Poet Mary Ricketson to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

By Carroll S. Taylor

Mary Ricketson

             Mountain Wordsmiths will have as our featured reader distinguished poet Mary Ricketson on Thursday morning, February 23, at 10:30 via Zoom. Our monthly gathering, sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, will continue its online presence because local writers as well as writers from other states and cities are now joining us each month on Zoom.
            Ricketson will be sharing her latest poetry collection, "Precious the Mule." The poems weave a story of humanity, compassion, and kindness. Ricketson says, “My neighbor’s mule got badly injured, frightening all of us who live in this cove. Mingled with the natural beauty of winter and springtime at my home in the Appalachian Mountains, this is the story of a relationship I developed with my neighbor the mule, a story that joins sorrow and suffering with joy and hope.”
            Ricketson, who lives in Murphy, NC, is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in private practice in Murphy, NC, and an organic blueberry farmer. She has been writing poetry for over twenty-five years. Her poems often reflect the healing power of nature, a path she follows from Appalachian tradition, with surrounding mountains serving as midwife for her words.
            Her published collections are "I Hear the River Call My Name," "Hanging Dog Creek," "Shade and Shelter," "Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian," "Keeping in Place," and "Lira, Poems of a Woodland Woman," and "Precious the Mule." 

More information about her may be found at www.maryricketson.com. 

NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We will offer writing events and writing classes online until we can safely meet face-to-face again. Many writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because of the ability to join our gatherings from other locations.

Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. We welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing.

April is Poetry Month - Keeping in Place by Mary Ricketson

How to Get Happy

Wait for a breeze, hope that vine of honeysuckle
smells stronger, stirs a rush of fragrance in the air.

Will these climbing roses to open, dazzle the day with red.
Allow a prick of thorns when you grab a stem to keep.

Thank the gold and black buzzing pollinators in the garden.
Beware of attack. That territory is their own.

Taste the air when the tickling breeze finally bustles,
fresh as cold spring water from the source.

Push one honeysuckle blossom to your lips,
slip under the spell of sweet wishes and dreams.
Lazy away, charmed into a summer’s day.

                                         --- Mary Ricketson

Published:  Enjoy the Holidays, a poetry and prose anthology by Old Mountain Press, October 2020, and forthcoming chapbook July 2021 Keeping in Place, Finishing Line Press

 

Mary Ricketson’s poems often reflect the healing power of nature, surrounding mountains as midwife for her words.  Her published collections are I Hear the River Call My Name, Hanging Dog Creek, Shade and Shelter, Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian,  Keeping in Place, forthcoming from Finishing Line Press.

www.maryricketson.com

 

Netwest Has Lost a Loyal and Active Member

Our deepest sympathy goes out to Judy, wife of Richard Speir Argo II, age 66, CWO 3, Coast Guard, Retired, who died July 8, 2010, at home in Murphy,NC of cancer. Richard was a long-time member of Netwest.

Born February 21, 1944, in Tampa FL, the first of two children, to Richard and Ann Argo, he was a gifted athlete and a man of many talents.

Richard joined the Coast Guard in 1962, after high school graduation. His career spanned over twenty years with duty stations up and down the East coast and Gulf region, and Marcus Island. He was trained as a boatswain mate, then rose through the ranks to captain his own ship, The US Coast Guard Cutter Kennebec. He retired in 1983, then attained a BA degree at Evergreen State College, Olympia, WA.

He and his wife, Judy, moved back East, where Richard enjoyed time as a white water raft guide on the Ocoee and Nantahala rivers. In 1994, Richard and Judy hand-built a cord wood house in the Hanging Dog Community in Cherokee County.

A man who believed in keeping fit, Richard entered the sports events in the Senior Games. He cross trained in biking, swimming, tennis, jogging, and kayaking. He won medals in swimming and tennis. On the grueling 700 mile North Carolina Bike Tour, From Murphy to Manteo, Richard rode his 12 speed Huffy amongst the high speed racing bikes of others. Because he had ridden and trained for hours on the mountain roads, he pedaled right past some of those fancy bikes going across Chunky Gal Mountain and beyond.



Richard was an active member of NC Writers Network West. He taught writing locally, read publicly and for many years led The NCWN West Prose Critique group until he had to resign due to his illness. He won awards for his literary work in the Senior Games, published short stories in Moonshine Review, Lights in the Mountains, and the new anthology, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge. Although his poetry was not as well-known as his short stories and essays, an award winning poem was published here on the Netwest Writers site.

Richard loved telling stories. He loved old jokes, making people smile, and all kinds of music. He quietly showed his compassion for others. His passion for environmental concerns revealed a caring for his fellow man, particularly in the sustainable house he built.

He was cremated, and asked that his ashes be scattered on the Outer Banks of NC. Richard did not want a memorial service, but requested that his family and friends plant a tree in his memory.

Richard’s essence seemed captured in the following poem sent by his friend Mary Ricketson during his illness:

I’m calling good vibes
speaking to the trees
asking the sun
and all the earth
to hold my friend close
impart faith and courage
while time is uncertain
to lend wisdom
when time comes
to chart a course.

(Most of this post comes from the obituary for Richard written by Mary Ricketson)


Read Richard's essay on critique .

Our members who wish to send condolences to Judy Argo will find Richard's address on our membership list. If you need further information, please contact glendabeall@msn.com .