On Thursday, October 19, 2017 at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School and NC Writers' Network-West will sponsor The Literary Hour, an hour of poetry and prose reading held at Keith House on the JCFS campus, in Brasstown, NC. This is held on the third Thursday of the month unless otherwise indicated. The reading is free of charge and open to the public. Poets and writers Mary Michelle Keller and Lucy Cole Gratton will be the featured readers, returning to the Folk School as one of the more entertaining pair of readers.
Mary Michelle Keller has lived in Towns County 22 years. It is here that she began to write poetry followed by the natural progression into prose. She is a musician, artist and photographer. Keller says that all those loves give root to her poetry as inspiration.
Her poem,
As The Deer, published in the anthology,
Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, was inspired by an old hymn by the same name that she plays on the dulcimer. She enjoys words; moving them around on paper until a poem, short story or essay emerges. Keller finds pleasure in reading to a few or many, be it her own words or those of others. She says reading at the Folk School is always a treat; to be able to read her pieces to locals and students of the school is a highlight.
Lucy Cole Gratton is a retired CPA who has lived in the Murphy area over 20 years. She is a graduate of Agnes Scot College and the University of Florida with degrees in mathematics..
Since her retirement Gratton served as Executive Director for the Hiawassee River Watershed Coalition, Inc for several years and continues to assist with the accounting and tax preparation for the Coalition as a volunteer. She is a member and serves as Treasurer of the Mountain Community Chorus, Inc. Gratton is a Cherokee County representative for NCWN and a member of NCWN-West. She coordinates the reading program at John C. Campbell Folk School and serves as moderator.
Gratton's poems include various topics but predominantly center around her concern for the environments and her home in the woods of Lake Apalachia. Her writing has been published in a variety of venues but she writes predominantly for the love of writing, sharing it with family and friends.
