Don't Miss the Georgia Author of the Year

NCWN-West & Georgia Poetry Society Team Up for Two Events, July 13 & 14

Jane Simpson, Georgia Author of the Year (Chapbook)

Writers' Night Out, July 13, features Georgia Author of the Year for Poetry (Chapbook) Jane Simpson. Also featured is NCWN-West member with two new books, Joan Howard.  The event takes place at 7 p.m. at the Union County Community Center in Blairsville, GA. There will also be an open microphone where audience members can share three minutes of their own poetry or prose. The event is free and open to the public.

The next day, July14, the Georgia Poetry Society will hold their quarterly meeting from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Young Harris College. Featured Georgia poets are Chelsea Rathburn, Jim May, Karen Paul Holmes, and Perry Ivey. The day includes presentations on craft and an open mic session—plus the camaraderie and good spirits of fellow writers. Breakfast items will be provided, and lunch is available by advance reservation. While the meeting, which is free for members and $10 for non-members, will be geared toward poetry enthusiasts, all writers are welcome.

Joan Howard's poetry has been published in The Lyric, The Road Not Taken: The Journal of Formal Poetry, Lucid Rhythms, Victorian Violet, the Aurorean, Miller's Pond, Georgia Poetry Society's Reach of Song (2012), POEM, The Wayfarer, and others.  She has recently published two books: Death and Empathy: My Sister Web and Jack, Love, and the Daily Grail (Kelsay Books, 2018) both available on amazon.com.  She is a former teacher, has an MA in German and English literature, enjoys birding and kayaking on beautiful Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee.  She is a member of North Carolina Writers Network West, North Carolina Writers Network, Ridgeline, and the Georgia Poetry Society.

Jane Simpson's first chapbook, On the Porch, was awarded Georgia Author of the Year for 2018. Her previous chapbook was Under the Eave (FutureCycle Press, 2017), and her full-length book, Blessings of the Beasts, will be published this fall. Her poems have appeared in Atlanta Review, BorderSenses, The Chattahoochee Review, Main Street Rag, POEM, The Penwood Review, Poet Lore (Honorable Mention, Ratner-Ferber-Poet Lore Prize), and elsewhere. She was nominated for a 2015 Pushcart Prize. In addition, she is the Chief Development Officer for a non-profit organization and lives in Atlanta and Blue Ridge, GA. 

Writers’ Night Out is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and takes place on the second Friday of the month, April through November. The Union County Community Center is located at Butternut Creek GolfCourse at 129 Union County Recreation Rd., Blairsville, Georgia 30512, off Highway 129 near the intersection of US 76, phone (706) 439-6092. Food is available for purchase in The View Grill, but please arrive by 6 pm to get served.  For more information on Writers’ Night, contact Karen Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or kpaulholmes@gmail.com.

Details of the Georgia Poetry Society meeting are in their newsletter, available on the News page at http://georgiapoetrysociety.org/contests/news/ (select Summer from the list). For more information, and to reserve lunch, contact GPS Treasurer Lyn Hopper, gpstreas@gmail.com by July 2.

Writers' Night Out, June 8, Blairsville GA

Come join the fun at 7 pm! 

I'll be reading from my new book, No Such Thing as Distance. And you'll love Michelle Castleberry. 

Henderson County Open Mic Night features poet Kimberly Sims; event is changed to January 22, 2018, due to the MLK holiday

Subject: Open Mic Night date change and guest reader 

Dear Writing Friends, 

As I announced at our last meeting, because of Martin Luther King Day, the library will be closed on January 15, which is the 3rd Monday of the month, so we will be having our open mic night, same time, same place, on the following Monday, January, 22. 

Open mic sign up will begin as usual at 5:30 pm. Then, we will have a special reading by Kimberly Simms, who was the poet-in-residence at Carl Sandburg house a couple of years ago. She will be reading from her new book that was featured in an article by Bold Life magazine--Lindy Lee: Songs on Mill Hill. Here is a link to the article: http://www.boldlife.com/threading-life-work/#comment-6897

Following the reading will be our regular open mic readings--3 minutes for poetry and 5 for prose. We will need to adhere more strictly to the time limit this month, so please read over your selection several times and be sure it adheres to the time limit. 

Hope to see you at our special evening to start off a year of Henderson County's Literary Open Mic Nights--a function of the North Carolina Writers' Network-West. 

Katie Winkler

Co-Representative,

NCWN-West, Henderson County