Maren O. Mitchell reads this month at Coffee with the Poets

Maren O. Mitchell

A member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network West is featured each month at Coffee with the Poets. Maren Mitchell, outstanding poet and native of North Carolina, will read Wednesday, June 13, 10:30 a.m. at Café Touche, 82 Main Street in Hayesville, NC.
Anyone who enjoys writing and reading poetry is welcome to come and listen or read an original poem or short prose piece. The prose can be fiction or non-fiction of no more than 1000 words.

I’ve known Maren Mitchell for a number of years. We partnered in Nancy Simpson’s class on putting together a chapbook. Maren’s poetry makes us think about things we might have never thought about before. She has a unique way of seeing the world around her. While growing up, she lived in Bordeaux, France and Kaiserslautern, Germany. Presently she teaches origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, North Carolina. She lives nearby in Young Harris, Georgia with her husband and two cats.

Coffee with the Poets at Cafe Touche

Coffee with the Poets October Photos

On October 12th, Coffee with the Poets at Cafe Touche in Hayesville featured Carole Richard Thompson. She offered a selection of poems filled with humor, insight and beauty. At open mic we heard several newcomers, Dot James and Ralph Wethli, along with regular readers. A sizeable group of fifteen thoroughly enjoyed the morning.



Carole Thompson, poet and writer with her ever-loving Norm




Part of the group at Coffee with the Poets on Wednesday 10/12/11

Text and photo by Maren Mitchell who hosted this month's reading

Our local Irish poet Paul Donovan says he writes poetry as a hobby, but he has published an autobiographical poetry book, Ramblings of an Idiot. He is working on another book and we look forward to seeing what he will offer in this one. Paul is a Reiki Master and teaches spiritual writing classes at Writers Circle. Netwest’s first anthology, Lights in the Mountains, came to fruition because of Paul’s early ideas and suggestions. He began the Cherokee County High Schools Poetry and Essay contest several years ago and continues to be a guiding force in its success.

Paul is the featured reader at Coffee with the Poets on Wednesday, September 14 at 10:30 a.m. We meet and enjoy Liz’s coffee and delicious pastries at Café Touche, 82 Main Street in Hayesville, NC.

After Paul’s reading, we will open the floor to anyone who has brought an original poem or short prose piece. If you can’t be there early, you might want to bring a folding chair. Coffee with the Poets is bigger and better than ever in its fifth year. We appreciate all the poets and writers who have supported this event since 2007.

 In October, Carole Thompson will be the featured reader.

We are sponsored by NCWN-West (Netwest) a chapter of North Carolina Writers’ Network. http://ncwriters.org/

Contact me, Glenda Beall, for more information.

COFFEE WITH THE POETS Hayesville, August gathering

Once again we had a full house for Coffee with the Poets at Cafe Touche' in Hayesville.
Joan Howard of Hiawassee and Athens, GA was one of the featured readers.

From Brevard, NC, Susan Lefler, author of a new poetry book, Rendering the Bones,
was also featured.

Bob Groves agreed to be photographer for the day and the following are some photos he made of those who enjoyed the social aspect of the morning.

Joan Howard and Glenda Barrett

Brenda Kay Ledford and Maren Mitchell

                       Bob Grove reading at open mic. He gave me the camera while he read.

MARY RICKETSON READS AT COFFEE WITH THE POETS IN HAYESVILLE

Coffee with the Poets has moved to Cafe Touche,  at 82 Main Street in Hayesville, NC. Liz Bleauer, owner of the shop  serves the best coffee and has an ample menu of other goodies. She has outside seating available, but we will meet inside.The next meeting is on Wednesday, May 11, at 10:30 AM. with Mary Ricketson as the featured reader.




Mary Ricketson  has a long career as a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in rural western North Carolina. She has a special interest in women’s issues, victims of abuse, and family and couple relationships. Her work is well known locally. She is listed in Who’s Who in American Women.

She lives in a hand made house in the woods where she planted and maintains an organic blueberry farm. Her poems reflect her connections with a wealth of people and her close bond with the earth.
Mary has been writing poetry for twenty years and has completed a chapbook, I Hear the River Call My Name, published in 2007 by Finishing Line Press.
Her poetry has been published in Lights in the Mountains, Freeing Jonah IV, various magazines, and in Disorgananza, a private collection distributed among family and friends in 2000. For fifteen years she has written a monthly column, Woman to Woman, for a weekly newspaper in Murphy, NC, The Cherokee Scout. She is a member of North Carolina Writers Network.

With a new venue, comes a new format for CWP. We will be inviting out of town guests to read along with our local poets in the future. This month we expect a visit from Wayne Drumheller, member of the  NCWN Board of Directors. Wayne didn't indicate that he planned to read, but he would like to meet members in the area, so please come  and enjoy the morning with him and other writers.

This event is open to the community and everyone is urged to bring a poem or a short prose piece to share at Open Mic.