Poet Mary Ricketson to Read at Cherokee County Arts Council Oct. 10

    Cherokee County Arts Council presents Mary Ricketson, acclaimed local poet and author of 8 books, for a poetry reading at Cherokee County Arts Council, 33 Valley River Avenue, Murphy, October 10, at 5:30 pm.

Mary Ricketson

    Featured will be poems from her latest book, "Stutters, A Book of Hope," and other selections.  Discussion time will be available immediately following the reading.  Everyone is invited.

    "Stutters" is the personal collection of poems Mary thought she would never write but she’s glad she did.  

    Julia Nunnally Duncan of the North Carolina Literary Review said of the collection,  "So, as I read Ricketson’s poetic account of her lifelong struggle to understand and overcome stuttering, I vicariously experienced this struggle with her…. I think Ricketson has accomplished her goal in Stutters, it is a book of hope, a stirring and enlightening book of hope."

Ricketson and Westwood to Read at May 16 Literary Hour

  Poet Mary Ricketson of Murphy, and writer David Andrew Westwood of Hayesville will be featured at the Thursday, May 16, Literary Hour at 7 p.m. in the Keith House library on the John C. Campbell Folk School campus in Brasstown, NC.  The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.

Mary Ricketson

Ricketson has been writing poetry for over twenty-five years.  Her poems have been published in numerous poetry reviews and in her recent collection, “Stutters, A Book of Hope,” as well as five other full-length poetry collections and two chapbooks.  She won first place in the 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest 75th anniversary national poetry contest.  Inspired by nature and her role as a mental health counselor, her poems reflect the healing powers of nature, a path she follows from Appalachian tradition, with the surrounding mountains as midwife for her words.

David Andrew Westwood

Westwood was brought up in 1960s London, got stuck in Los Angeles for far too long, and is now happily settled in Hayesville.  He writes mostly historical fiction — 17 novels so far — but also the occasional short story and essay.  His novels have won three awards from the Military Writers Society of America, and a recent short story was a finalist for North Carolina’s Doris Betts Prize.  His latest novel, “Bitternut Creek,” will be released in August.

The Literary Hour at the folk school is offered every third Thursday of the month through October and brings local poets and writers to the campus to share their work with the community.  The public, and students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.

The John C. Campbell Folk School offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling.  For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.

CarolLynn Jones and Mary Ricketson Reading at Literary Hour

  Local writers CarolLynn Jones and Mary Ricketson will read from their work at the Literary Hour Thursday, May 18, at 7 pm in the Keith House Living Room of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.  The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.

CarolLynn Jones

CarolLynn Jones is the author of “Danya,” a historical novel.  It is a fictionalized account, based on memoirs by survivors of the Russian communist revolution, which follows the lives of two families struggling in a world going mad with sweeping cultural, religious, and political upheaval.  The novel is available on Amazon.  Jones studied art and illustration at Syracuse University and started a greeting card business which supplied cards to stores throughout the country.  She has traveled in Russia and spent two weeks living with a Russian family.  She will be reading from a true story of hope and redemption.

Mary Ricketson

Mary Ricketson is an award-winning poet, mental health counselor, and blueberry farmer who lives in Murphy.  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.”  Ricketson won first place in the 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest 75th anniversary national poetry contest.  Inspired by nature and her role as a mental health counselor, her poems reflect the healing powers of nature, a path she follows from Appalachian tradition, with the surrounding mountains as midwife for her words.  She is also known for her monthly column, “Woman to Woman,” which runs in “The Cherokee Scout.”

Writer and poet Glenda Beall, coordinator for NCWN-West, will host the
event.  The Literary Hour at the folk school started in 1995 and is offered every third Thursday of the month through November.  “Our goals for the Literary Hour at the folk school are to bring local writers and any member of NCWN who is in the area to the campus to share their work,” Beall said.

The John C. Campbell Folk School offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling.  For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.  Students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.

Mary Ricketson reads at Mountain Wordsmiths

 January 2022 begins a new year for Mountain Wordsmiths, a writers’ gathering sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West. 

We are not holding face-to-face meetings for our writers’ groups because of COVID, but we are continuing our online presence with Mountain Wordsmiths, which will meet on the fourth Thursday of each month on Zoom. On Thursday morning, January 27, at 10:30 a.m., our featured speaker will be well-known local poet Mary Ricketson.

Ricketson, who is from Murphy, North Carolina, has been writing poetry for over twenty-five years. Her poems have been published in Wild Goose Poetry Review, Future Cycle Press, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Red Fox Run, It’s All Relative, Old Mountain Press, Whispers, and Disorgananza (private collection 2000). She has also published a chapbook, I Hear the River Call my Name, as well as five full-length poetry collections: Hanging Dog Creek (2014), Shade and Shelter (2018), Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian (2019), Keeping in Place ( 2021), and Lira, Poems of a Woodland Woman (2021). She won first place in the 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest 75th anniversary national poetry contest.

Inspired by nature and her role as a mental health counselor, her poems reflect the healing powers of nature, a path she follows from Appalachian tradition, with the surrounding mountains as midwife for her words.

Ricketson writes a monthly column, “Woman to Woman,” for Murphy’s weekly newspaper, The Cherokee Scout. She is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, in private practice in Murphy, NC, and an organic blueberry farmer. More information about her may be found at www.maryricketson.com.

NC Writers’ Network-West is continuing to stay in touch and use technology to share our writing. We will offer writing events and writing classes online until we can safely meet face-to-face again.

We welcome those who were regulars at Coffee with the Poets and Writers, a popular meeting, which met at Moss Memorial Library. Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Also, those who wish to participate in Open Mic may sign up upon entering the meeting. We welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing.

MOUNTAIN WORDSMITHS RETURNS

Carroll Taylor will return on Thursday, January 27, 10: 30 AM, with the online writing group, Mountain Wordsmiths. This is sponsored by NCWN-West and all members will receive a Zoom invitation to participate. The meeting begins with a featured writer, and 2022 kicks off with Mary Ricketson, poet, who published two books in 2021. Mary is very popular with poetry lovers in the southwestern mountains of North Carolina and in North Georgia. 

We will have more information about Mary and about the program on January 27 so stay tuned.

REDHAWK PUBLICATIONS ZOOMS POETS INCLUDING MARY RICKETSON, NETWEST MEMBER

 Please join Redhawk Publications as we have an end-of-year zoom session with our poets that have published their books over the past few months.

 

Jake Young, Mary Ricketson, Paul Jones, Schereeya, and Tim Peeler will answer questions and read their poems.

Join us! WED. DEC. 1st   6pm – 7:15pm….

 

Cute video because that’s what we do:  https://youtu.be/VGIVGcGDkdc

 

REGISTER FOR THE ZOOM LINK HERE: www.tinyurl.com/5poets1zoom

 

And why not buy your books in advance! 😉   www.redhawkpublications.com

Keeping in Place, a poetry book by Mary Ricketson

 

 

Finishing Line Press  

Announces the Publication of   

Mary Ricketson's 

Keeping in Place poems of COVID, sheltered in place  

                                                                       Cover photo by Alex Peers 

 

I’d love for you to have a copy of my new poetry chapbook, written while I’ve been at home during the pandemic. I made my way through COVID and the necessary quarantine.  

  

You can order now, until early May, for printing and shipping in July.  I’m spreading the word now because the publisher bases the print run on the number of prepublication orders received. So, please feel free to send this notice to anyone who might be interested.   

  Reviews:  

 In Keeping in Place, Mary Ricketson pays homage to the natural world she loves, securing emotions she treasures.  Her identity flourishes as she longs for the end of Pandemic… 

Shelby Stephenson, Poet Laureate of North Carolina, 2015-2018, author of Slavery and Freedom on Paul’s Hill and More 

 

Mary Ricketson’s Keeping in Place is one of the first of a new generation of poems inspired by the global pandemic of 2020, and it invites the reader to find balance, if not solace… 

Catherine Carter, author of The Memory of Gills, The Swamp Monster at Home, and Larvae of the Nearest Stars, professor of English, Western Carolina University. 

 

Mary Ricketson with her intense love for nature and mountain life has found a way in her book to interweave beautiful images with the seriousness and isolation of the Corona Virus. 

Glenda Barrett, author of When the Sap Rises, and The Beauty of Silence 

 

Keeping in Place is a collection of poems where the speaker, stricken by COVID, turns her focus to nature…Solo, ill, and counting the days since she’s been touched, the speaker still makes the reader chuckle… 

Rosemary R. Royston, author of Splitting the Soil 

 

Mary Ricketson lives in the Appalachian Mountains and maintains a private practice as a mental health counselor.  Her poems often reflect the healing power of nature, surrounding mountains as midwives 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.     www.maryricketson.com  

 Order online at: http://www.finishinglinepress.com, search for Keeping in Place, click to order.  

or https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/keeping-in-place-by-mary-ricketson/  

  

Or mail your order to Finishing Line Press:  

Please send me __ copy(ies) of Keeping in Place, $14.99 per copy plus $2.99 shipping per copy, 1.99 for extra copies.  

Enclosed is my check or money order (payable to Finishing Line Press) for $____________   

  

Name_______________________________________________ 

  

Address___________________________________________   

  

City/State/Zip______________________________________   

  

Please send check or money order to: Finishing Line Press Post Office Box 1626 Georgetown, KY 40324  

  

 

Mary Ricketson, poet and mental health counselor, writing through a pandemic

Mary, thank you for being our guest on Netwest Writers today and taking time to answer our questions. You work as a mental health counselor, and I imagine the pandemic has changed your work life in many ways.

GCB:  Are you working from home and are your clients accepting the new methods you have to use now?

Mary: Thank you for asking about my work as a counselor.  It’s the science, talent, and heart that feeds me well beyond whatever we usually think of as career.

Yes, I’m working from home.  Most people are fine with this change from in person visits at my downtown office, since all of us understand the safety needs of the pandemic.  I have a revolving door of clientele, so already there are some I’ve never met in person.  There are a few people who prefer to wait, deal with their issues when they can meet with a therapist in person.  I treat that like any other personal preference- it’s up to them, handle it with all the respect any human being deserves.

The pandemic is very stressful for people.  No one calls for help simply because of the pandemic, but it adds to stresses already there.

             

GCB: I imagine you had to learn new technology for working at home and did your clients have trouble accepting the changes?

Mary: Primarily I’m working via my cellphone.  I’ve learned to use speaker phone so the phone is not in my ear all the time, and I’ve learned some tricks about how to keep it charged.  I do meet via video with skype.  I already knew how to use this, so I’ve managed to avoid learning a whole new technology, thankfully.

Some people have to go out to their car with their phone to gain the privacy needed for a counseling session.  Other people simply can’t manage because their children are home from school.  Some arrange for child care.  Others muddle through.

GCB: Do you find working from home more tiring or easier than going to your office each day?

Mary: I miss my office.  I thought it would be a real treat to work from home, and indeed in some ways it is.  I’m incredibly more fatigued at the end of my work day now.  It takes much more energy to attend only via voice, or even the face that shows in the  video of skype or any other tele-conference.  I’m constantly finding words and asking questions to make up for the nonverbal cues and the energy I usually get in person.  Besides that, there is a difference in the reward I feel.  Nothing makes up for that in person energy exchange.  For now, however, it’s safety at all cost.

GCB; You are a poet. How has this chaotic time affected your writing? Do you feel less creative or more creative in your writing? Do you find you write more now being home so much?

Mary: I’ve been determined to write as much or more as usual during this pandemic.  I’m counting on creativity and my time in nature to bring me the balance I need in life.  Honestly, the pandemic stress is so gigantic, it’s a tough call to meet that balance.  I can keep writing and even bring poems to completion, but the business side of writing, like submitting, is suffering down here at my place.

My schedule is to get focused during my early morning walk, then start writing before the world gets in my way, and before going to work.  I’ve kept this schedule during this odd time.  It gives a predictability to my life, and I think it keeps me tuned with the time and ritual when I expect my creativity to appear.  I even take a note pad on my walk, write down images or ideas.  If I don’t, it all drifts away like a dream you think you are going to remember.

 GCB: Recently you published a poetry book, a memoir in poetry, about your parents and your life growing up in Mississippi. Tell us how that book came to be. Did you set out to write poems for this book or did you find you had poems already written that fit in this theme?

Mary: Slowly I came to a decision that my life in Mississippi during my formative years was worthwhile.  I avoided knowing that for a great deal of my adulthood, embarrassed about the racism of the times.  Other problems in my family were not what I wanted to write about.  I worked within myself for quite some time to find the worth, discover what I was proud of. 

I did set out on purpose to write the poems that turned into the book.  I went through picture albums, remembering, jotting notes all over my house.  I phoned my brother and sister, asking for tidbits and gems.  I talked to my parents, if you can really talk to the dead.  I called one cousin on my mother’s side, and I talked often to my aunt on my dad’s side.  All this generated memories in a kaleidoscope kind of fashion.  I was thrilled and frustrated with no pattern coming to the surface. 

I kept noticing point of view in any kind of poems I read.  I got the idea to get inside my parents as best I could, try to experience the move to Mississippi and our life there, how it must have been for them.  That turned a corner.  I got excited to the max, started writing in every spare minute I could find.  By the end, I had fallen in love with my parents and found a new aspect of being proud of my life.

 GCB: Do you prefer traditional publishing  or self-publishing of your poetry books?
         Mary: So far, I’ve only published by traditional publishing. I’m intrigued by self-publishing; I may go there yet. Mainly I want to present my writing in the most professional and respectful way I can.

 GCB: I find that marketing is the hardest and most time consuming part of being a writer. How do you feel about marketing and do you have any tips for our readers on how to best handle this part of being a writer?

Mary: I always wish I knew more about marketing, or that it would come easier, and that someone would do it for me.  No one does it for me, it’s harder than it looks and it constantly changes, and no one seems to understand enough. 

For me, it helps to talk about my books to everyone I know and even some I don’t know.  I have to push myself about this.  I read in public everywhere I can, bring books for sale, and keep looking for new places to read.  I try to invent places to read.  I stop myself from dreaming about being popular and fame coming naturally to me.  I go to writing conferences whenever I can, volunteer to read and also trade books with other authors.

I keep wanting to learn to budget my time to spend a regular portion of time weekly on the business end of writing.  I’m not there yet, but I’m sure it’s the right practice to achieve.

 GCB: You have been a member of NCWN and NCWN-West for two decades. How has this membership benefited your writing life?

Mary: I would have done nothing with my writing if I had not been a member of the North Carolina Writers' Network.  The alliance with other writers has been the cornerstone of my writing.  The tradition of joining with others for critiquing our work has been skill-building help and a motivator for me.  I’ve grown in confidence as a writer during my time as a member.  I need my connection with other writers in order to grow. 

 GCB: I often teach aspiring writers. What advice would you give an aspiring poet who wants to one day publish his/her poetry?

Mary: Write daily if at all possible.  I used to set my alarm for 5 am so I could write for an hour before getting my child up for school, do all the getting ready, and then go to work myself.

Share your work with others.  You don’t quite know yourself if you live in total isolation.  It’s the same with writing.

Read your work in public.  Our reading events are as much for ourselves, our own growth as for the opportunity to share and entertain.

Write from your own experience.  Be willing to learn who you are, be willing to be surprised at who you find.

Tell the truth when you write, even if you change the truth somehow.  That may sound like a riddle.  It’s not.

 GCB: Tell us about each of your poetry books, please, and where they can be purchased.

Mary: Disorgananza was my first book, in 2000.  It’s a small book, printed on a home computer, and put together for family and friends, mostly as Christmas gifts. 

I have one copy only now.

I Hear the River Call my Name is my chapbook, my first book via a publisher, Finishing Line Press, 2007.  I didn’t know I could do this.  I took a class in putting a chapbook together simply because the class was being offered, and well why not?  This book is out of print.  When I spend more time on the business of writing, I’ll figure out how to re-publish it.

Hanging Dog Creek is myfirst full length book, published by Future Cycle Press, 2014.  I did this on a wing and a prayer. 
I had to deal with a lot of editorial suggestions and even harsh criticism.  But someone there believed in me, and kept encouraging me not to give up.  I had lost a great deal in life by then, that there was no way to keep.  I was determined to get this done, and I did.

Shade and Shelter was published by Kelsay Press, 2017.  I felt like I sent that manuscript to a million places, and ultimately changed the title a time or two.  Once Karen Kelsay accepted it, there were no significant changes to be made.

Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian was also published by Kelsay, 2019.  I frankly did not know how in the world I would get this book published.  Over and over I submitted it.   When I was ready to start over with a real big breath, I sent an inquiry to Kelsay press because I had not received a response in the time they advertise.  I got an almost immediate reply saying my book was already accepted, but someone in the chain of staff had not seen her email.  After that, things went pretty fast.

Hanging Dog Creek, Shade and Shelter, and Mississippi are all available directly from me, or from Curiosity Bookstore in Murphy, or City Lights in Sylva,NC or order on Amazon.

Thanks, Glenda, for this opportunity to converse about writing.  It’s been fun.

GCB: We appreciate Mary Ricketson taking time for our interview and for all she does for writers.

Follow Mary on FB or check out her membership page here.

Glenda Council Beall is Program Coordinator for NCWN-West , Owner/director for Writers Circle around the Table. 
gcbmountaingirl@gmail.com

Ricketson and Davis Featured at Coffee with the Poets and Writers

Mary Ricketson

            Coffee with the Poets and Writers (CWPW) will feature poet Mary Ricketson and writer James F. Davis on Wednesday, November 20, at 10:30 a.m. at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC. 

The event is free and open to the public. An open mic will follow the presentations. Bring a poem or a short prose piece to participate. CWPW is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West (NCWN-W) which also includes writers in Towns, Union, Fannin, and Rabun Counties in Georgia.

            Ricketson, from Murphy NC, is inspired by nature and by her work as a mental health counselor. Her poetry is published in Wild Goose Poetry Review, Future Cycle Press, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Red Fox Run, It’s All Relative, Speckled Trout, Old Mountain Press, Whispers, Voices, and Disorgananza. Her work also includes her chapbook I Hear the River Call my Name as well as three full length collections, Hanging Dog Creek, Shade and Shelter, and her newest, Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian, published  in 2019.

            She writes a monthly column, “Women to Women,” for The Cherokee Scout.  She is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in private practice and is also an organic vegetable, herb, and blueberry farmer.

James Davis

            James Davis lives in Clay County, NC. He is a member of the North Carolina Writers Network, Ridgeline Literary Alliance, North Georgia Writer's Club, and the Mountain Area Story Tellers. He won second place in a national literary contest. Most of his writing and stories have a humorous bent about personal experiences with people he met.

            Davis grew up working on a family farm. He earned a degree in economics from Cornell University. He earned an MBA in International Affairs and Business and served three years in the Army, leaving as a Captain. The major part of his working life was spent as an international banker.

            He traveled to over fifty countries while living in Europe and Latin America. Through his profession, he had the opportunity to meet world leaders.  Davis served as an elected representative for twenty years in Darien, CT. 

               For more information about this event, please contact Glenda Beall at: glendabeall@msn.com.

by Carroll S. Taylor, CWPW publicity chair and author of The Chinaberry Summer Series

Kelsay books announces the publication of Mary Peavey Ricketson's new poetry book, Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian

Poet Mary P. Ricketson's new full length collection of poems, Mississippi: The Story ofLuke and Marian, was published by Kelsay Books, this July of 2019.

Ricketson says: 

'This is my family's story, from the perspective of racial tensions in troubled Mississippi, 1948-1969, and the parents who found a way through those tedious times.  My series of narrative poems are of memory, conflict, and resolve, experiences of my parents and myself, as they raised children in segregation and still kept their belief in the equality of all people.' 

The Amazon Books info is at https://www.amazon.com/Mississippi-Marian-Mary-Peavey-Ricketson/dp/195046203X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=376RR2LULL3SX&keywords=mary+ricketson&qid=1566229885&s=books&sprefix=mary+ricket%2Caps%2C258&sr=1-1

Mary Ricketson, Murphy NC, has been writing poetry 20 years. She is inspired by nature and her work as a mental health counselor.  Her poetry has been published in Wild Goose Poetry Review, Future Cycle Press, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Red Fox Run, It’s All Relative, Old Mountain Press, and Whispers. Her chapbook, I Hear the River Call my Name, and two full length poetry collections, Hanging Dog Creek, and Shade and Shelter.

Currently Mary is using her own poetry to present empowerment workshops, combining roles as writer and her helping role as a therapist. Mary Ricketson’s poems and activities relate with nature, facilitate talk about a personal path and focus on growth in ordinary and unusual times.

Rickertson is Cherokee County representative to North Carolina Writers Network West, and president of Ridgeline Literary Alliance. 

Mary won first place in the 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest 75th anniversary national poetry contest.

She writes a monthly column, Women to Women, for The Cherokee Scout.  She is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor and an organic blueberry farmer.

Ricketson's next scheduled readings will be at:

Body Sense

2226 Ridgecrest Circle 

Hiawassee, Georgia 30546

Wednesday, September 18, 2019, 5:00 PM  

Taste Full Beans

29 2nd St NW 

Hickory, North Carolina 28601 

Tuesday, November 12, 2019, 7:00 PM 

City Lights Bookstore

 3 E. Jackson Street 

Sylva, North Carolina 28779

Saturday, November 16, 2019, 3:00 PM 

Coffee with the Poets and Writers

Moss Memorial Library

26 Anderson Street

Hayesville, North Carolina 28904

Wednesday, November 20, 2019, 10:30 AM