All-Star Lineup on June 10: Ron Moran & Jonathan K Rice

Two Well-Published NC Poets to Read at Writers' Night Out, Blairsville

Ronald Moran, former Clemson professor, dean, and a Fulbright Lecturer, joins editor Jonathan K. Rice to share their work at Writers’ Night Out on Friday, June 10. The 7 p.m. reading will be followed by an open microphone for those who’d like to share their own work. The event is free and open to the public at the Union CountyCommunity Center in the heart of Blairsville, GA

Moran has published 13 collections of poetry. The most recent, Eye of the World, was just released by Clemson University Press. Of it, Poet David Kirby writes, “…this grateful, gifted poet teaches us how to burrow into and recognize the riches in our own lives.” Moran has also written two books of criticism (one coauthored) and has had more than 500 poems, essays, and reviews published in many journals, including Connecticut Poetry Review, Emrys Journal, Evening Street Review, Louisiana Review, Northwest Review, South Carolina Review,  Southern Poetry Review, Tar River Poetry, Thomas Wolfe Review, and The Wallace Stevens Journal.  He has won several awards and was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize.  Moran’s writings and memorabilia about them are archived in Special Collections of the James B. Duke Library at Furman University.  He lives in Simpsonville, SC. 

Rice is founding editor and publisher of Iodine Poetry Journal, as well as co-editor of Kakalak 2016. His latest poetry collection is Killing Time (Main Street Rag, 2015). Other books include Shooting Pool with a Cellist (Main Street Rag, 2003) and Ukulele and Other Poems (Main Street Rag, 2006). His poetry has appeared in many publications. He’s also been a longtime host of poetry readings in Charlotte, NC, where he lives with his family. In 2012 he received the Irene Blair Honeycutt Legacy Award for outstanding service in support of local and regional writers, awarded by Central Piedmont Community College. As a visual artist, Rice’s work has been featured as cover art on books, as well as in online magazines.

The next day, June 11, Rice will teach a poetry class from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Writers Circle in Hayesville. For more information on the class, please see http://www.glendacouncilbeall.com/p/schedule.html - .V07szmZrUpI

Writers’ Night Out is sponsored by NC Writers Network-West and takes place on the second Friday of the month. Prose writers or poets wishing to participate in the open mic can sign up at the door to read for three minutes. The Union County CommunityCenter hosts the event 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, please contact Karen Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or kpaulholmes@gmail.com

Writers' Night Out Returns April 10

Hope to see everyone after the long winter. We're springing forward with a special program with a prestigious guest: Ronald Moran, award-winning poet and former professor/dean at Clemson University. And a very special local writer: Maren Mitchell.

We're back on Fridays (the second of each month), due to popular demand. Also, The View Grill has a new menu, so come at 6 pm for food/drink/friendly chat.

Featured reader bios:

Ronald Moran has published 12 collections of poetry, the most recent being The Tree in the Mind (Clemson University Press, 2014); two books of criticism (one coauthored); and more than 500 poems, essays, and reviews in many journals, including Connecticut Poetry Review, Emrys Journal, Evening Street Review, Louisiana Review, Northwest Review, South Carolina Review,  Southern Poetry Review, Tar River Poetry, Thomas Wolfe Review, and The Wallace Stevens Journal.  He has won several awards and was recently nominated for a Pushcart Prize.  Moran’s writings and memorabilia about them are archived in Special Collections of the James B. Duke Library at Furman University.  He lives in Simpsonville, SC.

Maren Mitchell’s poems have appeared in many journals, including The South Carolina Review, Hotel Amerika, Southern Humanities Review, The Classical Outlook, The Journal of Kentucky Studies, Skive (Australia), Town Creek Poetry, Wild Goose Poetry Review, and The Arts Journal, Red Clay Reader Vol. 4. Her work has been, or is forthcoming, in anthologies such as The Southern Poetry Anthology, V: Georgia, The World Is Charged: Poetic Engagements with Gerard Manley Hopkins, and Negative Capability Press Anthology for Georgia Poetry. Mitchell’s nonfiction book, Beat Chronic Pain, An Insider’s Guide (Line of Sight Press, 2012), is available at the Curiosity Shop bookstore in Murphy, NC, and on Amazon. A native of North Carolina, Mitchell lived in Bordeaux, France; Kaiserslautern, Germany; and throughout the southeast U.S.  She now lives with her husband in Young Harris, Georgia.