Tweetspeak Features Ukranian-American Poet Ilya Kaminsky

 National Poetry Month: Poetry Matters

As Tweetspeak's "Poet Laura," my latest post honors poetry's place in the world. A poem has a unique way of becoming more than just its words. That's why social media has exploded lately with people sharing poetry expressing thoughts and feelings about Ukraine, and Ukrainian poets are wielding their creative power, even as they lose their homes. 

Please visit the Tweetspeak Poetry site to read a sample of Ilya Kaminsky's work and find links to more information about him. You're invited to post (in the comments on the site) your unpublished poem or links to poems that speak to the human spirit in times of war.

And because April is poetry month, you'll also find an ars poetica by Geraldine Connolly, which emphasizes the importance of finding the right words. 

Poet Laura, Tweetspeak Poetry, March 31, 2022 

   Karen Paul Holmes, 2022 Poet Laura, Tweetspeak Poetry   

Congratulations to Maren O. Mitchell

Maren O. Mitchell

Maren O. Mitchell, a County Representative of NCWN-West for Georgia, has had the following poems published lately: the November, 2021 issue of POEM: "I'd Like to Forget" and "I See the Sounds of Time" - the December, 2021 issue of The Orchards Poetry Journal: "February 6, second." - the #102 issue, The Optimist, of Poetry East: "Hope, you stay with me when I have nothing else" - and the January 2022, issue of The Lake: "Green" and "Orange, my-favorite-color."

 Her chapbook, In my next life I plan... is forthcoming in 2022 from dancinggirl press. 

 Maren's poems appear in The Antigonish Review (Canada), Cider Press Review, Chiron Review, The Cortland Review, POEM, The Comstock Review, Tar River Poetry, Poetry East, Hotel Amerika, Appalachian Heritage, The South Carolina Review, Southern Humanities Review, Appalachian Journal and elsewhere.

Three poems, “X Is a Kiss on Paper," “T, Totally Balanced,” and "Bears, Ants and Avocados" have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes.

 A North Carolina native, in her childhood, Maren O. Mitchell lived in Bordeaux, France, and Kaiserslautern, Germany.  After moving throughout the southeast U.S., she now lives with her husband on the edge of a national forest in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Georgia.

 

Writer Pat Zick to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

 Pat Zick, who writes under the pseudonym of P.C. Zick, will be the featured guest reader for Mountain Wordsmiths on Thursday morning, March 24, at 10:30 via Zoom. This monthly event sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West is continuing its online presence because local writers, as well as writers from other states and cities, are joining us each month on Zoom.

Zick writes in a variety of genres, including romance and contemporary fiction, as well as nonfiction. She's won various awards for her essays, columns, editorials, articles, and novels. Sharing her stories with others and helping aspiring writers realize their dreams motivate all her projects whether serving as an editor to others or creating books that entertain and inform her readers. 

She will be reading several pieces of creative nonfiction and sharing an excerpt from her latest novel, which will be released later this year.

She and her husband split their time between Tallahassee, Florida, and the Smoky Mountains near Murphy, North Carolina, where they enjoy gardening, kayaking, golfing, and hiking. She has recently taken the position of Cherokee County, NC Representative for NCWN West. To learn more about the author, visit www.pczick.com. 

Pat Zick

NC Writers’ Network-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We will offer writing events and writing classes online until we can safely meet face-to-face again. Many writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because we are able to include poets and writers from other locations.

We welcome those who were regulars at Coffee with the Poets and Writers who met at Moss Memorial Library. Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Also, those who wish to participate in Open Mic may sign up upon entering the meeting. We welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing.

 

Kenneth Chamlee, Distinguished Poet, Featured

 

NCPS News

Gilbert-Chappell Reading on March 14

Western Carolina University’s 20th annual Spring Literary Festival will feature the 2022 Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series western region reading by Distinguished Poet Dr. Kenneth Chamlee and student poets Sydney Moretz, Shaun Kawalec, Mike Islas, and Vivian I. Bikulege.  The reading will take place at noon on Monday, March 14, in the A. K. Hinds University Center Theater.  This event is free and open to the public. 

www.kennethchamlee.com 

Writers' Conference, Blue Ridge, GA, April 8-9

Keynote Speaker: Julie Guinn 

"How to Write a NY Times Bestseller"

There's something for writers of every genre with authors Renea Winchester, Rona Simmons, Kim Zackman, and NCWN representative Karen Paul Holmes, who will lead the following poetry workshops:

Poetry That Pops: Unexpected Word Pairings

Each word in a poem counts, as do the words next to it. Adjective-noun and subject-verb pairs that the reader hasn’t seen before can add vitality. Did the rain fall or did it slither down the glass? Each creates a particular image in the mind, but the latter also sets a certain mood. We’ll look at examples from skilled poets and try a fun prompt that helps you dig deeper for the just-right word combination.
  

Publishing in Journals & Anthologies: 

Submitting your poetry can be daunting and discouraging, but then an acceptance arrives and makes your day. We’ll discuss strategy, pitfalls to avoid, choosing which poems to send and where, and what makes a good cover letter. You’ll go home with an arsenal of  submission tips and tools. 

For registration, schedule, class descriptions, and more: https://www.blueridgewritersconference.com/

Writers' Night Returns March 11 with Rosemary Royston on Zoom

Writers' Night Out - March 11, 7 p.m. Reading + Discussion... + Open Mic  Rosemary Royston, poet NCWN-West invites you to join us via ZOOM.  Request Zoom link and sign up for Open Mic by emailing glendabeall@msn.com

Praise for Rosemary's new book, Second Sight: "This collection of Royston’s is honest, timely, and beautiful. It is a love letter to Appalachia and rural people everywhere who often don’t get their stories told in such a powerful and compassionate manner."      - Angela Jackson-Brown, author  Rosemary Royston, author of Second Sight (2021, Kelsay Press) and Splitting the Soil (Finishing Line Press, 2014), resides in the northeast Georgia mountains with her family. Her writing has been published in journals such as POEM, Split Rock Review, Southern Poetry Review, Poetry South, Appalachian Review, and *82 Review. Her photography has been published in A Rose in the World, Bloodroot, and New Southerner. She is an Assistant Professor of English at Young Harris College.  Visit her website  https://theluxuryoftrees.wordpress.com/ Writers' Night Out is a North Carolina Writers' Network-West event on the second Friday of the month. We will continue via Zoom for now.

20th Annual Spring Literary Festival at Western Carolina University, March 14-17

The 20th Annual Spring Literary Festival is happening soon at Western Carolina University!  The festival spans March 14-17. All readings will be free and open to the public.  

This year's visiting writers include Aimee Nezhukumatathil, Deesha Philyaw, Wiley Cash, Ashley M. Jones, Eduardo Corral, Torrey Peters, Rachel Yoder, Kerry Howley, James Tate Hill, Ed Southern, Karen Salyer McElmurray, Steve Scafidi, Brian Brodeur, Meagan Lucas, and Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Kenneth Chamlee and the younger poets whom he's mentored this year.  The Festival is a wonderful opportunity to hear so many acclaimed and talented writers in one place in WNC. 

Readings take place at 12:00, 4:00, and 7:00 on all four days. Most are held in the U.C. Theater in the A. K. Hinds University Center, 245 Memorial Dr, Cullowhee, NC 28723.

For more information, please visit the Literary Festival website, where you can read about the Festival, check out the schedule, and read biographies of our visiting writers.  Worried about where to park?  Check out the WCU Visitor Parking website.  And if you need information the websites can't provide, please contact NCWN-West Jackson County representative Catherine Carter.  We look forward to seeing lots of WNC writers at the Festival!

New Cherokee County Rep, Pat Zick

 We are happy to welcome Pat Zick, author and editor, as the new Cherokee County Representative for NCWN-West. Soon members in that county will be receiving emails as Pat reaches out to meet you all and have you get to know her. Our county reps are a very important part of NCWN-West leadership.

Pat is a highly published writer and manuscript doctor.  Visit her website to learn more about her.

Wow, she has been a busy writer. Check out her fiction titles and where you can find them.

During the past couple of years of the pandemic, Pat has worked with narrators to produce her romance novels as audible books. 

We will post more about Pat and her plans for writers in Cherokee County North Carolina in the coming weeks.

Congratulations, Pat, and I look forward to working with you.

Virtual Memoir Writing at Carl Sandburg Home Historic Site

Glenda Beall will lead a virtual writing workshop titled, "Inform, Enlighten and Entertain with Your True Life Stories" on Tuesday, March 22, from 7:00-9:00 pm ET.

There is no fee for this class so it is a great way to discover where to begin, how to organize, who to write about, and how much to include when you write your true stories.

And as important is knowing what to leave out. A memoir is about the interesting parts of your life, not every detail from birth to where you happen to be when you want to end the manuscript. 

This workshop is open to writers of all skill levels and is a fun way to find inspiration from a new prompt or revise current work. It is hosted by the Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara and will use Zoom for the virtual connection. Click on this link to register for the FREE workship.

Catherine Carter to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

Catherine Carter

            During this ongoing time of COVID-19, NC Writers’ Network-West is still unable to hold in-person meetings, but we are maintaining an online presence with Mountain Wordsmiths, which meets the fourth Thursday morning of each month on Zoom. On Thursday, February 24, at 10:30 a.m., our guest reader will be noted poet Catherine Carter.

             Carter’s collections of poetry with LSU Press include The Memory of Gills (2006), The Swamp Monster at Home (2012), and Larvae of the Nearest Stars (2019); she has one chapbook with Jacar Press, Marks of the Witch.  Her poetry has won the North Carolina Literary Review’s James Applewhite Prize, the North Carolina Literary and Historical Society’s Roanoke-Chowan Award, Jacar Press’ chapbook contest; her poetry has also appeared in Orion, Poetry, Ecotone, RHINO, North American Review, Southern Humanities Review, Poetry South, Tar River Poetry, and Ploughshares, among others.

               Raised on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, she is now a professor of English at Western Carolina University.  On a good day, she can roll a whitewater kayak and re-queen a beehive; on less good days, she collects stings, rock-rash, and multiple contusions.

           NC Writers’ Network-West is continuing to stay in touch and use technology to share our writing. We will offer writing events and writing classes online until we can safely meet face-to-face again. Many wordsmiths are enjoying Zoom meetings because we are able to include poets and writers from other cities and states across the country.

    We welcome those who were regulars at Coffee with the Poets and Writers who met at Moss Memorial Library. Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Also, those who wish to participate in Open Mic may sign up upon entering the meeting. We also welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing.

                                 -

This article was written by Carroll S. Taylor, Author

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