Showing posts with label Mary Ricketson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mary Ricketson. Show all posts

Tuesday, July 12, 2016

Photos from NCWN-West's booth at the Festival on the Square, Hayesville, NC, July 2016

North Carolina Writers' Network West's booth at the Festival on the Square, Hayesville, North Carolina hosted poet and writer attendees including: Tom and Polly Davis, Glenda Council Beall, Mary Ricketson, Rosemary Royston, Marcia Hawley Barnes, Joan M. Howard, Lucy Cole Gratton, Janice Townley Moore, Staci Lynn Bell,Bob Grove, and Joan Ellen Gage. Below are some photos of the event.

Rosemary Royston

Glenda Council Beall

Bob Grove and Lucy Cole Gratton

Glenda Council Beall, Bob Grove, Lucy Cole Gratton, Janice Townley Moore, and Lucy Rozier. Hidden is Joan M. Howard


Tom Davis and Janice Townley Moore
Marcia Hawley Barnes

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Curiosity Shop Bookstore, Murphy, NC, to host book signing Sat. 11/28/15, 11 AM to 3 PM for: It’s All Relative: Tales from the Tree, from 50 WNC Women Writers

Celia H. Miles and Nancy Dillingham, are co-editors and contributors of a new anthology by 50 women writers from western North Carolina, entitled: It’s All Relative: Tales from the Tree – celebrating the lives of women and their connections with their families.

Celia Miles, a native of Appalachia, was a long-time English instructor at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. She is retired and living in Asheville, does freelance editing and writing in various genres.

Nancy Dillingham is a writer, educator and a sixth-generation native from Big Ivy in Western North Carolina. She currently lives in Asheville, NC.

Local authors who contributed to It's all Relative, are from Clay County, Glenda Council Beall, M.C. Brooks, and Blanche L.Ledford. Cherokee County authors who contributed are, Lucy Cole Gratton, Mary Rickertson, and Peg Russell.


The Curiosity Shop Bookstore in Murphy, NC will host the book signing this Saturday, 11/28/2015, from 11 AM to 3 PM. Please come out and show your support for these local authors!

Glenda Council Beall, a Georgia native, lives in Hayesville, NC, and is the owner and director of 'Writers Circle Around the Table', a studio for writers. She also teaches writing in the continuing education department at Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and in anthologies. Beall has also published short stories and personal essays.
She has a poetry chapbook, entitled: Now Might as Well be Thenand a family history book Profiles and Pedigrees.
 
M.C. Brooks was a student in one of Glenda Council Beall's memoir writing class at Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC.

Blanche L.Ledford is a native Appalachian poet, who co-authored the book Simplicity with her daughter Brenda Kay Ledford. Her work has been in many Old Mountain Press Anthologies, and the NCWN-West anthology, Echos Across the Blue Ridge. She also wrote the book, Planting by the Signs, which won the Paul Green Multi-media award from the NC Society of Historians, in 2012.

Lucy Cole Gratton, a native of Decatur, Georgia, has been writing for herself for many years, only lately seeking to publish with some success both nationally and internationally. She has been published in the Wild Goose Poetry Review, is the editor of the book, Red Fox Run,
and has a chapbook published entitled, Inagehi.
 
Mary Ricketson has had her poetry published in many journals, has a chapbook called, I Hear the River Call my Name, and is the author of Hanging Dog Creek. She is also published in the NCWN-West anthology, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge and in the book, Red Fox Run. She also has a chapbook, I Hear the River Call My Name. Mary is the Cherokee County Representative for the North Carolina Writers Network-West and is the president of Ridgeline Literary Alliance.

Peg Russell is a poet and writer. She is the former Prose leader for the NCWN-West Prose Workshop and is published in the NCWN-West anthology, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge. Russell also writes short essays.

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Mary Ricketson, poet, reads at Coffee with the Poet March 19 in Sylva

Coffee with the Poet at City Lights Books Features Mary Ricketson

The Coffee with the poet series continues on Thursday, March 19th at 10:30 a.m at City Lights Books in Sylva, NC
The March gathering will feature Cherokee County resident, Mary Ricketson.  She will read selections of poetry from her first full-length collection Hanging Dog Creek.  

Her poems include topics about fear, hardship, courage and the joys in everyday life.  Ricketson has been writing for over 20 years.  Her work is inspired by nature and her profession as a mental health counselor. She won the gold medal for poetry in the 2011 Cherokee County Senior Games/Silver Arts and silver medal for 2012 and 2013, and first place in the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest 75th anniversary national poetry contest. 

The Coffee with the Poet series meets the third Thursday of every month and is cosponsored by the North Carolina Writers' Network--West, the mountain chapter of the North Carolina Writers' Network. 

For more information on the Coffee with the Poet please call City Lights Bookstore at 828-586-9499.

City Lights Books
3 E Jackson St.
Sylva, NC 28779

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Mary Ricketson's March 'Woman to Woman' Column

Cherokee County NCWN/NetWest Representative Mary Ricketson writes a monthly column for the local newspaper, the Cherokee Scout. She has graciously shared her March column with us:
"March is women’s history month.  We are amazing people.  I am inspired by literally every woman I meet.  Every one of us has something to offer the world in some dimension.  All of us are unique, no one like us in the whole universe.  But unless we are famous, our stories get lost in the shuffle. 
One way to inspire girls and women is to tell stories of accomplished women.  Famous women like the pilot Amelia Earhart and astronaut Sally Ride inspire all of us.  We should keep telling the stories of famous women and their accomplishments.  But we should tell our local stories too.  Women in our families and those next door, and in the next county leave footprints every day for the rest of us to follow.  Each of us leaves footprints.  We are known for our courage, self-sacrifice, accomplishments and sometimes for our cooking.  We are known for our brains, our smile, our guts, and our stubbornness.
I remember a story of my mother.  I was a little girl, and my sister was a toddler.  We were walking in the park on a sunny afternoon, and there was a duck pond.  This duck pond was very special and inviting, and the sun shined on the deepest spot.  Somehow my mother got distracted, looked away, and did not see my sister walk into the pond.  She wanted to pet the ducks.  Now, my sister didn’t know how to swim but my mother did not either.  Quickly my mother turned around to see her youngest daughter sinking in the water.  Mother, armed only with adrenaline, rushed right in that pond, grabbed her precious child, and got back to shore before either of them drowned.  My sister does not walk into duck ponds anymore, but she does walk daily into difficult projects with single minded determination.  And she learned how to swim.
This story gets told over and over, for the memory, for the laughs, for the courage, and for any other reason that comes to mind.  Most of our stories are not pilots, astronauts, politicians, or anyone famous.  Our stories are about women in our lives, salt of the earth women, women who keep life going anyway we can.
Let’s tell the history of women, our women, and keep ourselves inspired.  Let’s tell our stories to girls and also to boys.  Let’s tell stories of women with a spirit of respect and admiration.  We are not courageous all the time, and we are not perfect.  We are ordinary women, and special and wonderful and unique, every one of us.  Keep our stories alive."
Thank you, Mary. We also hope that women everywhere will be inspired.

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Woman to Woman, by Mary Ricketson

Mary Ricketson, the Cherokee county Netwest Representative, writes a column for the Cherokee Scout newspaper entitled Woman to Woman. Copied below are the contents of her column for the issue of September 25, 2013, important because of its emphasis on helping girls develop their self esteem. Thank you, Mary!

"Last month, on August 26, we celebrated women’s equality day.  We are well versed by now about the gains women have made in the past century, starting with the right to vote, on down to women in leadership and our growth toward equal pay.  Women’s opportunities today are better, even though we have not made it to full equality.

Still, girls’ self esteem and girls’ academic achievement tend to drop during the teen years, starting in middle school.

Low self esteem means someone thinks she is less than her peers, maybe unworthy, un-loveable, even incompetent.  It does not mean it is true, it just feels true.  Eventually this low self esteem type thinking can lead to self defeating behavior.

Teenage girls are very aware of their looks and about what males think of them.  Teen girls who have a poor self concept are more likely than others to engage in behaviors with boys that they will later regret.  They sell themselves short in expectations for education and employment.

Perception is not always accurate.  For instance, 7 out of 10 girls are said to believe they are not as good as their peers.  This is all about how they feel about their appearance, their grades, and their relationships with anybody.  A girl’s self esteem relates less to her actual body weight and more to how she perceives her body.

So, for all the opportunities in today’s life, why do so many girls lag behind? Sometimes it is fear of success.  Other times it is the age-old fear of being smarter than boys.  Always, in our society there is great pressure for girls to look good.  We are surrounded by pictures of good looks that are impossible to achieve.

Girls are great.  Girls are wonderful.  In all shapes and sizes, talents, interests and achievements, girls are individuals with something unique to offer.  Girls who take physical risks are more confident individuals, even if not athletic.  Girls who engage in cooperative activities gain self esteem.  Girls who receive recognition for accomplishments grow self respect.

To counteract the downward spiral of self esteem, let’s help a girl have specific positive experiences.  Help her find an activity she loves, something she can pursue with all her brains and guts.  Let her make choices and decisions for herself whenever possible.  Encourage her to solve issues independently. Allow her to express her own opinions, even disagree.  Respect her.  Let her know you like or love her because of who she is, not simply for how she looks.

Find more at dosomething.org, pbs parents, and dove.us, girls unstoppable.

Credits: Mary Ricketson makes her home in Cherokee county. She is a licensed professional counselor in private practice in Murphy. She has a special interest in women’s issues."

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Mary Ricketson and Nadine Justice to read at JCCFS Thursday night


JOHN C. CAMPBELL FOLK SCHOOL

              At 7:00 p.m. Thursday, February 21, 2013,  John C. Campbell Folk School  and  NC Writers Network West sponsor the monthly reading in the Keith House by members of NCWN. The reading is free of charge and open to the public.  Poets Mary Ricketson and writer, Nadine Justice will be the featured readers.  

Mary Ricketson’s poetry has been published in her chapbook, I Hear the River Call My Name, Lights in the MountainsFreeing Jonah IV, Freeing Johah V, Wild Goose Poetry ReviewFuture Cycle Press,Your Daily Poem, Journal of Kentucky Studies, various magazines and in Disorgananza, a private collection distributed among family and friends.  She won the gold medal for poetry in the 2011 Cherokee County Senior Games/Silver Arts.  She won first place in the 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest national poetry contest.
Mary writes a monthly column, Woman to Woman, for The Cherokee Scout.  She is a member of the North Carolina Writers Network, a mental health counselor, and a farmer.

Mary says she writes to satisfy a hunger, to taste life all the way down to the last drop.  She gains perspective from family and friends, her Appalachian home, and her life’s work as a counselor.

Writing poetry places her in kinship with her own life.
Mary Ricketson is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Murphy, North Carolina.  She brings more than thirty years experience to her work, with twenty-five years in private practice.  She is a founding board member of  REACH.  She has a special interest in women’s issues, victims of abuse, and family and couple relationships.  She offers innovative ways to effect change in difficult life patterns, including Journey to Intuition and Neurofeedback.  She is listed in Who’s Who in American Women.


Nadine Justice


Nadine Justice divides her time between a mountain-top cottage in north Georgia and her home in Atlanta. For the past few years she has worked on a memoir which was published last year. Excerpts have been published in an anthology by the Georgia Mountain Writers Club. She also enjoys a successful career as an interior designer. Her design work has been featured twice in Better Homes and Gardens and in Atlanta Custom Home magazines.

Nadine grew up in West Virginia and is the daughter of a coal miner. She is married to a retired federal agent, and enjoys spending time with her four “perfect” grandchildren.

Nadine is a new member of the North Carolina Writers' Network. She will share portions of her book, I'm a coal Miner's Daughter, But I Cain't Sang, at the reading on Thursday night. 

Friday, June 8, 2012

Mary Ricketson on the Program to Read at CWP June 13


Coffee with the Poets will have two Netwest featured readers this month, June 13, 10:30 a.m. Mary Ricketson is also on the program Wednesday with Maren Mitchell.

Mary Ricketson’s poetry has been published in her chapbook, I Hear the River Call My Name, Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Freeing Jonah IV, Freeing Johah V, and Wild Goose Poetry Review, Future Cycle Press, Your Daily Poem, various magazines and blogs, and in Disorgananza, a private collection distributed among family and friends. She won the gold medal for poetry in the 2011 Cherokee County Senior Games/Silver Arts and silver medal for 2012. She won first place in the 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest national poetry contest.

Mary writes a monthly column, Woman to Woman, for The Cherokee Scout. She is a long time member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network. Mary says she writes to satisfy a hunger, to taste life all the way down to the last drop. She gains perspective from family and friends, her Appalachian home, and her life’s work as a counselor. Writing poetry places her in kinship with her own life.

Mary Ricketson is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Murphy, North Carolina. She brings more than thirty years experience to her work, with twenty-five years in private practice. She is a founding board member of REACH. She has a special interest in women’s issues, victims of abuse, and family and couple relationships. She offers innovative ways to effect change in difficult life patterns, including Journey to Intuition and Neurofeedback. She is listed in Who’s Who in America.

Come out to hear Mary and Maren share their delightful poetry at Coffee with the Poets on Wednesday, June 13.



Thursday, March 15, 2012

Robert S. King, poet and editor, at Coffee with the Poets

Robert S. King                                                                                Nancy Simpson




         Nancy and Mary listen to Robert read.

Mary Ricketson from Murphy, NC will read her poetry at the book launch for the anthology, Future Cycle Flash Fiction - Poetry 2011, March 23 at City Lights Books in Sylva, NC. A number of Netwest members are listed in the table of contents for the book. Glenda Beall and Carole Thompson are also on the program to read at City Lights.



Brenda Kay Ledford 
will be the featured reader in April.


We appreciate Liz, owner of Cafe Touche. Besides the delicious sweets, she is now offering lunch. We can continue our socializing right there after the readings. Today the menu was baked ziti and a salad bar.




Sunday, May 24, 2009

Candy Maier Scholarship Fund

Mary Ricketson, Netwest Rep for Cherokee County, Mary Jo Dyre, Netwest Representative on the Board for NCWN Board of Trustees, Glenda Beall, Program Coordinator for Netwest, Gwendie Camp, Chairman of the Candy Fund, Cheryl Dietrich, treasurer of the Candy Fund stand in front of a beautiful quilt at the Curiosity Shop Bookstore in Murphy. The quilt was raffled off and a name drawn the day of our visit.

Recently Gwendie Camp and Cheryl Dietrich drove down to join Mary Jo Dyre who acts as a liaison for the Candy Fund, and her guests, Mary Ricketson and Glenda Beall to discuss the future of the new non-profit charity over lunch at Shoebooties' restaurant in Murphy. In the three years this fund has been active, they have raised $11,000 and given out 50 scholarships totaling $8, 000.
They are ready now to develop a website, send out a newsletter and hold a series of fundraisers. Gwendie says they have volunteer positions available on the Board of Directors and for regional coordinators to reach out beyond the boundaries of Asheville to women south and north of Buncombe county.

We offered our support from Netwest because we believe this to be a needed organization. The Candy Maier Fund provided scholarships to several of our members in the past couple of years. The Fund is seeking donations to help meet the growing need for Candy Fund scholarships. Donations, any amount is appreciated, are tax-exempt.The Candy Fund is the only scholarship program of its type in this area.
You can reach the Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers by email: thecandyfund@yahoo.com or by snail mail: 4B Long shoals Road #164, Arden, North Carolina, 28704-7781.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Mary Ricketson and her husband Bill Killen

Mary Ricketson, Murphy resident, served Netwest as treasurer for the past year and a half. She did a terrific job in spite of the busy life she leads. Mary is a mental health counselor and also the founder of the REACH program in Murphy NC. She writes a column for the local newspaper. Her poetry chapbook, The River Calls My Name, was published by Finishing Line Press last year.
Although her busy schedule means she had to resign as treasurer , she continues as the Cherokee County Representative for Netwest.
Thanks Mary for the great job you do for NCWN West.
With Mary is her husband, Bill Killen, artist.
Posted by Picasa

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







Tuesday, September 16, 2008

NCWN West 17th Annual Picnic a Big Success

If you were not able to attend the 17th annual NCWN West picnic held Sunday in Murphy NC , I’m sorry you missed it.

Writers from Haywood County, Jackson County, Cherokee and Clay Counties, from Georgia and one visitor from Buncombe County came down.
Gary Carden, playwright, storyteller and writer, held us rapt with his talk, his reading of poetry by Jim Wayne Miller and a great story about a fish that drowned because he forgot where he came from.

Fantastic dishes of all kinds, including Peg Russell’s rum cake, a popular pumpkin pie, salads and desserts and vegetables like new potatoes and fresh green beans loaded the table.

A long list for open mic kept us later than we had planned but almost everyone who signed up had the opportunity to read. We were happy to have those who came for the first time and even happier to have those new writers and poets join Netwest.

We’re pleased to see so many attending who had first come to one of our workshops. I see future Netwest leaders in the women and men who joined us for the picnic.

As always we are pleased when our former Program Coordinators, Nancy Simpson and Shirley Uphouse are present. The Netwest Representative for the Board of Trustees of NCWN, Al Manning came and brought several people with him. JC Walkup from Canton also brought writers from her area.

My photographer was not able to come today, but Peg Russell made several pictures and I will share them on the blog as soon as I can find an easy way to do so.

As many of you know, I will be resigning as PC at the end of this year. To my surprise I was acknowledged by JC Walkup and Peggy Morse with a lovely card and gift certificate to my favorite local restaurant. They expressed appreciation for making the writers in their area feel more a part of Netwest. I am happy that our 80 members feel closer to each other and hopefully in the years to come we will share readings between counties and teachers between counties. And I hope every one of the members of Netwest will support each other and promote each other in any way possible.

Thanks to Mary Ricketson and Jerry Hobbs, Netwest representatives for Cherokee County, for hosting this year’s picnic. They deserve the appreciation of all of us. I look forward to next year’s picnic wherever it will be.

Friday, December 7, 2007

Netwest Poets

With Christmas season upon us, we are all busy and I am traveling back and forth from south Georgia to help my sister move to Atlanta. Posting on a regular basis will be hard if not impossible this month.

Netwest Poetry group met at Tri-County College last night where we had the first opportunity to see Mary Ricketson's chapbook from Finishing Line Press. The cover is her own photograph of the river she writes about and it's beautiful. Another Netwest writer, Robert Kimsey, has been extremely busy in recent months teaching young people in schools in Fannin County GA. Robert was asked by students who met him at the Blue Ridge Writers Conference last year, to come to their school and talk about writing. Now he has so many schools and teachers requesting him, he stays busy all the time. I'm proud we have this caring and generous member of Netwest giving back to his community. Robert has published two poetry collections. They are some of my favorite poetry books.