Jeff Stewart Featured Reader at Mountain Wordsmiths Feb. 22

 Award-winning writer Jeff Stewart will be the featured reader at Mountain Wordsmiths’ gathering on Thursday, February 22, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. The monthly event is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.

Jeff Stewart

Stewart is a man of many gifts. He is a healthcare consultant, scientist, inventor, author, playwright, and father of seven. He was a Jeopardy! College Champion and runner-up in the Tournament of Champions. Stewart lives in Cary, NC..

Stewart’s book, "Living: Inspiration from a Father with Cancer," was named the best cancer book of 2023 at the 20th annual American BookFest awards. Their review states, “'Living' tells the story of a molecular biologist, Jeopardy! champion, and cancer patient. Cancer patients and their caregivers will find valuable insider advice… 'Living' is more than a book about cancer. 'Living' is a book about life.”

"Living" also received a “get it” rating from Kirkus Reviews, which called Stewart’s book “Complex and thoughtful, with a refreshingly upbeat attitude.” BookLife from Publisher's Weekly called "Living" a "remarkable memoir" and "a final and powerful act of love."

“So many cancer books are downers,” says Stewart. “I wanted my cancer book to be funny and helpful. I’m excited by the award and positive reviews, but it’s when someone tells me, ‘Your book helped me understand what my mother was going through’ that it all feels worth it.”

Ken Jennings—yes that Ken Jennings—blurbed Stewart’s book, calling it “a moving message-in-a-bottle from a great Jeopardy! champion—who also turns out to be a writer with a rare gift for aphorism and insight.”

To learn more about Jeff Stewart, you can watch his interviews on youtube.com.

Mountain Wordsmiths gatherings will always take place on Zoom. NCWN-West is also continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. Writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because they can join our gatherings from other locations across America. Attendees are welcome to bring a poem or short prose piece to read during Open Mic. Please limit the reading to 3-5 minutes.

Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com or ncwngeorgiarep@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Our group is informal, and we We welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as we share our thoughts about writing.

Author Karen Lauritzen is January Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

By Carroll S. Taylor

Mountain Wordsmiths will begin its 2024 year of gatherings with a stellar guest reader, Karen Lauritzen, on Thursday, January 25, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. The monthly event is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.

Karen Lauritzen

Lauritzen writes short stories, poetry, essays and memoir. Her work has been published in "WNC-Woman Magazine," "The Chrysalis Reader," "Carpe Articulum," and others. Her memoir, "Nothing Vanishes, Memoir of a Life Transformed," was published in 2012. She was awarded ¬ first place in non-¬fiction for her short story, “Making My Way Home,” in the 2023 Porter Fleming Literary Awards through the Morris Museum of Art. "Just the Right Kind of Wrong" is her first novel. She lives in North Carolina.

“In Just the Right Amount of Wrong," author Karen Lauritzen deftly crafts the story of 23-year-old Toni Margiani, whose flawed and broken life propels her to St. Mary’s Abbey where she sets forth on a journey of self-discovery and spiritual growth. This book is a page-turner that leaves readers waiting for Lauritzen’s next contribution to literary fiction.” (author Peggy Tabor Millin)

Sandra I. Brown, MA, psychotherapist, writes, “Lauritzen portrays the ‘courageous terror’ a victim of a socially hidden psychopath experiences and the unlikely path of restoration. All recovery is a journey of heroism and Lauritzen deeply portrays the victim’s experience of harrowing fear and courage.”

Readers can find more about Lauritzen on her blog at her website karenlauritzen.com where she talks about the development of her writing process.

Mountain Wordsmiths gatherings always take place on Zoom. NCWN-West is also continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. Writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because they can join our gatherings from other locations across America. Attendees are welcome to bring a poem or short prose piece to read during Open Mic. Please limit the reading to 3-5 minutes.

Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com or ncwngeorgiarep@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Our group is informal, and we welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as we share our thoughts about writing.

Mary Jo Dyre featured guest reader at Oct. 26 Mountain Wordsmiths

      Author Mary Jo Dyre will be the featured reader for this month’s gathering of Mountain Wordsmiths on Thursday, October 26, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. The monthly event is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.

     Dyre, a talented author based in Western North Carolina, is a former educator, now working in insurance. She first finished and published her deceased brother Arnold Dyre’s half-completed manuscript of "Dark Spot," the fourth book in the Jake Baker series.

Mary Jo Dyre

     Next came a plotline of her own. "Springheads" combines multiple genres of historical fiction, romance, mystery, adventure, and fantasy to create a compelling story of self-discovery.

     Dyre's novel takes readers on a journey through time and space, from Mississippi to Arizona, and even South America, as the protagonist, Sarah Baker Bryant, discovers herself through connections to land and water that cradle home and deep-running family roots. Vivid descriptions transport readers to the westernmost mountains of North Carolina and a special piece of river property that holds great power and significance. Sense of place becomes a compelling character in its own right.

     Dyre says, "Dreams from real life inspired the writing of this particular book. These sequel dreams, so-called visions of the night, produced the creative, intriguing flow of tales mixed and connected through time in the plot of 'Springheads.' My characters revealed lives of their own making throughout the writing process, discovered only as I listened intently enough to bring them to the page through my words."

     NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. Writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because they can join our gatherings from other locations across America. Attendees are welcome to bring a poem or short prose piece to read during Open Mic. Please limit the reading to 3-5 minutes.

     Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com or ncwngeorgiarep@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link.  Mountain Wordsmiths is informal, and welcomes anyone who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as the group shares thoughts about writing.

Raven Chiong to be Featured Reader at Mountain Wordsmiths Sept. 28

Raven and Dulce

     Gifted (and beloved) poet and playwright Raven Chiong will be the featured reader for this month’s gathering of Mountain Wordsmiths on Thursday, Sept. 28, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. The monthly event is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.

     Chiong is a member of the North Carolina Writers Network, North Carolina Poetry Society, Utah State Poetry Society, Florida State Poetry Association, and National Federation of State Poetry Societies. Her poetry and prose have been widely published from coast to coast. Chiong will share her lifelong writing process and read selections from her recently published book, "Ode to the Still Small Voice-A Memoir of Listening."

     Her writing career began at five years of age when she became a loyal pen pal to her absent mother. She earned her Master of Arts in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Florida. She is a lifelong student, life coach, and educator. Career highlights include qualifying for the First Ever 1984 Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials and paying it forward with her 19-year cross country coaching career at DePauw University, Florida Atlantic University, Pine Crest Prep School, and Mills College. After a long competitive running and coaching career, she now runs her pen across the pages of this life.

     She has been working with Best Friends Animal Society since 2008. Above all, she is the proud and devoted mama of four rescue dogs who found her wandering in the high desert of Southern Utah. They are her ongoing source of inspiration, a-muse-ment, and greatest teachers.

     Email Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com for the Zoom link.

Bill Lightle is Featured Speaker at May 25 Mountain Wordsmiths

             Writer Bill Lightle will be the featured reader for the May gathering of Mountain Wordsmiths. The group will meet Thursday morning, May 25, at 10:30 via Zoom. Lightle is the author of "Race & Politics in the American South: A Personal History."

Bill Lightle

              Lightle lives and writes, both nonfiction and fiction, in Georgia. One reviewer said this of Lightle’s Southern fiction: “Readers everywhere will be captured by his new mystery series.” Another reviewer said his stories are “told with grace and understanding.” 

             In 1966, when he was nine, his family moved from Gas City, Indiana, to Albany, Georgia, where his father had accepted a job building aircraft. Lightle came of age reading newspapers and hearing stories, including those of The Great Depression and World War II, from his father and his friends. It was through these stories that he developed an appreciation for history and politics. 

             After graduating from Georgia Southwestern College in Americus in 1980 with a degree in political science, Lightle was hired as a general assignment reporter for the Albany Herald and went on to write for three other newspapers in the southeast in the 1980s, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He began a 29-year teaching career in the late 1980s and retired in 2017. But throughout that time, he continued to write for newspapers and publish books.

             For most of his adult life, he has been a political activist, which he chronicles in his latest book, "Race &Politics in the American South: A Personal History." 

             Lightle lives in the country in south Fayette County, Georgia, with his wife Phyllis, their two dogs, Mercy and Levi, and their cat Nigel. His wife has published a book of poetry, "Chasing Hemingway."
 

Poet Jill Jennings to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

By Carroll S. Taylor

Jill Jennings

       Poet Jill Jennings will be the featured reader for April’s gathering of Mountain Wordsmiths. The group will meet Thursday morning, April 27, at 10:30 via Zoom. One of the benefits of meeting online is the ability to host writers from all areas of the country. 

       Jennings, a retired teacher, linguist and journalist, is the author of three full-length poetry books, The Poetry Alarm Clock (2008); Dead Man’s Flower (2012); and Pineapple Wine: Poems of Maui (2019). Her poems have been published in in The Atlanta Review,  Oberon Poetry Magazine, Calamaro, Reach of Song (Georgia Poetry Society); Encore (The National Federation of State Poetry Societies);  Cadence  (Anthology of the Florida State Poets Association); Poetry of the Golden Generation (Kennesaw State University), and is a frequent contributor to Please See Me Literary Journal.

       Her work has been featured on Kinver Radio in the U.K.  In 2013, Jennings was awarded a U.S. Congressional Commendation for her career as an author and teacher of  Latin and English. She has served as Vice President, and Secretary of the Georgia Poetry Society and as Co-Coordinator of the Johns Creek Poetry Group.  She received her B.A. in Classics in 1969, followed by an M.A. in Classics in 1975, both from the University of Georgia. Since retiring she has kept busy teaching writing classes and setting up poetry slams for high school students. Originally from Georgia, she now lives with her husband in Fort Myers, Florida.  Follow her at www.jilljennings.org.

        NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. Many writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because of the ability to join our gatherings from other locations across America.       

        Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Our group is informal, and we welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as we share our thoughts about writing.

                                         

Poet and Writer Abbie Taylor to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

By Carroll S. Taylor
Guest Writer

 

Abbie Taylor

            Wyoming writer and poet Abbie Johnson Taylor will be the featured reader for this month’s gathering of Mountain Wordsmiths. The group will meet Thursday, March 23, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. One of the benefits of meeting online is the ability to host writers from all areas of the country. Taylor attends our gathering each month despite the early time difference between North Carolina and her home in Wyoming.
            She is the author of three novels, two poetry collections, and a memoir. She is currently working on a short story collection she hopes to publish this year. Her work has appeared in The Weekly Avocet, Magnets and Ladders, and other publications.
            Taylor is visually impaired and lives in Sheridan, WY, where for six years, she cared for her late husband who was totally blind and partially paralyzed by two strokes soon after they were married. With a BA in music, she worked as a registered music therapist with nursing home residents for 15 years before getting married and writing full-time. She also taught Braille, facilitated a support group for blind and visually impaired adults, and served on the advisory board to a trust fund that provides adaptive equipment and services to blind and visually impaired children and adults. To learn more about her, visit her website at: https://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com
            NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We continue to offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. 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. Our group is informal, and we welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as we share our thoughts about writing.

                                         

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.

Poet Louise Runyon to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

 By Carroll S. Taylor

Louise Runyon

 January 2023 begins a new year for Mountain Wordsmiths, an online writers’ gathering sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West. Our first gathering will meet on Thursday morning, January 26, at 10:30 a.m. on Zoom, and our featured speaker will be poet Louise Runyon, who will be sharing poetry from her fifth and most recent book of poems, Where Is Our Prague Spring?

 Her book examines Runyon's deep love for the mountains of Western North Carolina, her childhood experience of love here, and her attempts to reconcile this love with the hatred and division found in the present.  A great-niece of Lucy Morgan, founder of the renowned Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, Runyon honors her visionary and activist family in these poems.

 A resident of Sylva, NC , Runyon was born and raised in New York City but grew up at Penland School in the summertime.  She lived most of her adult life in Atlanta before coming back to western North Carolina in 2019. A dancer and choreographer as well as a poet, she is Artistic Director of Louise Runyon Performance Company. The publication of her new book is supported by the Jackson County Arts Council.

 Poet Catherine Carter of Western Carolina University says, “…Runyon interrogates the place and her family’s long history there to illuminate a complicated tradition of Appalachian progressivism dating both back to and forward from the Trail of Tears.  These thoughtful poems evoke an Appalachia that few outsiders know: simultaneously progressive and conservative, woven into the wider world in unexpected ways, and rooted deeply in the labor and vision of women.” 

 NC Writers’ Network-West is continuing to take precautions as we stay in touch and use technology to share our writing. We will offer writing events and writing classes online with some writers’ groups now meeting in person with careful safety guidelines.

 

Mountain Wordsmiths will meet via Zoom on the fourth Thursday of each month Those wishing to attend our gatherings 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.

Final Mountain Wordsmiths Meeting for 2022

The final Zoom meeting for 2022 of Mountain Wordsmiths will be Thursday, Oct. 27, 2022.  The meeting will feature spooky, scary stories or poems written or appreciated by anyone who wishes to share. You can also bring something to read that feels like October. You don't have to be the author of the piece you're reading. Bring a poem or short piece you like that was written by another poet/writer. Don't stay away because you don't have something to read. Come enjoy the beauty and fun of wordsmithing!

Mountain Wordsmiths will meet again in January 2023.

P.S. March through October 2023 meetings are open! If you would like to be our featured reader for one of those months, please let Carol Taylor know! 

Topic: Mountain Wordsmiths

Time: Oct 27, 2022 10:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

        Every month on the Fourth Thu, until Oct 27, 2022, 1 occurrence(s)

        Oct 27, 2022 10:30 AM

Zoom link and Open Mic sign-up: Contact Glenda Beall glendabeall@msn.com

Noted Poet and Writer Glenda Beall to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

Mountain Wordsmiths  - September 22, Thursday morning, 10:30A.M. 

 

Members of Mountain Wordsmiths are honored to have as our featured reader for September noted writer, poet, and writing mentor Glenda Beall on Thursday morning, September 22, at 10:30 via Zoom. Our monthly gathering, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, continues its online Zoom presence because local writers as well as writers from other cities and states are joining us each month online.

Beall is the program coordinator for the NC Writers’ Network-West and also teaches memoir writing. She has published a book of poetry, Now Might as Well be Then, co-authored a collection of short stories, essays and poems, Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins, with Estelle Rice, and compiled a family history book, Profiles and Pedigrees, Descendants of Thomas Charles Council (1858 - 1911).

To find more of her published work, Click the following link.

 https://profilesandpedigrees.blogspot.com/p/my-published-work.html

After living the first part of her life on a family farm in southwest Georgia, Beall and her husband, Barry, moved to Hayesville, NC in 1995. 

 In 1996, after taking classes with noted poet Nancy Simpson,  she began publishing her writing in literary journals and reviews.  She comes from a family of storytellers and her narrative poetry reflects her ability to tell stories.

She is an advocate for clean air and uses only natural products for cleaning in her home. She is concerned that we use too many chemicals where we live and work and on our bodies. She can be found online at www.glendacouncilbeall.com

NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. Also known as NetWest, the organization will offer writing events and writing classes online, while several other writing groups are now meeting face-to-face again.

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.

                                  

By Carroll S. Taylor,  Guest Writer

Writer and Poet David Plunkett to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

 Members of Mountain Wordsmiths are honored to have as our featured reader David Plunkett on Thursday morning, August 25, at 10:30 via Zoom. Our monthly gathering, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, will continue its online Zoom presence because local writers as well as writers from other cities and states are now joining us each month online.

Plunkett is the author of two novels Chessboard (2019) and Poisoned Pawn (2022).  Readers of Chessboard call it “intriguing and captivating,” a “strong story… about human nature, the shadow workings of our government and terrorists in Afghanistan,” and an “accurate and believable… contemporary thriller.” His poems “North Carolina Mountains Shade to Blue” and “Saturday” were included in the most recent Old Mountain Press anthologies The Cataloochee Bridge and Oops.  Other poems “Kitner’s Dog” and “Moby Dick” and the short story “Evidence” were published in the scrivener.

As a journalist, Plunkett has won writing awards for reporting and feature writing from the Georgia Press Association and the Alabama Press Association.

As Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, DC, his professional writing has been published in law journals and magazines, as well as food industry newsletters, and was influential on national and state policies affecting food safety and consumer protection.

Plunkett began writing poetry and short stories in elementary school and continued to write for pleasure through college and law school, publishing several poems in various college student publications.

He hopes to close out the Chessboard series with a third novel tentatively titled Endgame. Other projects currently in the works are a chapbook of sonnets and other poems tentatively titled A Sonnet for My Wife and collections of his short stories and flash fiction.

Plunkett lives with his wife Vickie in Towns County, GA, just a long centerfield throw to home plate from Lake Chatuge and within walking distance of a curiously detached section of North Carolina.

NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. Also known as NetWest, our organization will offer writing events and writing classes online, while several writing groups are now meeting face-to-face again.

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.

By Carroll Taylor 

                        

                                                    

 

 

 

 

 

Poet and Professor Scott Owens to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

SCOTT OWENS, POET

Members of Mountain Wordsmiths are honored to have as our featured reader distinguished poet and professor Scott Owens on Thursday morning, July 28, at 10:30 via Zoom. 

Our monthly gathering, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, will continue its online presence because local writers, as well as writers from other cities and states, are now joining us each month on Zoom.

Owens is the author of seventeen collections of poetry and a recipient of awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Pushcart Prize Anthology, the Next Generation/Indie Lit Awards, the NC Writers Network, the NC Poetry Society, and the Poetry Society of SC.

His newest collection, Worlds Enough, is a collaboration with artist, MissyCleveland, and is his first written for children. His poems have been featured in The Writer’s Almanac eight times, and his articles about writing poetry have been used in Poet’s Market for several years.

Owens holds degrees from Ohio University, UNC Charlotte, and UNC Greensboro.  He is Professor of Poetry at Lenoir Rhyne University and former editor of Wild Goose Poetry Review and Southern Poetry Review. He owns and operates Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse and Gallery and coordinates Poetry Hickory in Hickory, NC.  

 NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We will offer writing events and writing classes online, while several other events are meeting 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.

                                         

Carroll S. Taylor, Author

 

chinaberrysummer.com

Chinaberry Summer

Chinaberry Summer: On the Other Side

Feannag the Crow

Beneath the Sky and Waters

 

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. 

Distinguished Poet Kenneth Chamlee to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

Kenneth Chamlee

Mountain Wordsmiths is honored to have as our featured reader, distinguished poet Kenneth Chamlee, on Thursday morning, May 26, at 10:30 via Zoom. Our monthly gathering, sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, is continuing its online presence because local writers, as well as writers from other states and cities, are joining us each month on Zoom.

Chamlee is a 2022 Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet for the North Carolina Poetry Society. His poems have appeared in The North Carolina Literary Review, The Greensboro Review, The Asheville Poetry Review, Ekphrasis, and many other journals, including several editions of Kakalak: An Anthology of Carolina Poets. He has two contest-winning chapbooks, Absolute Faith (ByLine Press) and Logic of the Lost (Longleaf Press), and has done residencies with the Vermont Studio Center, the Virginia Center for Creative Arts, and the Hambidge Center.

Chamlee has received three Pushcart Prize nominations and in 2017 was a finalist for the James Applewhite Poetry Prize. An Emeritus Professor of English at Brevard College, NC, he was the first director of the Looking Glass Rock Writers’ Conference, held annually in Brevard.  

He holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and teaches for the Great Smokies Writing Program of UNC-Asheville. His new collection of poems, If Not These Things, will be published in the fall of 2022. His poetic biography of 19th century American landscape painter Albert Bierstadt, The Best Material for the Artist in the World, is forthcoming in 2023. Learn more about him at www.kennethchamlee.com and @kenchamlee on Twitter. 

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 us from other locations.

 Mountain Wordsmiths will continue its online presence. For those who enjoyed attending Coffee with the Poets and Writers which met at Moss Memorial Library, exciting news is coming soon!

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.

                                                                     

 

 

 

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Mountain Wordsmiths to Celebrate National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month, and Mountain Wordsmiths will celebrate the beauty and significance of poetry on Thursday morning, April 28, at 10:30 AM via Zoom.

Our monthly gathering sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West is continuing its online presence because local writers, as well as writers from other states and cities, are joining us each month on Zoom.

Kathryn Stripling Byer

Glenda Beall, NCWN-West Program Coordinator, will begin the meeting with a tribute to two late members who had a profound effect on area poets as well as poets across North Carolina and nationwide. Kathryn Stripling Byer was the first woman to be named Poet Laureate of North Carolina (2005-2009). 

Nancy Simpson founded NCWN-West, which provides support and connection for members of NCWN who live in Western North Carolina and in the Georgia counties which touch North Carolina.

Nancy Simpson

Byer and Simpson mentored countless poets, both beginners and seasoned poets alike. Beall will read a selection of their poems as a tribute to their lasting legacy. In lieu of Open Mic, during the program, all attendees are encouraged to read a favorite poem or one they have written.

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 our ability to include poets and writers from other locations.

We welcome those who were regulars at Coffee with the Poets and Writers that met at Moss Memorial Library. 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.

Written by Carroll S. Taylor

Catherine Carter to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

Catherine Carter

            During this ongoing time of COVID-19, NC Writers’ Network-West is still unable to hold in-person meetings, but we are maintaining an online presence with Mountain Wordsmiths, which meets the fourth Thursday morning of each month on Zoom. On Thursday, February 24, at 10:30 a.m., our guest reader will be noted poet Catherine Carter.

             Carter’s collections of poetry with LSU Press include The Memory of Gills (2006), The Swamp Monster at Home (2012), and Larvae of the Nearest Stars (2019); she has one chapbook with Jacar Press, Marks of the Witch.  Her poetry has won the North Carolina Literary Review’s James Applewhite Prize, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Society’s Roanoke-Chowan Award, Jacar Press’ chapbook contest; her poetry has also appeared in Orion, Poetry, Ecotone, RHINO, North American Review, Southern Humanities Review, Poetry South, Tar River Poetry, and Ploughshares, among others.

               Raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, she is now a professor of English at Western Carolina University.  On a good day, she can roll a whitewater kayak and re-queen a beehive; on less good days, she collects stings, rock-rash, and multiple contusions.

           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. Many wordsmiths are enjoying Zoom meetings because we are able to include poets and writers from other cities and states across the country.

    We welcome those who were regulars at Coffee with the Poets and Writers who 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 also welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing.

                                 -

This article was written by Carroll S. Taylor, Author

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