NC Writers Network West Writers Sell Their Books at Sidewalk Cafe

BOOK LOVER NEWS:

Author/ Members of North Carolina Writers Network West celebrated writing and sold copies of their books at a sidewalk cafe in Hayesville, NC on July 9th, 2011. It was the big day for the annual festival on the square but writers, not even professional, published authors, are allowed to participate in this  N.C. Arts Council annual event. Wanting to be a part of the sesquicentennial celebration of Clay County, a few writers set up their own booth in front of Cafe Touche in town, the same shop that welcomes them there for a monthly reading of poems with open mic, Coffee With the Poets.

( photo)Author and publisher Robert S. King and poet Janice Townley Moore author of Teaching the Robins and Like a Summer Peach.

(Photo) Poet Nancy Simpson with her book LIVING ABOVE THE FROST LINE, SELECTED AND NEW POEMS  (Carolina Wren Press 2010)   and  Poet Publisher Robert S, King  author of

The Hunted River and  The Grave Digger's Roots.  

Nancy Simpson's book LIVING ABOVE THE FROST LINE NEW AND SELECTED POEMS

is for sale at Phillip and Lloyd's Book Shop on the square or it can be ordered from the press and at Amazon.com.  Or, click below to order from the press 

http://carolinawrenpress.org/books-and-merchandise/poetry/living-above-the-frost-line

(below) THE HUNTED RIVER AND THE GRAVEDIGGER'S ROOTS

by Robert S. King -  Order copies at:

http://www.sharedroads.net/HuntedRiver.aspx  

http://www.sharedroads.net/GravediggersRoots.aspx

Click here to buy poetry books by Mary Ricketson and by Glenda Beall

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1599242141/ref=dp_olp_3/103-1642903-7363836

Echoes Across the Blue Ridge

Stories, Poems and Essays by Writers Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

Edited by Nancy Simpson with an Introduction by Robert Morgan

Get your copy: Click below.

http://www.amazon.com/Echoes-across-Blue-Ridge-Stories/dp/1450701523/ref=pd_rhf_p_t_1

POETS DRINK COFFEE AND READ POEMS AT PHILLIPS AND LLOYD BOOK STORE

Poets gathered at Phillips and Lloyd Book Shop today in the town of Hayesville, North Carolina for COFFEE WITH THE POETS, held monthly and sponsored by NC Writers Network West. Linda M. Smith welcomed all.

Nancy Simpson, the featured poet, read from her new book LIVING ABOVE THE FROST LINE, 
( Carolina Wren Press) and she discussed the meaning of "frost line." She also spoke about the theme behind much of her poetry, that we live "many lives in one life time." Simpson read five poems: "Living Above the Frost Line", "On A Mountain In An Unfinished Cabin, " Lives in One Lifetime", "Green Place", and "Frederick at the Piano". Her book is for sale at Phillips and Lloyd Book Shop, The Book Nook, and John C. Campbell Folk School.

Poet Gene Hirsch, of Pittsburgh, PA and Murphy, NC, a long time Netwest member, attended with students from his John C. Campbell Folk School Poetry Writing class. He read two poems in the open mic session and some of his students read poems.  Bob Grove also read two newly written poems.

Appalachian poet Brenda Kay Ledford of Hayesville read.

 (Brenda Kay Ledford and Blanche Ledford)

Appalachian poet Glenda Barrett of Hiawassee, Georgia read two poems.











Joan Ellen Gage, another Netwest member at large, who lives most of the year in Florida was in the neighborhood and read two poems.

Poet Maren O. Mitchell shared her delicious Nasturtium poem and gave positive energy and encouragement to all.

THE LAST LAZY DAYS OF SUMMER

I long to hold onto the last, lazy days of summer. One event that lets me do that is the Annual N.C. Writers Network West Picnic, which is held somewhere in the western North Carolina Mountains each second Sunday in September. This year the

19th annual picnic was held on the picnic grounds at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee on September 12, 2010.

The picnic was hosted by NCWN West's Program Coordinator Kathryn Stripling Byer and the Jackson County members. The food was the best ever and showed someone did some serious planning. Kathryn Stripling Byer is NC Poet Laureate Emerita. Her many books of published poetry can be bought at Louisiana State University Press and on Amazon.Com, including Black Shawl, Coming to Rest and Catching Light.

Each year the writers' network invites a special guest to read from their newly published writing or someone who has something to celebrate. This year's special guest was N.C.'s newly named Poet Laureate, Cathy Smith Bowers.

A native of South Carolina, Cathy Smith Bowers has enjoyed a long poetry career. In 1990 she received General Electric's Award for younger poets. She was named the N.C. Poet Laureate by Governor Bev Purdue and was crowned with laurels on Feb. 10, 2010 in Raleigh. NC Writers living in the Netwest area said they were honored to have her come to the far western part of the state to read and share her writing with them.

During the Open Mic session several members read a brief sample of their work: Dorothea Spiegel probably traveled the fartherest, coming from her new home in Tennessee. She read three poems, one which was included in the newly published anthology ECHOES ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE (Winding Path Publishing) . Poet Clarence Newton came from Young Harris, Georgia. Jayne Joudon Ferrer also traveled a long way from South Carolina. She read two poems, one from the new anthology, and Linda M. Smith of Hayesville read one poem from ECHOES .... Nancy Simpson read three poems from her newly published collection, LIVING ABOVE THE FROST LINE (Carolina Wren Press.) Brenda Kay Ledford of Hayesville read her title poem from her chapbook SACRED FIRE ( Finishing Line Press).

Writer Dick Michener from Waynesville manned the Members' BOOKS FOR SALE table.

It was a special day. All who were there wished for more summer days.

Glenda Barrett and Nancy Simpson will Read at the John C. Campbell Folk School

Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories

copy of announcement

by John C. Campbell Folk School

September 16, 2010

Reading begins at 7:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Location: Library, Keith House

Once each month, Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories is held at the Folk School in the Keith House Living Room. Two members of North Carolina Writers Network West read their original work for an audience of Folk School students and the community. These writers and poets come from all over the southwestern mountain area of North Carolina, north Georgia and South Carolina. The featured readers for this month's meeting are:

Glenda Barrett

Glenda Barrett, a native of Hiawassee, Georgia is an artist, poet and writer. Her paintings are on display at Fine Art America. Glenda’s writing has appeared in Woman’s World, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Farm & Ranch Living, Rural Heritage, Psychology for Living, Nostalgia, Journal of Kentucky Studies and many others. Her poetry chapbook titled, When the Sap Rises, is for sale on Amazon.com

Nancy Simpson

Nancy Simpson is one of the practicing poets who lives among us. She is the author of three collections of poetry:Across Water, Night Student, and a new book, Living Above the Frost line - Selected and New Poems (Carolina Wren Press, 2010). Nancy earned an M.F.A. in Writing from Warren Wilson College and is Resident Writer at John C. Campbell Folk School. She is a longtime member of NCWN and cofounder of NCWN West. She co-edited Lights in the Mountains and edited Echoes Across the Blue Ridge. Nancy Simpson’s poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, and in anthologies such as 100 Years of N.C. Poetry, The Poets Guide to the Birds, and Southern Poetry Review’s 50th Anniversary Anthology, Don’t Leave Hungry. Seven of her poems were reprinted in the textbook Southern Appalachian Poetry, McFarland Press.

SEPTEMBER DATES FOR NCWN WEST MEMBERS - MAKE YOUR PLANS

UP TO DATE INFO for Netwest Writers and Friends:

Sept. 8, 2010 at 10:30 am. COFFEE WITH THE POETS will feature poet Karen Holmes. An open mic reading will follow. Phillips and Lloyd Bookstore on the square in Hayesville, NC Contact Glenda Beall for details.

Sept. 9, 2010 , 7:00 pm. NCWN West's monthly prose group will meet at Tri County Community College, 7:00 Enloe Building, Room 109. This is free and open to all Netwest members within driving distance. Observers are welcome.Contact Peg Russell, the workshop leader for details.

Sept. 12, 2010 at 3:00. NCWN West's 19th Annual Picnic and Open Mic Reading will be held at

Western Carolina University Picnic Grounds. The featured guest reader is N.C. Poet Laureate Cathy Smith Bowers. Contact Kathryn Stripling Byer for details.

September 16, 2010, 7:00 p.m. Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories (co sponsored by NCWN West and John C Campbell Folk School). Featured readers will be Glenda Barrett, author of When the Sap Rises and Nancy Simpson, author of Living Above the Frost Line.

Contact Linda Smith for details.

NEWS OF FREE FOLK SCHOOL POETRY CLASS: JCCFS has offered two free classes to the first two NCWN West members to call, someone who has not had a fee promotional class during the past year. 1800 FOLK-SCH or (828) 837-2775 $25.00 fee to register.

Robin Behn’s Class Description: “You’ve heard of a sonnet or haiku, but what about ghazal, pantoum, or renku? In this poetry class we will explore poetry forms from around the world and learn to write using these patterns, letting fresh approaches lead us to new ways of speaking and new things to say in poems. New and experienced writers welcome.”

Robin Behn is Professor of English and teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing.Her books of poetry are Paper Bird (Texas Tech University Press), winner of the Associated Writing Programs Award Series in Poetry; The Red Hour (HarperCollins), Horizon Note (University of Wisconsin Press), winner of the Brittingham Prize, Naked Writing (DoubleCross Press), and The Yellow House (Spuyten Duyvil). She is also co-editor of The Practice of Poetry: Writing Exercises from Poets Who Teach (HarperCollins). A recipient of fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the state arts councils of Illinois and Alabama, and the New England Review narrative poetry prize, her work appears in the Pushcart Prize anthology, Best American Poetry, and many literary journals.