Call for Submissions

Call for Submissions -- Unteachable:  An Anthology of Poets Outside the Academy

For the last fifty years teaching has become the default profession of poets in the United States. This anthology is to present the work of poets who do not teach.  It is for bankers, carpenters, lawyers, taxi drivers, machinists, clerks, waiters, flight attendants, surgeons, musicians and anyone else who reads, writes, and publishes outside of the academy.

Please submit 1-3 poems and a biographical statement to Mike James at williamdijames@aol.com.  In the subject line, please type Anthology Submission.  Poems may be on any subject and in any style.  All submissions should be included in the body of the email, not as an attachment.  Previously published are acceptable if the poet retains copyright. Payment will be one copy of the anthology. 

JOSEPH BATHANTI, NC'S NEW POET LAUREATE

Congratulations to Joseph Bathanti, our new NC Poet Laureate!   I've known Joseph for years and years, having discovered his first poems while I was poetry editor of The Arts Journal in Asheville. He's a productive poet and fiction witer, as well as a beloved teacher at App. State.   I will be doing a feature on him after the Labor Day holiday.

Joseph Bathanti was born and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. He came to North Carolina as a VISTA Volunteer in 1976 to work with prison inmates. Bathanti is the author of four books of poetry: Communion Partners; Anson County; The Feast of All Saints; and This Metal, which was nominated for The National Book Award. His first novel, East Liberty, winner of the Carolina Novel Award, was published in 2001. His latest novel, Coventry, won the 2006 Novello Literary Award. They Changed the State: The Legacy of North Carolina’s Visiting Artists, 1971-1995, his book of nonfiction, was published in early 2007. Most recently, his collection of short stories, The High Heart, winner of the 2006 Spokane Prize, was published by Eastern Washington University Press in 2007. He is the recipient of a Literature Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council; The Samuel Talmadge Ragan Award, presented annually for outstanding contributions to the Fine Arts of North Carolina over an extended period; the Linda Flowers Prize; the Sherwood Anderson Award, the 2007 Barbara Mandigo Kelly Peace Poetry Prize; and others. He is Professor of Creative Writing at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. On August 30, 2012, Joseph was named Poet Laureate of North Carolina.

KAREN HOLMES WILL READ AT AJC DECATUR BOOK FESTIVAL

Netwest member Karen Holmes will appear at the AJC Decatur Book Festival this weekend. Some of the most well known authors and poets will be there.

Congratulations, Karen.

Read more HERE.

HERE, WHERE I AM: COLD SPRING RISING: John Thomas York

HERE, WHERE I AM: COLD SPRING RISING: John Thomas York

NIEMAN CHATS WITH LOCAL POETS AND OTHERS

Valerie Nieman, author of Blood Clay, a novel Netwest member Joan Howard said she “can’t put down” inspired and informed those who came to the Author Chat and Tea at Moss Memorial Library on Friday afternoon. Nieman set the casual mood by forgoing a lectern and sitting in a chair with the group of mostly poets, reading from her new novel and her poetry book, Wake Wake Wake, asking questions and answering questions.

The author told us of her experience in all forms of writing, showing the large number of books she has published, including a book of short stories, Fidelities.
"I'm just an old journalist,” Nieman told us. She received her degree in journalism from West Virginia University.
She said her years of writing for newspapers taught her to tighten up her prose, use words sparingly, no fat, just lean sharp language.
That is what we all aim for in our fiction. During a break for refreshments, each member of the audience had an opportunity to speak with Nieman personally.

Poet Maren Mitchell, said, “An accomplished author of poetry, short stories and novels, she was a delight to listen to, and so comfortable and informative to talk with. I'm so glad I went to hear and meet Valerie Nieman.”

I am reading Blood Clay on my Nook, and it is a page turner. The book tells the story of Tracy, a teacher, who has moved to the North Carolina tobacco farming country and witnesses a brutal attack by dogs belonging to her neighbor. Like anyone new in a community Tracy’s actions are questioned by the local people.

“I so enjoyed Valerie Nieman's tea on Friday--her intelligent and friendly discussions and the high lyricism of her poetry. She is an author of wide knowledge and grace.” Joan Howard commented.

Thanks to Mary Fonda, librarian at Moss Library, for opening the doors for our Author Chat and Tea. It must have been the “tea” that turned our men writers away. A new resident of Murphy said she saw the article in the newspaper and knew she had to come. “I am pleased to meet so many interesting and intelligent women.” She said.

Writers Circle sponsored this event, free to the public, and we hope to do more programs like this if we have enough interest among writers and poets in the area. I like to take an opportunity to learn something new, and I do, every time I talk with or hear an author or poet speak.


Valerie Nieman is presently an assistant professor of English and Journalism at North Carolina A & T State University in Greensboro, NC.  She is also an editor for Prime Numbers online literary journal. She teaches at John C. Council Folk School. 
















http://valerienieman.blogspot.com/

NC Poetry Society aware of health issues of members

The most heart-felt appreciation goes out to the editor and others in the North Carolina Poetry Society for their support of those of us who must deal with chemical fragrances in today’s society. In the most recent issue of Pine Whispers, the jam-packed informational newsletter of the poetry society, a small article titled  “Clearing the Air” requests those who attend meetings of NCPS refrain from using scented products.
Artificial scents in deodorant, aftershave, hair products, cologne, shampoo, laundry detergents or other personal care and cleaning products release chemicals into the air, causing breathing difficulty and other adverse reactions for some people. 

See www.ncpoetrysociety.org for more information on the contests sponsored by the North Carolina Poetry Society.

You don't want to miss this one!

We have the opportunity to take advantage of Rosemary Royston's years of study and her knowledge of where to submit our poems for publication. Don't be frightened if you haven't submitted your poetry. This is the time to learn all about it with others who need some of the same guidance you need.

Send it Out, Now!
Saturday, August 25, 10:00 – 1:00 PM, 2012

This class is for Intermediate to Advanced poets, or those who write poetry but have not had the courage to submit their work.

Purpose of the Class: You will leave with at least one new journal to which you can submit your finished poems, along with a resource list of journals and websites that are helpful to the publishing poet. The class facilitator will lead a discussion on how to ascertain what a particular journal is looking for, which contests are worthy of your time and money, and the in’s and out’s of good practice in submitting. This will be a discussion-based class, with time set aside to read at least one of your poems

What to Bring:

1) The print journal and/or a printout of your work in the online journal, web address included.

2) 3-5 poems that you are ready to submit.

3) Envelopes and stamps.

Instructor: Rosemary Royston

Fee: $25.00 

Contact Glenda Beall @ 828-389-4441 or E-mail nightwriter0302@yahoo.com 

Instructor bio: 

Royston holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University. Her poetry chapbook Splitting the Soil is forthcoming in 2012 by Redneck Press, and she is currently seeking a publisher for her first full collection, Soulangenea. She has also had poetry published in journals such as The Comstock Review, Main Street Rag, Coal Hill Review, FutureCycle, and Alehouse. Her essays on writing poetry are included in Women and Poetry: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing by Successful Women Poets. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and she was the recipient of the 2010 Literal Latte Food Verse Award. Most recently, she received Honorable Mention in the George Scarbrough Poetry Contest, Mountain Heritage Literary Festival.  She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Writers Network-West.  Her blog is http://theluxuryoftrees.wordpress.com/

August Events at City Lights Books in Sylva

Wendy Watkins Offers a Discussion on Sustaining Happiness
Friday, August 17th at 6:30 p.m.
Professional Certified Coach, Wendy Watkins will visit City Lights Bookstore on Friday, August 17th at 6:30 p.m. to discuss methods of sustaining happiness. She will also present her new book, The Joy Factor Recipe Book. As a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach she is perfect for those who desire to amplify their clarity, focus and positivity to increase their productivity, fulfillment and success. Wendy says of her book, "Because of my deep love for both personal development and food, I bring them together to share  this common sense approach to having more joy in your life. I use the word 'recipe' to describe the instructions and guidelines that lead to sustainable happiness. Some you can prepare in your kitchen, but most are prepared in your heart, soul and conscious mind."
Learn how to live a delicious life with Wendy as she shares her philosophy that our lives are like a cookbook and we choose what recipes we want to use to create a life we love each day. She'll share four ingredients you can weave into your recipe, as well as share a few of the recipes that others have contributed, including a recipe or two from Bernadette Peters, owner of City Lights Café.

Discussion on Appalachian Folk Magic
Friday, August 31st at 6:30 p.m.
On Friday, August 31st at 6:30 p.m. Byron Ballard will present her book, Staubs and Ditchwater. Part memoir, part instructional primer, Staubs and Ditchwater is an entertaining introduction to Appalachian folk magic. This knowledge encompasses planting by the signs, healing with herbs divination. Ballard leads local and regional workshops on these traditional practices and after much thought and many conversations decided to share fading aspect of traditional culture from the southern highlands. To reserve a copy of her book please call City Lights Bookstore at 828-586-9499.

John York Returns with New Poetry Collection
Saturday, September 1st at 6:30 p.m.
Poet and North Carolina resident, John York will return to City Lights Bookstore on Saturday, September 1st at 6:30 p.m. to present his latest collection of poetry, Cold Spring Rising. Of the book, Robert Morgan, author of Gap Creek and Boone says of the book, "John Thomas York has long been known as the Yadkin Bard. But he is also a poet of the vast reaches of the night sky, of deep memory, of wonder. His voice is distinctive, fresh, bringing to life a world long forgotten, of work, of struggle, of family bonds and community. I know of few poets who recreate so effectively the awe and aching immediacy and imaginative intensity of childhood. It is a pleasure to welcome the abundance, the full range of achievement, of Cold Spring Rising, which has both the sweetness and thrilling sting of the coldest and boldest spring water." York's work has appeared in many regional journals, as well as in anthologies such as Word and Witness: 100 Years of North Carolina Poetry and The Southern Poetry Anthology, Volume III: Contemporary Appalachia. He has previously published three chapbooks, Picking Out, Johnny's Cosmology, and, in 2010, Naming the Constellations, the last published by Spring Street Editions of Sylva, NC. In 2011, he received the first annual James Applewhite Poetry Prize from the North Carolina Literary Review. He lives with his family in Greensboro, NC. For more information or to reserve a copy of the book please call City Lights Bookstore at 828-586-9499.

Ed Southern Visits Netwest

Please join us in welcoming NCWN Executive Director, Ed Southern, to our area.  He will be visiting us on Thursday, August 16th.  His day will begin in Sylva at City Lights, following the 10:30 am Coffee with the Poets.  He then will travel to the Murphy area, meeting several of us for dinner (ALL are INVITED) at Blue Mountain Grill, 5:30 pm, Brasstown.  We will then head over to the John C Campbell Folk School to hear talented poets Janice Moore and Karen Paul Holmes read (7 pm, Keith House).

I hope you will take advantage of this opportunity to speak with Ed and support readers and writers in the Jackson Co/Cherokee County areas. 

Wild Goose Poetry Review published Netwest Poets

Congratulations to Netwest member, Barbara Gabriel. Just a couple of years ago, she began studying the craft of writing with a serious bent toward accomplishment. See two of her poems in Wild Goose Poetry Review.
http://wildgoosepoetryreview.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/barbara-gabriel-mothballed/

While reading Wild Goose, you will find Robert S. King's poetry.
I love trees and I love this verse:

"Do leaves feel the weeping of wind and sky,
the pincers of insects, the saws cutting
through the nerves down to the roots?"
http://wildgoosepoetryreview.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/robert-s-king-the-language-of-trees/

Read another mountain poet, Michael Beadle. This poem sends a shiver up my spine.
http://wildgoosepoetryreview.wordpress.com/2012/08/14/michael-beadle-flesh-and-blood/
And congrats to Scott Owens, editor of Wild Goose, for another fine edition of the best online poetry journal.

Writers' Night Out, August 10th

Prize-winning poet Rosemary Royston, who is also a lecturer at Young Harris College, will entertain the audience as featured reader at 7 p.m. on Friday, August 10 at Brother’s Willow Ranch Restaurant in Young Harris, GA.  Writers’ Night Out is a free monthly event that also includes an open microphone for local authors.

Royston holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University. Her poetry chapbook Splitting the Soil is forthcoming in 2012 by Redneck Press, and she is currently seeking a publisher for her first full collection, Soulangenea. She has also had poetry published in journals such as The Comstock Review, Main Street Rag, Coal Hill Review, FutureCycle, and Alehouse. Her essays on writing poetry are included in Women and Poetry: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing by Successful Women Poets. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and she was the recipient of the 2010 Literal Latte Food Verse Award. Most recently, she received Honorable Mention in the George Scarbrough Poetry Contest, Mountain Heritage Literary Festival.  She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Writers Network-West.  Her blog is http://theluxuryoftrees.wordpress.com/

Writers’ Night Out takes place on the second Friday of each month. Open microphone readers can sign up at the door, and each person has three minutes to read poetry or prose. Brother’s Willow Ranch Restaurant is located at 6223 Hwy 76 West across from Brasstown Valley Resort, phone 706-379-1272. The event is in the upstairs room, accessible via stairs inside the restaurant or the ramp (no stairs) from the upper parking lot. Food and beverages will be available for purchase; please come early to order.

            

 For more information, please contact Karen Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or kpaulholmes@gmail.com.

Gary Carden, long time member of Netwest will receive award

Gary Carden, playwright, storyteller and writer of wonderful tales, sent his news a few days ago.

I have just been awarded the North Carolina Award in Literature. It is the highest award given by the state. The awards ceremony will be held in Raleigh on October 30th. 


Congratulations, Gary. You deserve this special award. Your friends and fellow writers in NCWN West are proud of you.

AUTHOR CHAT AND TEA AT MOSS LIBRARY IN HAYESVILLE, NC FRIDAY, AUGUST 24

Join Valerie Nieman at the library Friday, August 24, at 2:00 p.m. while she talks about her journey to publishing. This event is free and refreshments will be served. Valerie is the author of a novel, "Blood Clay"; a collection of short stories, "Fidelities"; and a poetry collection, "Wake Wake Wake." Her work has appeared in journals including "New Letters," "Poetry," the "North Carolina Literary Review," and the "Kenyon Review," and in several anthologies. She has received an NEA creative writing fellowship, two Elizabeth Simpson Smith awards in fiction, and the Greg Grummer Prize in poetry. Valerie graduated from West Virginia University and Queens Univ. of Charlotte. A longtime newspaper reporter and editor, she now teaches writing at North Carolina A&T State Univ. and serves as poetry editor of "Prime Number" magazine. This will be an informal event and Valerie will answer your questions.

JOHN MORSE, WORLD RENOWNED ARTIST, PRESENTS MESMERIZING PROGRAM

by Maren Mitchell

The artist and writer John Morse was featured July 13^th at “Writers’ Night Out” in Young Harris, GA.  Of Atlanta; New York City; and Barcelona, Spain, Morse offered the spell-bound audience a program to be savored in memory. The audience, comprised of writers and artists from surrounding counties in Georgia and North Carolina, responded overwhelmingly to Morse’s super-energetic and energizing presentation and talents. 

 

Using Power Point, Morse covered his decades’ long work to find new aspects of, and uses for art by new means. Beginning with stunning collage portraits made with “trash” or “found  paper” of Andy Warhol, Geronimo, and Lincoln, he transitioned into the sculptures he has created to explore the area between the second dimension and third dimensions.

Through several means Morse has tackled the problem of poetry being noticed and cared about. A roadmap to Los Angeles is a poem, and business cards that look like business cards, but are poems, are two routes that he has utilized.

Another innovative path Morse created, gaining attention for poetry, was decorating the streets of Atlanta with his “Roadside Haiku,” which mimicked urban advertising, yet was poetry in the form of traditional haiku.  With 10 designs in 500 locations, the project soon became known in Atlanta and world-wide. News of “Roadside Haiku” spread through magazines such as The New Yorker to The Guardian of the UK.  Controversial at one point, the “signs” grew into items to be desired. All were stolen!

In 2011 the New York City Department of Transportation hired Morse to complete 12 “Curbside Haiku” to be placed in over 200 locations throughout the five boroughs of the city. Comprised of distinctive and informative graphics with equally effective haiku, providing safety reminders to pedestrians and cyclists, the project was featured in the New York Times, on National Public Radio, and with the BBC across the world.

For his “Curbside Haiku” John was the recipient of the 2012 Brendan Gill Prize from the New York Municipal Art Society.

We are fortunate to have received such generous and energetic creativity and thought in our small mountain town. Thank you, John Morse!

Website of John Morse:

www.stardogstudio.com

Writers’ Night Out takes place on the second Friday of each month at 7 p.m. and is open to the public. After the featured reader, there is an open microphone for writers to share their own poetry or prose. The event is at Brother’s Willow Ranch Restaurant, 6223 Hwy 76 West across from Brasstown Valley Resort.

For information on Writers’ Night Out:

Karen Holmes (404) 316-8466

Photos from Coffee with the Poets in July

Carolyn Johnson and Estelle Rice, members of NCWN West, were featured poets this month. Compliments followed by those attending.

Barb Haynes, Mike Keller, Estelle Rice, Linda smith

Carolyn Johnson, poet and writer

Open Mic readers were Bob Grove who read a humorous essay, Linda Smith who read a poem. Barb Haynes, reading her work aloud for the first time, entertained us with a short essay. Mike Keller and Joan Howard also read poetry. Anyone who attends is invited to read a short prose piece or a poem.

Coffee with the Poets is held the second Wednesday of each month at Cafe Touche, Main Street, Hayesville, NC. The community is invited.
Contact Glenda Beall at 828-389-4441 or nightwriter0302@yahoo.com for more information.