt we could speak up and join in the discussion. To purchase his latest book visit this link to LSU Press. His new book is Light at the Seams. Read more about it. You will want to own this book.

Carroll Taylor is the founder and leader of Mountain Wordsmiths and none of us knew it would be such a popular event for NCWN-West. Carroll's easy manner and casual ways make everyone feel comfortable. At this recent event, we had Ken Chamblee, noted poet, Pat Zick, author of novels, nonfiction, and now Netwest county Representative for Cherokee County in North Carolina. We had Jill Jennings from Florida sitting in with us as well as other writers from distant places. 

Part of the enjoyment of this online group is seeing the poets and writers from the far reaches of the NCWN-West region gather to visit and share their views and their writing. Mountain Wordsmiths has brought our Netwest writers closer than ever. I used to try to visit the distant counties and meet with reps and members, but COVID put a stop to that. However, we will not be stopped.

Carroll Taylor

Karen Holmes

Carroll's Mountain Wordsmiths and Karen Paul Holmes's Writers' Night Out are on Zoom and each month we are delighted to see local friends and writers and poets from across the country on our Zoom screen. 

Please feel free to join us for these events you can only find on Zoom. 

Contact Carroll at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com for Mountain Wordsmith's Zoom invitation. Contact Karen Paul Holmes at kpaulholmes AT protonmail DOT COM to receive your link for Writers' Night Out. You can ask Karen and Carroll to put you on their contact list and you will receive the announcement of the guests each month and the Zoom link.

If you have questions for me, Glenda Beall, about reading or attending, email glendabeall@msn.com. 

Oct 8 Seattle Poet: Online Reading, Discussion, and Open Mic

Writers' Night Out - Oct 8, 7 p.m. Online Reading + Discussion... + Open Mic via ZOOM "What teaching poetry to children has taught me about writing." with Debby Bacharach, poet, editor, & teacher

Debby Bacharach is the author of Shake & Tremor (Grayson Books, 2021) and After I Stop Lying (Cherry Grove Collections, 2015).   Her poems and essays have been published in journals nationally and internationally, including Midwest Quarterly, Poetry Ireland Review, Vallum, Cimarron Review, New Letters, and Poet Lore, and she has received a Pushcart prize honorable mention.  Debby has been the featured reader at poetry readings in Boston, Oberlin, Seattle, South Bend, and Minneapolis. Educated at Swarthmore College and the University of Minnesota, Debby lives in Seattle with her family. She is a college writing instructor, editor, and tutor and teaches poetry workshops for children.  Find out more about her at DeborahBacharach.com. For Zoom link and Open Mic sign-up, email  Glenda: glendabeall@msn.com Writers' Night Out is a North Carolina Writers' Network-West event on the second Friday of every month. We will continue via Zoom for now.    Sometime we hope to continue in person at our new location: The Ridges Resort on Lake Chatuge  so please check your email.   But don't wait, join the fun and camaraderie on Zoom!  Upcoming guests: Nov 12: Ed Southern, NCWN Executive Director & Author Ed's new book is Fight Songs: A Story of Love & Sports in a Complicated South December, January, February: winter break

From "Untying the Knot" to Happily Ever After

 Good News for a Netwest County Rep and Poet

Hi, this is Karen Paul Holmes. Anyone who has read my poetry probably feels like they know me, and so Glenda Beall has asked me to post this. When we all get to meet in person again and you see me beaming, you'll know why. 

My first poetry collection, Untying the Knot, is like a memoir of experiencing and healing from the trauma of divorce after 32 years of marriage. At the end are poems of finding happiness with a new man. But that ended with his sudden death after six years together. Those of you who attended Writers' Night Out several years ago in Towns County, GA met that wonderful man. 

Now there's a very special person in my life, whom some of you had the pleasure of meeting at WNO last season. My new husband Mark Shaver is a lover of poetry, opera, and BBQ in the mountains, just like me! We married last Sunday in an intimate ceremony, having had to cancel our bigger wedding due to COVID. And yes, I am writing poems about him. I even read one at our wedding. I am now a big believer in late-life marriages. 

By the way, my second book, No Such Thing As Distance continues the story in poetry of my family and me, including Macedonian recipes. I was lucky enough to have poems from it read by Garrison Keillor on The Writer's Almanac and by former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith on her insightful podcast, The Slowdown. Take a listen if you're so inclined! 

FYI: My addresses in the mountains and the city are the same, and I'm keeping my last name. 

Writers' Night Out with Zoom

Tonight, April 10, at 7:00 PM, we held our monthly Writers' Night Out meeting on Zoom where we could see and hear each other. Karen Holmes hosted this event that featured Rupert Fike who did a terrific job of reading his poetry and talking to us about the craft of writing poetry. I believe twenty people participated, and some were audio only using their phones.

Several people read during the Open Mic session.

While learning to use Zoom can be a challenge for some of our writers, I believe most of us can master this and find it is a good method of visiting with family and friends as we all self-quarantine to protect ourselves and others from COVID-19. We  must follow the guidelines about staying home and helping to stop the spread of this deadly illness.

Here in our mountain area, a number of people have been diagnosed with this virus and it only takes one person to expose us and endanger our lives and the lives of those we love.

As writers, we should find this time beneficial because it gives us time to write. The most precious thing is time and e we usually can't find enough with our busy lives. As we are forced to slow down, to stay home and entertain ourselves, what better activity than writing poetry, working on our manuscripts,  revising work we have put away.

We are looking forward to the day when we can meet again at Moss Library or the John C. Campbell Folk School for Coffee with the Poets and Writers and the Literary Hour. But until that time, we can stay in touch by phone and by email or with other online methods.

Thanks to all who joined us for WNO on Zoom. Let us know how you liked it.
Contact me, pcncwnwest@gmail.com 
Glenda Beall

Writers' Night Out Has a New Home: The Ridges on Lake Chatuge

NCWN-West is happy to become associated with 

The Ridges Resort.  

3499 US-76, Young Harris, GA 30582

Writers' Night Out Begins April 10 at 7 pm with poet Rupert Fike

Joan Howard and I met with Andrea Allen of The Ridges Resort to confirm having our Writers' Night Out (WNO) there. Click here for their website. We'll continue with our normal schedule: the second Friday of each month, April through November, at 7 pm, featuring guest readers and an open mic. The resort is excited about helping make the event a success for our members, their guests, and the public. It's sure to be a win-win. 

The change of venue was necessary because our prior meeting place -- the Union County Community Center in Blairsville, GA -- could no longer offer us a free room. We're grateful that they donated space for WNO for several years. 

Karen Paul Holmes, who has hosted WNO for 10 years, was touring the various meeting spaces at The Ridges for another event and had the thought that it could work very well for NCWN-West and WNO. Her idea met with much enthusiasm from their meeting planner Andrea and the resort's General Manager. They give us the room at no charge and will promote the event to their guests. In return we will tell everyone about the restaurant and the resort. 

I hope to see us meet for dinner at The Oaks Lakeside Kitchen, their farm-to-table restaurant, before we gather for WNO. It is fine dining and is not cheap, but once a month, you might want to splurge or at least try their appetizers and a cocktail. They open at 5 PM, and reservations are recommended. Their guests also give great reviews for the breakfasts served each day. 

Our writers will like that we can go to the bar in the restaurant, purchase a drink, and take it to the meeting room. 

On the marina side of the property is another restaurant, Marina Station, where they serve lunch and dinner Wednesday through Sunday (summer hours will likely be extended).

Originally the Fieldstone Inn, The Ridges was purchased by Duke Hospitality in 2017 and underwent extensive remodeling of all meeting spaces, lodge rooms, and restaurants in 2018.  All venues and restaurants have the most beautiful views of Lake Chatuge and the surrounding mountains. Weddings, family reunions, and conferences often enjoy the ambiance and friendliness of the staff.

For 2020, WNO will begin Friday, April 10 with a popular guest: Rupert Fike of Atlanta, whose last book was named a "Book Every Georgian Should Read." He will share his insights on writing, and this new aspect of the program will continue with each of our featured writers throughout the year. Open mic will take place after the reading/discussion. Because Karen has decided to step back a little due to scheduling conflicts, various members of NCWN-West will rotate as hosts.

At 6:45 we can enter the Blue Ridge Room adjacent to The Oaks Lakeside Kitchen for our meeting at 7:00 PM. If there is a change of room, the reception area of the restaurant will have the information for you. 

I urge you to drop by The Ridges for dinner or breakfast and see this lovely place. Stop in at the Marina Station Restaurant for lunch and a beautiful relaxing view of Lake Chatuge. 

I see many possibilities for NCWN-West to use facilities at The Ridges in the future. Let's support the businesses that support us, the writers in the area.

Karen Paul Holmes Featured on The Writer's Almanac

Garrison Keillor Recited "Rental Cottage, Maine" on October 16, 2019

In what Karen Paul Holmes calls her "poetry dream come true," the popular daily audio program The Writer's Almanac selected a poem from her second book, No Such Thing as Distance (Terrapin 2018). Keillor, host of the long-running Prairie Home Companion, has a voice immediately recognized by his worldwide fans.  You can hear this poem as well as all his broadcasts at GarrisonKeillor.com.

Karen's first book was Untying the Knot (Aldrich, 2014). Chosen a Best Emerging Poet, three of her poems appeared in Stay Thirsty Media's 2019 poetry volume with well-loved poets such as Billy Collins. Karen's other publications include Prairie Schooner, Valparaiso Review, Tar River Poetry, Poet Lore, and many journals and books, including two anthologies of Georgia poets. 

She founded and hosts The Side Door Poets in Atlanta and Writers’ Night Out in Blairsville, GA. A freelance business writer, she also teaches writing classes at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, Writer’s Circle in Hayesville, NC, and other venues. Lake Chatuge and the mountains inspire much of her poetry, which also includes stories of personal joys and losses.

Join Karen the weekend of Valentine's Day, 2020 when she teaches "Love Songs & Poetry" at the Folk School. 

The next Writers' Night Out is November 8 at 7 pm at the Union County Community Center, Blairsville. Rosemary Royston and Diana Anhalt are featured. Sign up for open mic at the door (3 minutes of poetry or prose). 

To learn more about Karen's work, visit www.karenpaulholmes.com .

New Poet Laureate of Georgia, Chelsea Rathburn

Congratulations to Chelsea Rathburn. She is a professor at Young Harris College, where she directs the creative writing program. She has just been named Poet Laureate of Georgia. 

Chelsea Rathburn, new Poet Laureate of Georgia

What an honor! She is following in the footsteps of Betty Sellers, the fabulous poet who was professor of English at YHC decades ago. She was also named Poet Laureate of Georgia. Sellers was author of numerous books of poetry and was best known for her poems about life in southern Appalachia. 

Chelsea Rathburn is the author of three full-length poetry collections, most recently Still Life with Mother and Knife, a New York Times “New & Noteworthy” book released by Louisiana State University Press in February 2019. Rathburn’s first full-length collection, The Shifting Line, won the 2005 Richard Wilbur Award, and her second collection, A Raft of Grief, was published by Autumn House Press in 2013.

Rathburn’s poems have appeared in the nation’s most esteemed journals, including Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly, the New Republic, The Southern Review, New England Review, and Ploughshares, among others.While she was born in Jacksonville and raised in Miami, Florida, Rathburn has deep roots in the state of Georgia, where her mother’s family has lived since the 1830s.

Rathburn moved to Decatur, Georgia in 2001 after completing graduate school at the University of Arkansas. Since 2013, she has lived in the North Georgia mountains with her husband, the poet James Davis May, and their daughter.


Chelsea Rathburn will be a featured guest at Writers Night Out in Blairsville, Georgia April 12, 2019. Karen Holmes is host and NCWN-West is sponsor of this event open to the public. For more info: kpaulholmes AT gmail DOT com

Friday, Oct 12 Writers' Night Features Loren Leith

Please join us for the entertaining prose of award-winning local writer, Loren Leith. She is our featured reader along with Atlanta poet Danielle Hanson. As always, open mic follows -- sign up at the door. Union County Community Center map here.

Janice Moore & Robert Kendrick at Writers' Night September 14

Janice Townley Moore, who lives in Hayesville, NC, is an Atlanta native and Associate Professor Emerita of English at Young Harris College. Her poetry chapbook is Teaching the Robins (Finishing Line Press) and her work has appeared in esteemed journals including The Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, Shenandoah, Connecticut Review, Southern Poetry Review, The Journal of the American Medical Association, and numerous others. Among the anthologies that include her poetry are The Bedford Introduction to Literature and three volumes of The Southern Poetry Anthology (Contemporary Appalachia, Georgia, and North Carolina) from Texas Review Press. Moore serves as the coordinator of the North Carolina Writers Network poetry critique group, which meets at Tri-County Community College.

Robert Lee Kendrick grew up in Illinois and Iowa, but now calls Clemson, South Carolina home. After earning his M.A. from Illinois State University and his Ph.D. from the University of South Carolina, he held a number of jobs, ranging from house painter to pizza driver to grocery store worker to line cook. He now teaches. Kendrick’s poems appear in Birmingham Poetry Review, Valparaiso Poetry Review, Atlanta Review, Tar River Poetry, Louisiana Literature, and elsewhere. His first full-length collection, What Once Burst With Brilliance, was released in 2018 by Iris Press. His chapbook is Winter Skin (Main Street Rag Publishing, 2016).