Owens and Beal to Read at Literary Hour Sept. 19

  Poet Scott Owens and Author Donna Beal will be the featured readers at the next Literary Hour Thursday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m. in the Open House on the John C. Campbell Folk School campus. The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.

Scott Owens

        Scott Owens is the author of 22 collections of poetry and 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 poems have been featured in The Writer’s Almanac eight times, and his articles about writing poetry have been used in Poet’s Market four times. He has twice been nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and to be North Carolina Poet Laureate. 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.

Western North Carolina writer, Donna Beal, was raised in Greensboro, NC, and has lived in various towns in the eastern states. She moved in June of 2023 to her husband’s hometown of Hayesville, NC, where they live the good life with their two Chinese Crested dogs Honey Bear and Gracie Bear, an unnamed visiting bear and a gang of turkeys.

Donna Beal

        Beal is a graduate of Winthrop University with a double major in philosophy and religion and concentrations in both technical and creative writing. After college she began working in a large financial institution where she became a senior vice president and director. After retiring she pursued her interest in writing.  She has been published in numerous journals and is a member of The North Carolina Writer’s Network-West and the sistaWRITE group founded by North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green. She’s even been known to preach a few sermons.

Well known local author Mary Jo Dyre (“Springheads,” Redhawk Publications, 2023) will host the event.

The Literary Hour at the folk school is offered every third Thursday of the month through October and brings local writers to the campus to share their work with the community.  Students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.

The John C. Campbell Folk School offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling.  For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.

Owens and Beall to be Featured at April 18 Literary Hour

Poet Scott Owens of Hickory, NC, and writer Glenda Beall of Hayesville will be featured at the Thursday, April 18, Literary Hour at 7 p.m. in the Keith House library on the John C. Campbell Folk School campus in Brasstown.  The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.

Scott Owens

Scott Owens is the author of 20 collections of poetry and recipient of numerous awards for his poetry.  His poems have been featured in national publications and he has twice been nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and to be North Carolina Poet Laureate.

Owens is Professor of Poetry at Lenoir Rhyne University, and former editor of Wild Goose Poetry Review and Southern Poetry Review. He also owns and operates Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse and Gallery and coordinates Poetry Hickory in Hickory, NC. His 21st book, "An Augury of Birds," a collaboration with photographer, Clayton Joe Young, will be out in August. And his collection of haiku, illustrated by Missy Cleveland, will be out in December.

Glenda Beall

Glenda Council Beall has taught memoir writing at the folk school, Tri-County Community College and at the Institute of Continuing Learning (ICL) for many years. She became interested in Genealogy in the early 1990s and compiled a family history book, “Profiles and Pedigrees, Thomas C. Council, and his Descendants,” which chronicles the lives of her grandfather and his 10 children born in the late 19th century.

Beall’s short stories and personal essays have been published in online journals including “Muscadine Lines,” “A Southern Journal” and “Dead Mule School of Southern Literature.” Several of her poems and essays have appeared in “Living with Loss” magazine, “Breath and Shadow,” and “Reunions Magazine.”

She is currently the North Carolina Writers’ Network -West program director.  “Now Might as Well be Then,” her poetry chapbook was published in 2009.

The Literary Hour at the folk school is offered every third Thursday of the month through October and brings local poets and writers to the campus to share their work with the community.  The public, and students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.

The John C. Campbell Folk School offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling.  For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.

Literary Hour at Campell School Features Beall and Owens

  Local memoirist Glenda Beall and poet Scott Owens are the featured authors for the Literary Hour on Thursday, June 15, at 7 pm in the Keith House Living Room of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.  The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.

Scott Owens

Scott Owens of Hickory, NC, writes poetry as if he were a painter. Painters see more than other people see. They look beyond the obvious. Owens sees and invites the reader to visualize images, actions, beliefs, purposes, and motives. His books cover a wide range of topics including a love of nature, surviving an abusive childhood, growing up on a farm, writing, religion, dreams and nightmares, parenting, politics, philosophy, existentialism, and, of course, love.

A professor of poetry at Lenoir-Rhyne University, Owens is the author of 19 collections of poetry, and more than 1,200 published poems. He has received awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Pushcart Prize Anthology, the NC Writers' Network, the NC Poetry Society, the Poetry Society of SC, and many others.

Glenda Council Beall lives in the mountains of western North Carolina with her dog, Lexie. Since 1996, her work has been widely published in numerous journals, magazines and online reviews. 

Glenda Council Beall

In 2009, her poetry chapbook “Now Might as Well Be Then,” was published by Finishing Line Press. In 1998, she published a family history book, “Profiles and Pedigrees, The Descendants of Thomas Charles Council (1888 - 1911).” She co-authored, with Estelle Rice, “Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers, and Fins; Family Pets and God’s Other Creatures,” an anthology of stories, nonfiction, and poetry with beautiful color photos.

For 10 years she owned and directed Writers Circle Around the Table where she brought outstanding poetry and prose writers to Clay County, NC, to teach local writers. She has taught memoir writing classes at John C. Campbell Folk School, Tri-County College, and ICL at Young Harris College.

Beall is program coordinator for the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.

CarolLynn Jones, author of “Danya,” a novel about a family surviving the Russian revolution, will host the Literary Hour.

The Literary Hour at the folk school started in 1995 and is offered every third Thursday of the month through November.

Poet Scott Owens to Teach Workshop at Moss Memorial Library June 16

We are fortunate to have Scott Owens teach a workshop for us at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC, Friday, June 16, 2:00-4:45 PM.

Scott Owens writes poetry as if he were a painter. Painters see more than other people see. They look beyond the obvious. Scott sees and invites the reader to visualize images, actions, beliefs, purposes, motives, and results of what he has gleaned from his life as a child, a husband, a father, a teacher, a human being who took notice.

Workshop Title: Inspiration Surrounds Us: How to Have Enough to Write About for at Least 4 Lifetimes.

Fee: $45.00 A portion of the fee goes to NCWN-West.

Send a check before June 10, made to Glenda Beall, and mail to 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904

Scott Owens

Scott is the author of 19 collections of poetry, and more than 1200 published poems. He has received awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Pushcart Prize Anthology, the NC Writers' Network, the NC Poetry Society, the Poetry Society of SC, and many others.

His poems have been featured on "The Writers' Almanac" 7 times, "Poetry in Plain Sight" 4 times, and "Your Daily Poem" 13 times.

He is Professor of Poetry at Lenoir Rhyne University and has taught creative writing for more than 20 years, including in excess of 40 community or conference workshops.

His books cover a wide range of topics including a love of nature, surviving an abusive childhood, growing up on a farm, writing, religion, dreams and nightmares, parenting, politics, philosophy, existentialism, and of course, love.

He has collaborated with poet, Pris Campbell, on two novels in poetry; with artist, Missy Cleveland, on an illustrated collection of poems for children; and with photographer, Clayton Joe Young, on two collections featuring images of the North Carolina Piedmont. 

In his spare time, Scott owns and operates a successful coffee shop in downtown Hickory. He serves as President of the Hickory Downtown Development Association. He has hosted Poetry Hickory at his coffee shop for 17 years. Several of our NCWN-West poets have read there.

Scott has always loved the NC mountains. In his younger days he was an avid hiker, who spent one summer hiking the mountains to more than 100 waterfalls. He is also an avid birdwatcher, and on a recent weeklong visit to the Smokies, saw 23 bald eagles.

Born and raised on farms and in mill villages in and around Greenwood, SC, he now lives on an acre near downtown Hickory where he constantly weeds his garden, prunes his trees, and tends his flock of 8 egg-producing chickens.

He says you can take the boy off the farm, but you can never take the farm out of the boy.

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

 

Poetry books by Scott Owens Here

 Scott Owen's books are available in several places and because he appeared on Writers' Night Out on Zoom, you didn't get to see his books and buy his books that evening. 

Scott sent a listing of his new books and where you can purchase them. 

"So, all of the new books are either already available through Redhawk and Amazon or will be within the next year. The only one I mentioned that is not from Redhawk is "Their Shadows Trail Them Home," the prequel to "All In," which is available at Clemson University Press.

*"Shadows Trail Them Home," Clemson University Press, 2012, https://libraries.clemson.edu/press/books/shadows-trail-them-home-by-scott-owens-and-priscilla-campbell/

*"Sky Full of Stars and Dreaming," Redhawk Publications, 2021, https://www.amazon.com/Full-Stars-Dreaming-Scott-Owens/dp/1952485223

*"Worlds Enough: Poems for Children and A Few Grown-Ups," Redhawk Publications, To be published July 2022

*"Prepositional," Redhawk Publications, To be published November 2022

*"All In" (Sequel to "Shadows Trail Them Home"), Redhawk Publications, To be published April 2023

Most of my other books are still available through Main Street Rag, https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product-tag/scott-owens/ "

We have books to look forward to in the coming months, and if you don't have Scott's earlier books, you will want to order one today.

Poet Scott Owens , a friend of Netwest Writers, is featured at Writers' Night Out April 8

 

We are happy to have Scott Owens, an excellent poet, with us Friday evening for Writers' Night Out, at 7:00 PM. This will be a Zoom event as we are not meeting in person yet. 

We have a long history with Scott going back many years when he often came to western NC and north Georgia to do readings and to teach poetry at Writers Circle around the Table. He has also invited our members to Hickory, NC where he holds a monthly meeting for poets at his coffeehouse. 

If you are not familiar with Scott's poetry, you don't want to miss this opportunity Friday night for this reading. If you know his work, you will be very glad you contacted me for the link to the Zoom meeting. glendabeall@msn.com

Scott Owens is the author of 16 collections of poetry and 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, Sky Full of Stars and Dreaming has been nominated for a National Book Critics Circle Award. His book of poems for children, Worlds Enough, is due out from RedHawk Press later this year, as is a new collection of poetry entitled Prepositional. His poems have been featured on The Writer’s Almanac 7 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 a Professor of Poetry at Lenoir Rhyne University and the 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.   

As you can see, Scott writes poetry, publishes poetry, and teaches others to write poetry. We are so honored to have him with us for Writers' Night Out.

Contact glendabeall@msn.com to receive the Zoom link and to read at Open Mic. 

See you then.

Join us on Zoom for this popular writing event.

 

Scott Owens, Featured on Writers' Night Out - Friday, October 9, 7:00 PM.  

Award-winning poet, editor, reviewer columnist, community organizer, and instructor of English, literature, and creative writing with 15 published books, more than 1400 published poems and 500 published essays, articles, and reviews.

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/cc/e6/98/cce6985214c14098f4ab37040bcb098a.jpg

We will send the Zoom invitation to all on the membership list. Contact us if you want to read at open mic.

Our friend, Scott Owens, has a new poetry book. Order now for discount

Scott Owens from Hickory was a regular instructor at Writers Circle around the Table for many years. We loved his poems and learned from his classes how to improve our own poetry. Now he has a new poetry book and I just ordered my copy.  This is what Scott has said about this book:

My forthcoming book of poems, Counting the Ways, has taken the longest of any of my books to be written. I started the collection, without knowing I was doing so, as an undergraduate at Ohio University.

The poem, "Breakings," built on the various manifestations of brokenness in my childhood and its lingering presence in adulthood, served as the seminal poem, the model, if you will. But I didn't understand that for another 35 years.

I picked up on the possibility of motif poems about 5 years after writing "Breakings" and dabbled with them for another 30 years or so, even conceiving the idea of a collection of them some 10-15 years ago, but I didn't see the relation to "Breakings" until just a few years ago. In any event, here is the poem "Breakings"

You can still get the Advance Order discount on the book at https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/…/counting-the-ways-sco…/

Breakings

There were always bottles in the well house,

lined up on 2 X 4s, piled in boxes, hidden

above the door. He hung them, bottoms up,
on the sticks he planted in the pasture.
Sometimes he used coffee cans, milk jugs,
a red-lined slopjar, anything to make a noise
as it swallowed the rocks or took the blows
hard against its side. But nothing could match
the sounds of shattered glass, nothing
could match the thrill of breaking.

The changes came sudden but incomplete.
What was once a bottle grew into
the many faces of breaking,
mirrors and windows, stung
running of cows, frantic beating
of redbirds, cries of children.

His father went off to war
to practice breaking on other men.
He became so good at it he came back
to teach others the black magic of breaking.

His mother stayed home and broke water,
broke in husbands and children,
broke her back to hold
some fragment of family together.

The old man, his grandfather,
broke the earth, broke cows
in the pasture, chicken-bones
in his teeth, taught him to break
limbs with the red axe,
the necks of chickens and rabbits,
legs of owls in fox traps,
skulls of cows in the stable.

He saw the breaking of land,
the endless bending of backs
and knees, the big-handed breaking
of his mother’s face, his brother’s
mouth, his own shattered skin.
He heard the news of breaking,
of Attica and Kent, King
and My Lai, the fields and jungles
scattered with war, the streets
emptied through breaking of walls
and windows, hearts and heads.

He saw the night shattered
with noise and lights, a man’s body
broken open on the porch,
the life splattered on the window,
lying messy on the floor.

He wanted to leave it all
behind, to break the habits
of breaking, but even now,
he knows the hearts of those
he loves like glass.

          By Scott Owens

Scott Owens & Glenda Beall at Writers' Night Out, Sept 11

Join us for this dynamic duo on Friday evening, September 11 at 7 p.m.

Glenda Beall

Scott Owens

Dinner in The View Grill: please arrive by 6 p.m. or earlier*

Program in the Ballroom: 7 p.m. followed by open mic

Union County Community Center

129 Union County Recreation Center Road (near intersection of 129 and 76)

Blairsville, GA

map (note: the Holiday Inn on the map is now a Comfort Inn)

The readings are free and open to the public. 

Sign up at the door for open mic, limited to 3 minutes per reader. 

*Optional food/refreshments are self-pay. 

SCOTT OWENS, EDITOR OF WILD GOOSE POETRY REVIEW, WILL TEACH IN HAYESVILLE, NC, SEPT. 12TH, 2015

The Stuff of Poetry

This workshop will focus on creativity, originality, and imagery, answering the questions, "Where do we find the stuff for poetry?" "How do we know what to include?" and "How do we make it good?"
 Participants should bring an object of "value" (something kept for years) with them, expect to generate several new ideas for writing, and expect to have their comfort zones challenged.

Scott Owens teaches at Catawba Valley Community College, edits Wild Goose Poetry Review, owns and operates Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse and Gallery and serves as vice-president of the NC Poetry Society. His work has received 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, and his articles about poetry have been featured in Poet’s Market twice. 

For information, please contact Glenda Council Beall at: http://glendacouncilbeall.blogspot.com/

Writers Night This Saturday: Scott Owens, Staci Bell

September 13

Featured on Writer's Almanac and winner of many poetry awards, Scott Owens once again travels from Hickory, NC to read for us. He'll also teach a workshop at Writers Circle in Hayesville on Saturday.

Joining him at Writers' Night Out on September 13, will be writer and former talk-show host, Staci Bell, from Murphy.
An open mic follows the featured readers. Sign up at the door.

We meet at the lovely Union County Community Center in the heart of Blairsville.  Come early for dinner and drink (optional, for purchase).

Important Update (/12/14): This month, we will meet in the A/B Conference Rooms on the ground floor where we were last month. Dinner is optional and served upstairs in the View Grill (great view of the golf course and mountains!). There will be complimentary iced tea and water served in our room. You can bring food and a drink (alcohol included) down with you if you'd like, but there will be no waitress service in our room.  

Program starts at 7:00, so please plan enough time to order/eat if you're having dinner there. The Union County Community Center is gracious enough to not enforce a minimum food order for our group, so you don't need to feel obligated to have anything (but the socializing is fun!).

For more info: kpaulholmes@gmail.com

Wild Goose Poetry Review published Netwest Poets

Congratulations to Netwest member, Barbara Gabriel. Just a couple of years ago, she began studying the craft of writing with a serious bent toward accomplishment. See two of her poems in Wild Goose Poetry Review.
http://wildgoosepoetryreview.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/barbara-gabriel-mothballed/

While reading Wild Goose, you will find Robert S. King's poetry.
I love trees and I love this verse:

"Do leaves feel the weeping of wind and sky,
the pincers of insects, the saws cutting
through the nerves down to the roots?"
http://wildgoosepoetryreview.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/robert-s-king-the-language-of-trees/

Read another mountain poet, Michael Beadle. This poem sends a shiver up my spine.
http://wildgoosepoetryreview.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/michael-beadle-flesh-and-blood/
And congrats to Scott Owens, editor of Wild Goose, for another fine edition of the best online poetry journal.

NETWEST MEMBER WILL READ AT POETRY HICKORY

Poet and Netwest member, Robert King and poet Robert Kimsey will be featured tomorrow night, July 10,  5:30 p.m. at Poetry Hickory. Scott Owens, Regional Representative for NCWN facilitates this event each month. 

Open Mic readers will be John Bigelow, Dennis Lovelace, and Kim Teague.  Writers' Night Out at 4:00.  Everything takes place at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in downtown Hickory, NC. 

Netwest Was Represented at Poetry Day

Netwest members, Barbara Gabriel and Robert S. King, accompanied me to Hickory NC where the Poetry Council of North Carolina held their annual Poetry Day.
Scott Owens, Vice President of PCNC, teacher at Catawba Valley Community College brought the event to Hickory where the college served as venue Saturday. In years past, Poetry Day was held too far away from those of us who live in the western part of the state to attend without spending the night. We had a pleasant three-hour drive over and came home the same day.

The winners of the Poetry Council’s poetry contests are published in Bay Leaves, the annual anthology published by Main Street Rag. Bay Leaves is dedicated to an outstanding poet each year. David Manning received this honor today. Last year our own Nancy Simpson was honoree.

Susan Lefler from Brevard, NC

Susan Lefler’s book, Rendering the Bones, won Honorable Mention in the Poetry Book contest. Susan is from Brevard. As usual she gave a lovely reading. Those who attend Coffee with the Poets in Hayesville will remember Susan reading here last year.

Katherine Soniat was named winner of this year’s Oscar Arnold Young Award for The Swing Girl, judged the best book of poetry from NC in the previous year.

Katherine Soniat, first prize for book published in 2011

Another winner from our area is Peg Russell who placed in the Traditional Poetry contest. Peg hails from Murphy, North Carolina. She was not present for the reading today.

Congratulations, Peg and Susan. The far-west region overflows with poets. So why don’t we see more writers and poets from Netwest submitting poems to the wide variety of contests held by the Poetry Council of North Carolina for next year? The contests are for adults and children. Few children enter, it seems, and our talented young writers would have a great chance to win a prize.

Submissions for 2013 will be called for in August of 2012. Plan now to go to the 

website for for more information. Ask local teachers to help the children participate.

Scott Owens at podium

Scott will be in our area May 11 and 12 to read at Writers Night Out and to hold a workshop at Writers Circle.

               Winner of the Poetry Slam, from Winston-Salem, Bob Moyer 

CITY LIGHTS BOOKSTORE FRIDAY NIGHT

www.citylightsnc.com

Carole Thompson           Glenda Beall                Mary Ricketson                                      Robert S. King         Scott Owens   FutureCycle Press Book Release    Please join us at City Lights Bookstore on Friday, March 23 at 7 p.m. for a double book launch.  FutureCycle Press will unveil its annual anthology of poetry and flash fiction as well as a new poetry collection from Scott Owens titled For One Who Knows How to Own Land.  Owens and a few of the contributors to the anthology will read some of their work.  Featured writers will be Glenda Councill Beal, Robert S. King, Scott Owens, Mary Ricketson and Carole Richard Thompson.

City Lights Bookstore 3 East Jackson Street Sylva, NC 28779 828-586-9499 more@citylightsnc.com always open on the web at: www.citylightsnc.com Store Hours: Monday-Saturday, 9 am - 9 pm Sunday 10 am - 3 pm Additional parking catty-corner to the store, courtesy of First United Methodist Church

Pirene's Fountain Poetry Journal and Scott Owens

Scott Owens who is not a member of Netwest, but is a representative for NCWN, is the subject of an interesting article in Pirene's Fountain. Read it here and learn more about Scott and his poetry.
Scott Owens will be in Hayesville and Hiawassee, GA in May of next year to do a workship at Writers Circle and to read at Writers' Night Out.

Poetry in North Carolina - You don't want to miss this

LOTS OF NEWS FROM THE POETRY COUNCIL OF NORTH CAROLINA



The Poetry Council of NC is keeping quite busy these days, planning for its annual Poetry Day on October 1, 2011 in Salisbury, NC while simultaneously starting up a new cycle of contests whose deadline for entry is November 21.

Poetry Day is a day-long celebration of poetry that will be held this year in the Crystal Peeler Lounge on the campus of Catawba College. Highlights of Poetry Day will include presentation of the 2011 Poetry Council contest winners, readings by those winners, the release of the council’s awards anthology titled Bay Leaves, and a live Poetry Slam competition.

The event is open to anyone, and reservations may be made via the form found on the council’s website: http://www.poetrycouncilofnc.wordpress.com/.



In 2012, the Council is moving Poetry Day from October to April to coincide with National Poetry Month.

To facilitate this transition, the Council’s annual contests have already opened for submission and will close on November 21.

The Council coordinates separate competitions for

Elementary School students

Middle School students, and

High School students, as well as

Adult competitions for free verse, traditional form poetry, light verse, and others.



The Oscar Arnold Young Award is given to the best book of poems by a NC poet each year. Information on entering any of the contests is available on the Council’s website or by calling Ed Cockrell at 919-967-5834.

Entry in the youth contests is free, while most of the other categories have a $5 entry fee. First, second, and third place prizes ranging from $10 to $100 are given in most categories, and up to three honorable mentions are commonly named in each.

All prizewinners and honorable mentions are published in Bay Leaves, and the poets are invited to read their poems at Poetry Day.

In 2012, Poetry Day will be held in Hickory NC, in the new Student Center on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College. (This is much closer to our western writers than Weymouth where it has been held in the past.)

Teachers interested in facilitating their students’ participation in the contests can contact Nancy Posey (nposey@embarqmail.com) for high school students or Michael Beadle (beadlepoet@yahoo.com) for elementary and middle school students.

Scott Owens, is available to visit classrooms in his local area to discuss these contests or coordinate workshops to get students started writing poetry. He can be reached at asowens1@yahoo.com.

In south western NC, contact Glenda Beall for information on the contests.


Information for this post comes from Scott Owens who will be in Hayesville, NC for a workshop at Writers Circle on Saturday, October 15.

Blue Ridge Writers' Conference in its fourteenth year

Blue Ridge Writers' Conference will be held in Blue Ridge, Georgia just south of the Western NC line on April 1 and 2 .

Go to their beautiful website to see the schedule of presenters and to complete an application.
http://www.blueridgewritersconference.com/

Some Netwest members will be signing books at the Friday evening Reception which is a special Meet and Greet event for writers to meet the presenters.

Carol Crawford, one of the leaders of Netwest years ago, leads this conference each year and brings in outstanding speakers. This year Hope Clark of Funds for Writers will be on hand to personally give us some of the advice she doles out in her newsletter and on her blog. Scott Owens, poet from Hickory, will speak about online journals and talk from his experience as an editor.
For other presenters, visit the website.

THINKING OF MAY AND JUNE IN POETRY

In these snowy, dark days the first of the year, it is good to read poems about May and June, continuing with poems from Scott Owens' Book of Days recently published online by The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature..http://www.deadmule.com/poetry/2009/01/scott-owens-book-of-days-a-chapbook/


Of Flowered Gardens As In May


You’ve been working the garden again
to the texture you want, beating it
with mattock and hoe, pulling up what
you won’t grow, putting down what you will.
Everything you do leaves a different taste
in your mouth. Pulling up ivy is nothing
like pulling up myrtle. Rooting one only
like the other in the earth you turn.
These are days with high foreheads
and Roman noses coming out of the ground,
with eyebrows bushy as clouds, with green hands
of limbs stroking the windows open,
with the too-cool sauntering in of May.
You sniff the air alive with spring’s ammonia,
search for the living bloom of earth
beneath stones. In the garden bitter drops
of May hang beneath umbrella leaves,
the screaming plant, the little man.Loose
strife, spiderwort, bleeding hearts
blaze their public weeping. Squirrels swing
from cats’ mouths. Birds lie dead on the path,
premature bodies pink as velvet gloves.
Lichen slices through rock. You arrive
with your hands full of little graves,
your thoughts full of the deaths of planting.
Immature May, May with its half-hearted
promises, May the almost ripe, has called
you to its secret rooms full of flowers,
to its life dripping from fingertips
of leaves. You will open the earth again.
You will set the seedling in place
and feed it with your own cracked hands.
***
June Arrives, Dressed in Grace and Pain
Hesitant, June stood waiting on the horizon for days,
then walked in with an uncertain limp,
dragging the dead heads of spring behind it.
Now it stands staring into fields that will not grow,
counts fallen fingers of foxglove, sits in the trees
at night wilting the leaves, spreading its heat around.
Now it sings in the throats of mockingbirds at night,
in distant whippoorwills teasing you out into darkness
towards dead-leaf bodies you’ll never find.
There is no loneliness like June’s confusion
of faces, bee-balm’s foolscap of red, yarrow’s
cowardly hands, bright, boasting tongues of gladiolus.
In the day edible orange daylilies open their mouths
to a sky full of promises. At night the air shines
with bodies burning to touch one another.
The angel of June flies into the room, black wings,
red belly spiraling down to black, three-part-body
you can’t help but want on top of you.