The passing of a wonderful writer and Netwest Member, Jo Carolyn Beebe

 It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of Jo Carolyn Beebe, a member of NCWN-West for many years.

Jo Carolyn Beebe

September 23, 1937 — August 6, 2023

Hiawassee

 Jo Carolyn Beebe, age 85, of Hiawassee, Georgia, passed away on August 6, 2023, at her home.

Jo Carolyn Beebe reading at the John C. Campbell Folk School

I met Jo Carolyn in Nancy Simpson’s writing class when I first came to NC in 1996. She was interested in Genealogy, and she wrote family stories about growing up in Mississippi and stories about her ancestors. Her readings were always entertaining.

Back in May, I received an email from her saying she didn’t drive at night anymore and could not attend nighttime events. So many of our members have reached an age when driving at night is difficult. Her dear husband, John, who always accompanied her to Writers Night Out readings, is not well either.

The following is from 2017 when she and I and Glenda Barrett were reading at the folk school for the Literary Hour.

“Jo Carolyn Beebe is a native of Mississippi. Many of her poems and stories are based on her recollections of conversations with her grandparents. Her Grandmother Anderson said, "The Bartletts are kin to Daniel Boone. They came through the Cumberland Gap with him." Great-grandfather Ricks showed her a greasy circle in his front yard where no grass would grow. "This is where the Indians cooked their food," he told her.

She also has her own memories of life in a small, rural town. Her story, "The Way You Hypnotize a Chicken," really happened when she and a friend hypnotized one of Grandmother's hens. And where else but in a small town could two little girls play in the funeral home and pick out their everyday casket and their Sunday casket?

Jo Carolyn has been published in Main Street Rag, Clothes Lines, Women's Spaces Women's Places, Lonzie's Fried Chicken, Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, and by Abingdon Press. She was most gratified with her family history book The Beekeepers and Sons of Ander.

She is a graduate of Miami University, Oxford, and has been a resident of Towns County for 21 years.”

Diana Smith said, "She was kind, funny, talented, supportive to everyone, and had a wonderful southern voice which was prominent in her writing. She was an expert in genealogy and taught classes in it.  We lost a wonderful person too soon."

Her short story, "Boys Can Be Angels Too" was for children and was published as a Christmas play by Abington Press," Diana said, "and she has a book ready for publication now."

We will miss Jo Carolyn and send our heartfelt sympathy to John and all of her family and many friends. 

 

 

 

Moss Memorial Library

 Great things are happening at Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, North Carolina.  Branch Manager, Griff Anderson, has been so kind to allow the North Carolina Writer's Network-West to meet in the conference room for poetry readings and critique groups.

The first thing that amazed me about the updates at Moss Memorial Library, was the instillation of automatic sliding doors.  How awesome!  What a great thing for folks with disabilities.

Another improvement was the beautiful large windows to view the Tusquitte Mountains and the lovely scenery of our town.

But what excited me most was... 

I could hardly believe it when I noticed Mr. Ben Love, the library assistant, today making an owl on the 3 D  printer!  We have really arrived in Hayesville to have a "Science  Fiction" 3 D printer.  I've seen those on documentaries, read about them, but we actually have one at Moss Memorial Library.  Ben said the public may use it to print files if they will contact the library.

Great things are happening at Moss Memorial Library.  As the clique goes, "We've come a long way, baby!"  I  recall years ago our small library was housed in the damp, musty, old red courthouse.  It was a small collection of books, but served our community well.  I recall  Mama brought my siblings and me to town every Saturday to check out arm full of books.  That's when I savored all the "Little House on the Prairie" books.

When you see the staff at Moss Memorial Library, you might want to thank them for doing such a splendid job serving our community and our writers.

Festival on the Square was successful thanks to all of our writers and poets who volunteered

 For several years NCWN-West has rented a booth at the festival on the square in the beautiful downtown area of Hayesville, NC. 

The festival is sponsored by the Clay County Historical and Arts Council. Their volunteers led by Joan Joppie do a fabulous job and work hard during the weekend hosting around 80 vendors. We are the only booth where books are sold and we are fortunate to be included.

Thousands of people come each year from faraway places to spend the weekend in the mountains. We talked with people from Texas, South Carolina, Florida and other states. Local authors, Lorraine Bennett, Carroll Taylor, Marcia Barnes, Raven Chiong, Glenda Beall, Joan Howard, David Plunkett, Lynda Farrell, and Sandy Benson staffed the booth for the two days. 

Kanute Rarey and David Plunkett set up the booth with a tent and tables on Friday afternoon and they took down the booth on Sunday afternoon.

When we work together we can do so much. Many books were sold, but we were there to explain who we are and what we do. Our banner caught the eyes of passersby who were curious and stopped to talk. Some of our best writers and volunteers found us at this festival, picked up a brochure, and joined NCWN.

 Joan Howard, poet in pink, Carroll Taylor, novelist and poet sitting behind her.

Lorraine Bennett and Marcia Barnes, Glenda Beall, waiting her turn at the table

CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER Rarey and Raven Chiong to Read at July 20 Literary Hour

Kanute 

CANCELED DUE TO WEATHER

  Local storyteller Kanute Rarey and poet Raven Chiong will read from their work at the Literary Hour Thursday, July 20, at 7 p.m. in the Open House 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.

Kanute is well-known for his storytelling at house concerts, community events, schools, libraries, festivals and on stages in Georgia, North Carolina and other states as far afield as Ohio and Texas.  Chiong, whose poetry and prose has appeared in publications from coast-to-coast, will be reading from her recently published book, “Ode to the Still Small Voice—A Memoir of Listening.”

Raven and Dulce

Kanute took his first official step to the storytelling stage eight years ago after he retired to the mountains of North Carolina. His family and friends would say he has been a storyteller all of his life. He claims to come by his talent honestly. Growing up on a farm in Ohio his dad made life sound like a tall tale “holding court”at the breakfast table, he said. 

Today, in addition to performing at various venues, he works with the Georgia Storytelling Network, and the annual Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival.  He founded the Mountain Area Storytellers serving western North Carolina and north Georgia and produces a monthly Open Mic Night – Stories on the Square and a monthly Evening of Appalachian Stories at the John C. Campbell Folk School. He also produces a four-performance series, Scribes on Stage at the Peacock Playhouse. 

Kanute actively supports local and regional storytellers, writers, poets and singer-song writers. He attributes his early beginning to the generosity of members of the North Carolina Writers Network and to John C. Campbell Folk School and national storyteller Elizabeth Ellis. 

Raven’s writing career began at five years of age when she became a loyal pen pal to her absent mother. She earned her Master of Arts in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Florida.

A lifelong student, life coach, and educator, her career includes qualifying for the First Ever 1984 Women’s Olympic Marathon Trials and paying it forward with her 19-year cross country coaching career at DePauw University, Florida Atlantic University, Pine Crest Prep School, and Mills College. After a long competitive running and coaching career, she now runs her pen across the pages of this life.

Raven is a member of the North Carolina Writers Network, North Carolina Poetry Society, Utah State Poetry Society, Florida State Poetry Association, and National Federation of State Poetry Societies. 

She has also been working with Best Friends Animal Society since 2008. Above all, she is the proud and devoted mama of four rescue dogs who found her wandering in the high desert of Southern Utah. They are her ongoing source of inspiration, a-“muse”-ment, and her greatest teachers, she said.

Local author Bob Grove of Brasstown, NC, will serve as host for the Literary Hour.

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/.  Students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.

Ricketson and Ledford Appearing on Clay Chamber Connection Show

                                                    Author and Poet Mary Ricketson

                                                       Author and Poet Brenda Kay Ledford

Jim Rich, director of the Clay County Chamber of Commerce, will interview Mary Ricketson and Brenda Kay Ledford, on Friday, July 14, 2023 at 2:00 PM, on the "Clay County Chamber Show," WKRK Radio  Facebook live. They will also read poetry from their books.  

Al Manning

 I found today that an old friend of Netwest, Al Manning, died in March 2023. Al was serving as county Rep in Haywood County when I became Program Coordinator in 2007. He was an active member and an active writer. He published some books, I remember, and one of them was very humorous. He and his wife moved to the flatlands a few years ago and he began working with writers in that area. We stayed in touch for a while, but eventually, I lost touch with Al. Al served on the Board of Trustees for the Network for many years. 

Ed Southern wrote a nice tribute to Al on the Network Blog.

https://www.ncwriters.org/news/blog/remembering-longtime-ncwn-member-and-trustee-al-manning/

Ricketson and Ledford to read at Cherokee County Arts Council July 18

Mary Ricketson and Brenda Kay Ledford, poets from Murphy and Hayesville, will read selected poems from their published collections on Tuesday, July 18, 5:30-7:00 pm at Cherokee County Arts Council, 33 Valley River Ave, Murphy NC, across from the Mason Jar and Curiosity Bookstore. 

Mary Ricketson

Brenda Kay Ledford

Refreshments will be served and there will be time for discussion.  This event takes place in the gallery, where the paintings of Pam Strawn of Murphy will be on display. 

Everyone is invited.  Please join us.  No admission charge. 

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.

Brenda Kay Ledford Gives Program at Towns County Historical Society

 Brenda Kay Ledford also will be the featured reader at "Coffee With the Poets," Wednesday, June 14, 2023 at Moss Memorial Library; Hayesville, NC at 10:30 AM.

She will read from her new poetry book, Leatherwood Falls, Blue Ridge Mountain Poems, published by Kelsay Books this year.

This event is free and open to the public.  An open mic will follow Ledford's reading at "Coffee With the Poets."  North Carolina Writer's Network- West will sponsor this reading.

Lorraine Bennett Book Signing is June 3 at Clay County Progress

Lorraine Bennett

           Lorraine Bennett’s first novel, a psychological thriller titled "Cat on a Black Moon," has been published by Austin Macauley (London, Cambridge, New York) and is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kindle.  She will be selling and signing copies of her book in Hayesville at the Clay County Progress from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 3.

          The 236-page novel revolves around protagonist Garner Olsen, Atlanta’s number one television anchorwoman who becomes the target of brilliant and deranged ex-flower child Darla Dare when the anchorwoman’s husband, a federal prosecutor, prepares to take Darla’s lover to trial for drug trafficking.

           When the anchorwoman’s life is upended by vandalism, stalking, kidnapping and murder, she vows to track down the responsible party.

            Bennett drew on her years in television to create protagonist Garner Olsen.  Her time as a print reporter was helpful in the development of antagonist Darla Dare. Also useful was the time she resided in Atlanta during the early years of the counter-culture takeover of parts of Peachtree Street.

        The genesis of the story is a piece of jewelry Bennett purchased at an auction house in Atlanta. In the book, the jewelry plays a major role.