Nancy Sales Cash on Queen Mary 2 - sails the fjords

We spent the morning sailing on Queen Mary 2 down the Norwegian coast to Geiranger Fjord from a small village called Hellesynt to another small town called Geiranger. Some of the younger and fitter passengers got off at the first stop and either hiked or bussed along incredibly steep, rocky mountains. As you can see from the photo, I chose the lazy way and stayed on the ship. The sides of the fjords (see background of photo) reach about 6000 feet and are solid - and I mean solid - granite. Their tops are lost in the mist and remind me of home and the Smokies. It's empty, desolate country with lots of waterfalls and the occasional tiny chalet brings incredulity as to how one would reach it. Thank goodness fjords are even deeper that the ocean, otherwise the Queen Mary 2 could not navigate them. Best, Nancy

NANCY SALES CASH grew up in Murphy and lives in Murphy and Asheville. Her short story, 'Talking To Mama,' will be published in Netwest's new anthology, 'Echoes Across The Blue Ridge,' which will be out soon. She also has a short story in Celia Miles' new anthology, "Clothes Lines,' due out in September, and was in Celia's 2008 anthology, 'Christmas Presence.' She has two published novels, 'Ritual River' and 'Patterns of the Heart,' both available from The Curiosity Shop in Murphy and Andrews and Phillips & Lloyd in Hayesville.

TRAVEL WITH NANCY ON THE QUEEN MARY 2 IN NORWAY

Continuing our travels on the Queen Mary 2, today we went to Bergen, Norway and found the first reference to writers. It was the home of Ibsen, and there are various statues of him and theatres named for him. Indeed, Bergen would have been a thriving arts scene a century or so ago, as Ibsen was great friends with Greig, whose home was also in Bergen. Just looking at the remote location and imagining it under many feet of snow for half the year explains a lot about Ibsen's dramatic viewpoint!Here's a photo of the Queen Mary 2 in Bergen harbor, taken from the 1000-foot high Mt. Florien observation point reached by funicular. All best, Nancy

NANCY SALES CASH grew up in Murphy and lives in Murphy and Asheville. Her short story, 'Talking To Mama,' will be published in Netwest's new anthology, 'Echoes Across The Blue Ridge,' which will be out soon. She also has a short story in Celia Miles' new anthology, "Clothes Lines,' due out in September, and was in Celia's 2008 anthology, 'Christmas Presence.' She has two published novels, 'Ritual River' and 'Patterns of the Heart,' both available from The Curiosity Shop in Murphy and Andrews and Phillips & Lloyd in Hayesville.

NEW WEBSITE TARGETS POETRY SKEPTICS

Netwest member Jayne Jaudon Ferrer has launched a new website designed especially for people who don't like poetry. Unlike existing poem-a-day sites, http://www.yourdailypoem.com/ is targeted specifically at those who may need to be convinced to read poetry at all, much less on a daily basis. "A lot of people have a negative attitude toward poetry," concedes Ferrer, author of four books of poetry and a resident of Greenville, South Carolina. "Either they've had a bad experience with it in school or what they've been exposed to is very limited. They're shocked to discover that poetry is as diverse as any genre in its subject matter and style."

It's precisely that diversity that motivated Ferrer to launch http://www.yourdailypoem.com/, an outgrowth of an e-mail "poetry parade" she's done in celebration of National Poetry Month every April for the past eight years. What started as a challenge by her brother and brother-in-law, to find poems they would bother to read, turned Ferrer into a "poetry missionary," as she refers to herself. "I looked for the most amazing, outrageous, gut-punching poems I could find and, at the end of the month, they had to admit they'd read them all. They didn't like them all," laughs the author of four bestselling gift books for women, "but they read them—and that was the point."

Ferrer's annual poetry parade now goes out to more than five hundred subscribers, many of whom commented over the years that they would enjoy receiving poems daily instead of just during Poetry Month. This year, the comments multiplied and turned into pleas; one subscriber even sent a donation to support the cause. Thrilled at the enthusiasm of these former skeptics, but hesitant because of the amount of time she feared would be involved in researching copyrights and finding worthy poems, Ferrer ultimately decided to make the commitment. "It's taking as much time as I expected," she admits, "but the number of subscribers has tripled since the site launched on June 1st, and I've had wonderful support from the poets featured thus far." Those poets include Philip Dacey, Marge Piercy, Frank Asch, Gregory Orr, who called Your Daily Poem "quite wonderful," Netwest poets Brenda Kay Ledford and Glenda Beall, and many others. Santa Cruz poet and workshop leader Ellen Bass lauded the goal of the new site, saying, "My belief is that people really do love poetry, but they need to be given the poem they'll love."

Toward that end, Ferrer invites you to submit your most "lovable" poems. "This is not a venue for the morose or oblique," she cautions. "The point of Your Daily Poem is to show the pleasure and accessibility of poetry and to encourage people to make it a regular part of their lives; think Robert Frost, not Sylvia Plath. A happy ending's not mandatory, but a modicum of hope would be nice." Ferrer suggests browsing the site's archives to get a feel for the tone of poetry preferred.

Submissions to Your Daily Poem should be sent in the body of an e-mail to http://www.yourdailypoem.com/. Copyright information and publication details, if applicable, should be included along with an author bio of 100 words or less. A few personal facts are preferable to a detailed list of awards. “Only academics care that you won an award,” says Ferrer. “The general public is more intrigued by knowing you were inspired to write by your fourth grade teacher or that you collect comic books in your spare time. Familiarity with the poet makes it easier to embrace the poem."

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Netwest Author Publishes Seventh Novel

William Reynolds has published his seventh novel, "Murder in the Okefenokee." Visit his website to learn more about this book.


On Tuesday, September 1, 2009, at the Ducktown, TN branch of the Polk County Library, Reynolds will be signing books and possibly giving a reading between 1:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.


Anyone who reads the Smoky Mountain Sentinel newspapers has seen the weekly columns by William Reynolds. Read them online.

NC WRITERS NETWORK WEST'S 18TH ANNUAL PICNIC WITH OPEN MIC READING

ALL WRITERS WITHIN DRIVING DISTANCE ARE WELCOME

Mark your calendar now for the 18th Annual NC Writers Network West Picnic on September 13, 2009. 2:00pm

The picnic will be held on Lake Chatuge at the Clay County Recreation Park, near Hayesville, N.C. Clay County members will host this picnic and will supply all of the plates, cups, and untinsils. Clay county writers will supply the ice and drinks.

Picnic coordinators: Vickie Ellis and Linda Smith. If you live in Clay County, ask how you can help.

WHAT TO BRING?

1) Good Food to share - a covered dish or dessert

2) A lawn chair

3) A short sample of your writing to read in the open mic reading. (5 minute limit or less)

Our special guest reader this year will be author Ed Southern, the Executive Director of NCWN.

The afternoon will features an open mic reading where everyone is invited to share a short sample of their writing.

At the annual picnic this year, we will recognize our retiring Program Cordinator Glenda Beall for her years of service.

There is usually a table of Books By Members for sale. If you have a book, please contact the picnic coorinator.

The Annual Picnic is the one meeting per year when all of members and county representatives gather to share a meal and to talk all afternoon about writing. Some of our best ideas have been hatched at the annual picnic. For many of us, it is where we first met.

It is also our favorite time to invite all writers with in driving distance, whether they are a member or not, to come and join us. Inive all of your writing friends. It's a good time to invite your family too.

Second Post from Queen Mary 2 by Nancy Sales Cash

We're still floating around the Norwegian fjords on the Queen Mary 2 (such a hardship, ooh, no pun intended). Yesterday we stopped at Stavanger, and the ship was the tallest building in town. Stavanger became wealthy almost overnight in the 1970's due to the discovery of North Sea oil. Americans who dominated the Norwegian oil industry chose Stavanger as their headquarters and the Oil Capital of Norway over Trondheim and Bergen because Stavanger had a golf course! (It's called getting your priorities right.)

Stavanger is also the story of two bishops. The first one was in the 12th century. He was English, and had ambitions to build a fine new cathedral to honor St. Swithin, whose actual arm the bishop had brought from England. (In those days you had to have such an important 'relic.' ) His cathedral, however, would have been small had it not been for the King, who wanted to divorce his wife and marry a younger woman but had been refused by all the other bishops in the country (Norway, like the rest of Europe in the 12th century, was Catholic).

The English bishop, however, managed to find a way to fulfill the King's wish. The result was, aside from a new Queen, the largest cathedral in the kingdom. It seated 800 people despite the population of Stavanger being only 100.

The other bishop is a recent, Lutheran one, whose son cheated and gambled away millions of borrowed money on the Internet. It caused a national scandal and the bishop's resignation because, he said, although he loved his son, he could not forgive him; therefore he could not set the right example to his parishioners. He went to South Africa as a humble missionary.

Well, it's off now to have our fourth meal of the day, and it's only 3 p.m.

Nancy



NANCY SALES CASH grew up in Murphy, now lives in Murphy and Asheville, and is a member of Netwest. Her short story, 'Talking To Mama,' will be published in Netwest's next anthology, 'Echoes Across The Blue Ridge,' due out soon. She also has a story in Celia Miles' new anthology, due out in October 2009, and was in Celia's 'Christmas Presence' anthology in 2008. She has published two novels, 'Ritual River,' and 'Patterns of the Heart,' available at The Curiosity Shop in Murphy, NC and Andrews, NC and at Phillips and Lloyd in Hayesville, NC.

Nancy Sales Cash - from Queen Mary 2

Are you up for some armchair traveling? My husband and I are currently in the Norwegian fjord country, but doing it the easy way on the Queen Mary 2. We went to Oslo yesterday and at the Viking Museum saw the Viking ships used as burial vessels by the ancients.

(See photo.) The whole ship, several (rich) people, their possessions, and special sleds (to carry them into the next world) were buried in the ground. They were first discovered in the 19th century by a farmer digging a well. Not many have been found, so there should be plenty more where these came from. The earliest Scandinavians came from the Black Sea / Russia, it is thought, when the last ice age melted.

Oslo itself was founded on a fjord in 1050 AD. Global warming has cut down its months under snow from six to five. Not so good when so many industries depend on snow, but they are hosting the winter Olympics again in 2010.

Their new Opera House was designed to look like an iceberg, and part of the concert hall is below sea level. Not sure I'd be all that comfortable with that!One-eighth of the population is Muslim due to a low unemployment rate (4%). Norwegians have 1.9 children per couple, one of the highest in Europe. 70% of women work outside the home. The average salaries are high, but so are taxes and the cost of living, although their health care is free. Wonder what the Vikings would have made of all that?

NANCY SALES CASH grew up in Murphy, now lives in Asheville, and is a member of Netwest. Her short story, 'Talking To Mama,' will be published in Netwest's next anthology, 'Echoes Across The Blue Ridge,' due out soon. She also has a story in Celia Miles' new anthology, due out in October 2009, and was in Celia's 'Christmas Presence' anthology in 2008. She has two published novels, 'Ritual River,' and 'Patterns of the Heart,' available at The Curiosity Shop in Murphy and Andrews, and at Phillips and Lloyd in Hayesville

COFFEE WITH THE POETS WILL FEATURE POET MARY MICHELLE KELLER

All practicing poets within driving distance are invited to join our monthly celebration of poetry August 12, 2009 on the square in Hayesville, NC at Phillips and Lloyd Book Store. 10:30 a.m. Arrive early to get a seat and to sign up for the open mic reading.

The featured poet is Mary Michelle Keller of Young Harris, Georgia. There will be an open mic reading where each attending poet can read a poem. Welcome. Do come.

Coffee and delicious desserts are provided by Phillips and Lloyd for a small price.

Mary Michelle Keller is a long time member of N.C. Writers Network West. She serves as the publicity chairman and has been hosting Coffee With the Poets.

She says about her writing: "Words are like small blue eggs that I incubate and hope of giving them life that can touch and be felt."

Keller's poems have been published in The Mountain Lynx, Freeing Johan III and IV, and Lights in the Mountains. Her poem "As The Deer" is forthcoming from Winding Path Publishing, Netwest's new anthology titled ECHOES ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalchian Mountains.

My deepest appreciation to you all

It is with great humility and appreciation that I address the many writers who came to honor Barry today at the Memorial Service for him in Hayesville, NC at the Hayesville First United Methodist Church. Barry enjoyed our writing events and especially enjoyed photographing our members. Often he grew tired of my incessant talking about Netwest, and I'd have to think of other things to discuss. I know Barry was smiling and enjoying your coming today, knowing you all would rather be at home writing something to submit on Monday.
.Many have asked. I do plan to stay in Hayesville and I plan to continue with my life, my writing, my work with Netwest as Clay County Rep, and seeing all of you whenever I can.
Your support during this difficult time has been and continues to be gratefully accepted. Thanks to all.

Fred Chappell at City Lights, Sylva, NC

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Fred Chappell To Read from New Poetry Collection

Friday, August 7th at 7:00 p.m.
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Dear Friends:

Poet and novelist Fred Chappell will be at City Lights on Friday, August 7th at 7:00 p.m. to read from his new collection, entitled Shadow Box: Poems, published by Louisiana State University Press.

In this innovative collection, Chappell layers words and images to create a new poetic form -- the poem- within-a-poem. In his introduction to Part I of the book, Chappell says "poems-within-poems (enclosed, inlaid, embedded, double, nested) present two aspects of a situation or personality simultaneously. Each whole poem implies a narrative incomplete without these different perspectives. The points of view are distinguished by separate type faces."

Like the shadow box in the book's title, each piece consists of an inner world that is contained, framed, supported by an outer - the two of which are interdependent, sometimes supplementary, and often contrary. Chappell also introduces sonnets in which the sestet nests within the octet.

Chappell is the author of a dozen books of verse, two short story collections, and eight novels, including I Am One of You Forever, Farewell I'm Bound to Leave You, and Brighten the Corner Where You Are. A native of Canton, he is retired from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

The event at City Lights will feature a reading by Chappell and a question-and-answer period. For more information, or to reserve an autographed copy of Shadow Box, please call us at 586-9499.

Spotlight, by Fred Chappell

The hamlet sleeps under November stars.
Only the page of numerate thought toils through
The darkness, shines on the table where, askew
And calm, the scholar's lamp burns bright and scars
The silence, sending through the slot, the bars
And angles of his window square, a true
Clean ray, a shaft of patient light, its purview
Lonely and remote as the glow of Mars

Handy Links
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# See This Book/Event on Our Website
# Visit our Homepage


Contact Information
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email: more@citylightsnc.com
phone: (828) 586-9499
web: http://www.citylightsnc.com
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FCity Lights Bookstore | 3 E. Jackson Street | Sylva | NC | 28779

BARRY AND GLENDA BEALL: A Celebration

Barry and Glenda Beall right away made me feel comforrtable in their presence. I can't recall which Netwest event it was. A reading? A picnic? No matter. I felt I'd known them all my life. When I found out they were originally from my childhood neck of the woods, SW Georgia, I counted them pretty close to family. Glenda's poems for Barry are among her best and made me like him all the more. He was what we call "salt of the earth," a person who was open to all sorts of things in the world around him, especially if his wife cared about those things. Consequently, Barry was a steadfast supporter of Netwest. I liked him tremendously, and I know all of us in the WNC literary community will feel his absence each time we come together. Glenda's new chapbbok will arrive a little too late for Barry to see, although he had already seen the poems and had celebrated their acceptance by Finishing Line Press. When at last we hold the book in our hands and read the poems, we will feel Barry's presence. He will be looking over our shoulders, giving the poems, and Glenda, a thumbs up!

Kay Byer

THE REDHEADED STEPCHILD

From Malaika King Albrecht of Southern Pines, NC: The Redheaded Stepchild is open for submissions for the month of August. We only accept poems that have been rejected by other magazines. We do not accept previously published work. We do, however, accept simultaneous submissions, but please inform us immediately if your work is accepted somewhere else. For more information, visit http://www.facebook.com/l/;www.redheadedmag.com/poetry/

How Can You Get Netwest Writers in Your Email?

DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN SUBSCRIBE TO NETWEST MOUNTAIN WRITERS AND POETS and receive the latest post in your E-mail? On the sidebar on the right, you will see a box that says SUBSCRIBE and asks for your email address. It is simple and you will stay up to date on all the latest posts.
If you are a member of Netwest, this is an excellent way to keep updated on what is happening within our group and in our Netwest area.If you have any problems, email writerlady21@yahoo.com

Some of you have subscribed already and I hope more of you will get on the bandwagon.
Thanks,
Glenda Beall

Welcome New Members

Welcome New Members of Netwest

All members of the North Carolina Writers' Network who live in Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, Macon, Transylvania, Haywood, Henderson, and Swain counties, N C. GA mountain counties, bordering counties in South Carolina, and east Tennessee automatically become members of NCWN West (Netwest). No extra dues.


To join online or by mail: Contact

NC Writers' Network, P.O. Box 954,Carrboro, NC 27510

Membership in Netwest has grown. If you are a new member we are happy to have you and hope you will check in here often to see the latest news on Netwest events, Netwest writers, news from the NCWN, work by our members and others we think you will enjoy.

Contact writerlady21@yahoo.com.com and let us post your poem, fiction or essays online. Send along a photo with your work. Contact us with any questions or comments about this site or about Netwest.

Curiosity - of what value is it"

Tonight I ran across a blog by a woman in Australia ( found on Pat Workman's delightful site) and enjoyed her musings very much.

She wrote about the value of being curious and how this trait enriches our lives. I think scientists must be the most curious of people. Their work on research of whatever subject matter, is benefited by their curiosity to find an answer.

I think my early love of reading was born from an innate curiosity to know more than I could learn from my surroundings on a farm in Georgia. I have never lived in a large city, and I don't think I would ever want to live in a large city, but my curiosity about city life has led me to read many books and stories based in New York or Los Angeles. My curiosity about the life style of a woman there drives me to put myself in her place for a few hours. How does one live in NYC without a car? How does one take public transportation everywhere? Does she have to plan for extra time to make sure she isn't late because she can't get a taxi or misses the bus? And all that traffic - how do you handle the traffic jams when you must make your flight out by a certain time? I'm curious. What about those days when it snows? How do people get to work in all that snow?

Those questions must seem silly to one who lives or has lived in large cities, but I've heard some questions from city dwellers about rural life that seems a bit silly to me.

Just yesterday, my brother-in-law, who grew up in Chicago, listened to some of us telling about life on the farm in years past.
"My mother would just go out and kill a chicken when unexpected company arrived," I said, "and she would clean it, cut it up and fry it. She'd make biscuits and gravy and feed a car full of hungry Florida relatives."

He shook his head and said, "I understand about killing a chicken, but doesn't it have to be refrigerated first before you eat it?"

Curiosity is necessary for writing, I believe. For many, many years, I've been an eavesdropper on conversations around me. I have often said to my husband, "Did you hear what that couple was talking about?"

Incredulous, he'd respond, "Of course not. Why would I want to listen to their conversation?"

That was one big difference between us. I was curious about people. He was more observant of things around him. He would remember an object hanging on a wall in an office, but I'd remember the man's facial expressions when he discussed his son's lack of interest in football.

Sometimes curiosity can over-reach into nosiness, poking into one's private business. We have to be careful there. My husband often reined me in when I'd ask questions of others that he considered too personal.

Part of my enjoyment of people is learning about their lives, what they like, dislike, where they have lived and what they find important in life. I am definitely a curious person, and maybe that is why, like the Australian lady I continue to enjoy learning. She earned her college degree after she retired at age sixty. Now she is off on a new career.

I am off on a new way of life, and I am curious as to what will develop down the road. I don't think I'll ever stop being curious, therefore, I'll not stop wanting to meet interesting people, and I'll not stop wanting to learn new things.