Poetry in Plain Sight Winners

This is a wonderful contest run by The North Carolina Poetry Society in partnership with the NC Writers’ Network, Winston-Salem Writers, and Press 53. It was an honor to be one of the judges, even though I had to read almost 400 poems! Since judging was blind, it was fun discovering whose poems we’d chosen. 

Here is the list of winning poets and the schedule for when their poems will be on display throughout the state of North Carolina. 

For more information about the contest, scroll down on this page: https://mailchi.mp/36c71a42cba4/february-2023-emuse-6766415?e=4d3ec1be01

Contest Deadline Extended: Poetry in Plain Sight

NC Poetry Society 

New deadline: October 25

Due to the hurricane, the North Carolina Poetry Society extended the Poetry in Plain Sight deadline by 10 days. If you live in North Carolina, have poems under 20 lines and have access to the internet, plus the time and energy, consider submitting to this wonderful contest. You will have a chance to have your poem displayed in public places around the state. 

For more information and submission guidelines, visit the NC Poetry Society’s Poetry in Plain Sight page here: https://www.ncpoetrysociety.org/pips/ The judges this year are Karen Paul Holmes and Stephanie Pilar. 

 

The program is a collaborative effort of the North Carolina Poetry Society, North Carolina Writers' Network, Winston-Salem Writers, and Press 53 of Winston-Salem. 

 

Poetry & Prose reading sponsored by Ridgeline Literary Alliance & North Carolina Poetry Society, featuring poet Shelby Stephenson, at Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC., Sat., May 7th, at 2:00 PM

North Carolina’s Poet Laureate Shelby Stephenson returns to the western mountains of NC to read his award-winning poems. Local writers David Brown, multiple-award-winning publisher of the Cherokee Scout and associated newspapers; and Bob Grove, founder and publisher of Monitoring Times Magazine and prose critique facilitator for the North Carolina Writers’ Network, will follow with their original works.

At the conclusion of the scheduled readings, an open mic session will be available for RLA members and anyone in attendance who wishes to read.

This exciting literary event is scheduled for May 7, 2016, at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street in Hayesville, NC, and will run from 2:00 p.m. through approximately 4:00 p.m. There is no cost and all ages are welcome. Complimentary snacks will be provided. Contact Moss Memorial Library for directions: 828-389-8401.

For complete details of this event, download the PDF flyer at https://goo.gl/Obq3fH

NC Poetry Society's features poets Brent Martin & Holly Cian,reading at the Jackson County Public Library, Sylva, NC, this Tuesday, March 29, 2016 at 6:30 PM

NC Poetry Society aware of health issues of members

The most heart-felt appreciation goes out to the editor and others in the North Carolina Poetry Society for their support of those of us who must deal with chemical fragrances in today’s society. In the most recent issue of Pine Whispers, the jam-packed informational newsletter of the poetry society, a small article titled  “Clearing the Air” requests those who attend meetings of NCPS refrain from using scented products.
Artificial scents in deodorant, aftershave, hair products, cologne, shampoo, laundry detergents or other personal care and cleaning products release chemicals into the air, causing breathing difficulty and other adverse reactions for some people. 

See www.ncpoetrysociety.org for more information on the contests sponsored by the North Carolina Poetry Society.

Brenda Kay Ledford publishes with Finishing Line Press

LEDFORD PUBLISHES POETRY CHAPBOOK

Brenda Kay Ledford’s poetry chapbook, SACRED FIRE, will be released by Finishing Line Press this September.

A native of Clay County, North Carolina, Ledford earned her Master of Arts in Education from Western Carolina University. She studied Journalism at the University of Tennessee and was creative writing editor of Tri-County Communciator.

She received the Paul Green Multimedia Award for her poetry books, Patchwork Memories and Shew Bird Mountain. Her work has appeared in Our State, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Pembroke Magazine, Old Mountain Press, Appalachian Heritage, Main Street Rag, Asheville Poetry Review, and upcoming in The Reach of Song.

Ledford is a member of North Carolina Storytelling Guild, North Carolina Writer’s Network West, North Carolina Poetry Society, Byron Herbert Reece Society, Georgia Poetry Society, Appalachian Writer’s Association, and listed with the Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers.

According to Maureen Ryan Griffin, an award-winning poet and commentator for Charlotte, North Carolina’s NPR station, “A lovely offering indeed is Brenda Kay Ledford’s SACRED FIRE. It pays homage to her Cherokee, Scots-Irish ancestors, and the Appalachian Mountains she calls home. Despite the pain and desolation present in this patchwork of Appalachian moments, SACRED FIRE is in the end an uplifting book, filled with beautiful images lovingly rendered.”

The cover of Ledford’s book is a beautiful image of Hayesville’s historic courthouse framed by flaming maples. Ledford took the picture that received an award in the Georgia Mountain Fair Photography Show last year.

To order Ledford’s book, send $14.00 to: Finishing Line Press; PO Box 1626; Georgetown, KY 40324.

You may also order online at: http://www.finishinglinepress.com/ and click on “New Releases.”