Cherokee County Poetry and Essay Contest

Dalton Mallonee, Cliff Owl, and Amanda Gaddis - Essay contest winners.
Kelly Noel Waldorf and Hannah Larson. Poetry contest winners.

Serving as judge of essays for the Cherokee County Poetry and Essay Contest held each year for high school students in Cherokee County, North Carolina was and is always an honor. I read and re-read the work of these students and found it difficult to choose only three winners.

Cliff Owl III, in the white shirt in the photo, was my choice for first place. His personal essay, Walking the Line of the Reservation, expresses deep insight into his feelings of guilt, stygma, and his reconciliation of these feelings as he graduates from Murphy High School. With a small enrollment of people from his father's Cherokee Indian heritage Cliff often felt he should be at Cherokee High School on the Qualla Boundary, home of the Eastern Band of Cherokee where his relatives live and his family once lived. I was not surprised when Cliff said he was going to college at Stamford University.His writing showed a surprising maturity for such a young man.

Second and third place essay winners responded to an assignment in class and both wrote entirely different views on the subject of a Learning Experience.

First place Poetry winner was Hannah Larsen. This was her second time to win this contest in her four years of high school

Judging the Poetry contest was Jayne Jaudon Ferrer, our Netwest Rep in South Carolina.

Our congratulations to all the winners. This contest is sponsored each year by the local community, and the Cherokee Scout Newspaper.

Paul Donovan, a long time supporter of writers in his community, organizes the contest which awards monetary prizes. Netwest donates an award each year.

Titles of winning essays are:
First Place :Walking the Line of the Reservation
Second Place :A Powerful Learning Experience
Third Place :A Learning Experience

Corporate Sponsor of Netwest

Netwest is indeed appreciative of the annual donation from United Community Bank, Inc. UCBI supports the arts and other community events, and we are delighted they recognize the advantages of our writing group to the public. Mary Taylor, Administrative Assistant to Jimmy Tallent, founder and CEO, says she has noticed we support them as well. If you have a branch of United Community Bank in your town, you will find the folks who work there to be among the friendliest anywhere. I always come out of their doors with a smile on my face.







Many thanks, Mary, to you and United Community Bank, Inc.

MOTIF Anthology

Publisher Seeks Submissions for 2010 MOTIF Anthology

MOTIF is an anthology series published annually by MotesBooks of Louisville, Ky. Volume 1: Writing By Ear featured 116 writers, including Patty Griffin, Silas House, Buddy & Julie Miller, Maurice Manning, Evie Shockley, Neela Vaswani, Frank X Walker and Pamela Duncan.

Each volume in the MOTIF series focuses on a theme – for Volume 2 the theme is CHANCE.

Submissions may be poems, short stories, song lyrics, short memoirs, essays, letters, creative nonfiction, or other forms. Combinations of forms are acceptable up to the limits described: Prose must be under 3,000 words. Send no more than three poems/lyrics. All genres will be considered as long as “chance” is referenced or illuminated in the works. Submissions may address the theme either directly or indirectly, but “chance” should figure significantly and artfully in the piece. The definition or concept of “chance” can be interpreted in any way the writer sees fit, but could include ideas related to chaos, serendipity, mistake, the occasion for wonder, kismet, accident, fate, destiny, cause and effect, encounters, and/or predestination.

Each contributor whose work is accepted will receive one (1) complimentary copy of the book upon publication as payment. Contributors will also receive an ongoing contributor's discount for unlimited purchases of additional copies to use or resell. Marketing outlets include Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and the publisher's website, MotesBooks.com. Special marketing strategies will also be utilized, including one or more public readings with selected contributors by invitation of the editor or publisher.

Submit by email only. Send manuscript (Arial 12 pt., single-spaced) as a .doc or .rtf file (MS Word) to MOTIF@MotesBooks.com.
IMPORTANT: Use "MOTIF Anthology" as the subject line (email containing blank subject lines will automatically be deleted; other subject lines may inadvertently be tagged as spam). Include all author contact information (including phone, snail mail, and e-mail address) with each submission.
Include a 50-60 word biographical note to appear in Contributor's section of the anthology in case of acceptance.
Do not send previously published or simultaneously submitted material.
Submission period closes September 1, 2009.

Acceptances will be notified by end of 2009. Publication slated for early 2010. Editor is Marianne Worthington.

For clarifications, visit www.MotesBooks.com or email MOTIF@MotesBooks.com.

What else are we up to? See our growing fiction, non-fiction & poetry catalog:
http://www.motesbooks.com/

Poet W.S. Merwin, Today With Bill Moyer

Pulitzer Winner W.S. Merwin Interviewed on PBS’s Bill Moyers Journal, Friday, June 26



Dear Friend,


This Friday, June 26, the Bill Moyers Journal will feature poet W.S. Merwin and his Pulitzer prize-winning book, The Shadow of Sirius.

For information on the broadcast in your area: Check Time and Stations.

With this second Pulitzer, Copper Canyon poet W.S. Merwin has established himself as one of the most influential poets of our time. In this candid interview with Bill Moyers, Merwin shares his unique perspective on a lifetime of literary achievements, reads poems from his new book, and fields questions ranging from poetic inspiration to political engagement.

I hope you enjoy the show and welcome your thoughts and reactions to the broadcast. We also encourage you to forward this email to friends and post a comment on our Facebook page.

Sincerely,

Joseph Bednarik
Copper Canyon Press
poetry@coppercanyonpress.org


Special Offer: Purchasing a copy of The Shadow of Sirius—or any of our W.S. Merwin books listed below—directly from Copper Canyon Press is an effective way to support our mission.

Order any W.S. Merwin books by June 30 and receive free shipping. Simply type “Moyers” in the “coupon code” section of our secure checkout… and while you’re there, please make a tax deductible donation. Your support—as a reader and a donor—is vital to the future of Copper Canyon Press, a non-profit publisher that invests every dollar into publishing and promoting poetry.

To read poems, reviews, and descriptions of W.S. Merwin books published by Copper Canyon Press, click on the titles below:



The Shadow of Sirius, winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize
Hardback, $22

Migration: New and Selected Poems, winner of the National Book Award
Paperback, $24

Present Company, winner of the Bobbit Poetry Prize from the Library of Congress
Paperback, $16

The Book of Fables (short prose pieces)
Paperback, $20

The First Four Books of Poems (complete text of Merwin’s first four books)
Paperback, $16

The Second Four Books of Poems (complete text of Merwin’s second four books)
Paperback, $18

Flower & Hand: Poems 1977-1983 (complete text of three Merwin volumes)
Paperback, $15




Notice: Copper Canyon Press loves poetry readers, and we occasionally send out email messages like this one to inform them about special events. If you know someone who would like to receive this email, please forward this message to them or send their address to poetry@coppercanyonpress.org and we’ll be happy to send it along. If you would like to not receive future email announcements, please send an email to poetry@coppercanyonpress.org with “Remove” in the subject line.

MICHAEL BEADLE - NEW POETRY CD

Netwest member, Michael Beadle, has a new CD called "Kaboom." His poetry collection, An Invented Hour, came out in 2004, followed by Friends We Haven't Met, in 2008.

Visit him and read his poetry. We find his poems to be fun, entertaining and interesting.

What You Long For by Anne Clinard Barnhill

A friend of Netwest is Anne Barnhill who will be reading at Malaprop's in Asheville NC on June 24, 7 PM and at Mountain Lore Books in Hendersonville on June 27 at 1:00 PM. Anne is a member of NCWN but doesn't live in Netwest territory.

What You Long For, by Anne Clinard
Barnhill, is a rich collection that
will make you laugh-out-loud in some places and
cry in others. Filled with humor and tenderness,
Barnhill has written an enormously
entertaining group of stories.
Whether she is describing country women
telling one another stories in “The Quilting
Bee,” or introducing a little boy in love
with his best friend’s beer-drinking
mother in “Kings and Damsels,”
Anne Barnhill creates unforgettable characters
who feel like people you have encountered
in your own life. She describes the interior
life of women, in particular, with honesty
and wonderfully real details from
ordinary life. Simultaneously erotic and down-toearth,
What You Long For, is bound to become a Southern classic.

Curiosity Shop Bookstore hosts a child author

The Curiosity Shop Bookstore
46 Valley River Ave - Murphy proudly welcomes 9-year-old author, Ansley Carol Burnette this Saturday, June 20th, signing her book, Frisco Finds a Forever Family, a hardcover children's book about a dog who lives in a shelter but hopes for a family to love.
Ansley donates the proceeds to private, no-kill animal rescue shelters including Castaway Critters Pet Rescue, where she volunteers in Blairsville.

Ansley will be in Murphy from 11am-1pm Saturday.

***********************

ANDREWS -- DON'T FORGET - tomorrow (Thursday, June 18th) marks the start of the Kids' Summer Reading Club. Meet at our Andrews store at 10am. Grades 4 & 5 and Grades 6, 7 & 8 will all meet for the kick-off.

Don't miss Andrews Cruise Night Saturday evening. Stop by the West End Plaza and listen to the sounds of The Junaluska Jam Band, featuring our own manager, Connie McCabe.

Workshop on blogging a success

Glenda Beall, Netwest Program Coordinator, held another successful workshop for members on Saturday, June 13 at the Moss Library in Hayesville. This workshop focused on methods to improve your blog site and how to post and comment on blogs. Like many of Glenda’s workshops in the past, it was offered free to Netwest members.

Glenda is very knowledgeable on blogging and does a terrific job of managing our own Netwest Writers blog and has two terrific blogs of her own - The way I see it & Writing life stories.

Featured guest Tipper Pressley was on hand to offer her wealth of knowledge and insight on how to become a more successful blogger. Tipper has a very interesting blog focusing on Appalachian culture - Blind Pig and the Acorn. She is an excellent teacher and is also available for one-on-one sessions about blogging. You can contact her via her blog for more information.

The workshop was interactive with everyone sharing their knowledge. Topics included how to lay out your blog to grab your reader’s attention the minute they visit your blog, installing the latest gadgets from Google, ways to get news about you and your blog with Google Alerts, adding pictures and moving them around, the right way to use links, and how to build traffic for your blog through interaction and comments. The workshop was attended by Nancy Simpson, Carole Thompson, Pat Workman and Sam Hoffer.

Here are some interesting links related to blogging:

- Comments – how to give as good as you get

- How to get news about you and your blog with Google Alerts

- Common HTML/XHTML tags

- CSS tutorial starting with HTML + CSS

- Everything you ever wanted to know about a blog including how to grab your reader’s attention using the "above the fold line" concept

Echoes Across the Blue Ridge

Submissions for the cover art for the Netwest anthology, Echoes across the Blue Ridge, Poems, Stories and Essays by writers living in and inspired by the southern Appalachians, have been most impressive. We will continue to accept photos, 8x10 please, until July 4.

We accept submissions only from the Netwest area. Be sure contact information is on each submission. We hope to have a selection made by August 1.

POETS AND WRITERS READING POEMS AND STORIES

Brenda Kay Ledford, poet of Hayesville, NC

Richard Argo , writer of essays and science fiction

Netwest members, Brenda Kay Ledford and Richard Argo will read on the fourth Thursday of June, the 25th, at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC. The readings will be held in the Keith House at 7:00 pm.

Brenda Kay Ledford, a native of Clay County, North Carolina, will delight all with her poetry drawn from life in these mountains. Her writing has appeared in OUR STATE, CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL, CAPPERS, JOURNAL OF KENTUCKY STUDIES, and other journals. She received the Paul Green Award from North Carolina Society of Historians for her poetry books, PATCHWORK MEMORIES and SHEW BIRD MOUNTAIN. Finishing Line Press published her third book, SACRED FIRE. Brenda Kay is a member of North Carolina Writers Network, North Carolina Poetry Society, Byron Herbert Reece Society, Georgia Poetry Society and listed with A DIRECTORY OF AMERICAN POETS AND FICTION WRITERS.

Richard Argo of Murphy, North Carolina is a writer of both fiction and nonfiction. His work has appeared in CAROLINA COUNTRY and LIGHTS IN THE MOUNTAINS. It is not uncommon to find bicycling as the subject of Richard’s work. He brings interest to everyday things in his musings. Richard is the facilitator of the Netwest Prose Group and is a member of long standing in the North Carolina Writers Network.

These readings are open to the community and to the students at the Folk School.

UPDATES THAT MAKE YOUR WEBLOG MORE EFFICIENT FOR YOUR USE

Please notice some of the new gadgets used on the sidebar of this blog.
You can now subscribe to this blog by email. You might not get to visit every day, but you can have the latest post e-mailed to you.
From that e-mail you can easily click on Netwest Writers to leave a comment or see what is new on the sidebar.

Links are listed on the sidebar to make it easier for the reader to find some of the most important recent posts such as guidelines for the Netwest Contest with the environmental theme. More of these will be used in the future.

Search this blog - this is a new gadget that helps you find a post from the archives. If you want to find a post in which your name appears, type in your name on the search line on the right side of the blog. Click Search.
Every post with your name will pop up. If you want to find a post in which poetry was mentioned, type in poetry and click Search. Hopefully this will help anyone searching for articles written over the past two and a half years. Please let us know if this is helpful.

Candy Maier Scholarship Fund Sponsors Kimberly Childs' Exhibit

THE “NATURE’S PATCHWORK” SHOW OF FABRIC ART OF KIMBERLY CHILDS WILL BE EXHIBITED IN A CHURCH GALLERY IN ASHEVILLE, NC

The Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers and the First Congregational United Church of Christ team up to display "Nature's Patchwork," an exhibit featuring the fabric art of Kimberly Childs, in the church gallery June 7-30, 2009. The exhibit opens at 11:00 a.m. following morning services on Sunday June 7, 2009, in the church’s gallery hall.
The church will be open from 1-5 pm on Tuesday June 9th, Friday June 12, Friday June 19, and Friday June 26, 2009 so the public can view the artworks, speak with the artist and board members of The Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers.
The exhibit features nine artworks within the theme of “Nature’s Patchwork”, titled, Park Scene I, Park Scene II, a 2-piece set of a different Park Scenes I & II, “Plenitessa-Kitchen Goddess”, “Feeding Koi”, “Words Words Words”, “Sweet Abundance” and “Homage To Monet”. Child’s pieces are vibrantly colored works of fabric marrying artisanal traditional quilting techniques with layers of landscape, figures and words.
Kimberly Childs is nationally known for her quilted fabric art and garments. A love of contra dancing and singing inspired her creativity with many of her artworks, but health challenges forced her to give up the dancing and singing that fed her artist’s soul. Her hands can no longer work with fabrics, and surgical damage to her vocal cords has silenced her singing voice forever. Even though she now uses a portable voice amplifier and struggles to speak above a whisper; her indomitable spirit refuses to give up or feel sorry for herself. Kimberly refuses to silence her artistic voice, and uses writing and watercolor painting as newer ways of expressing her creativity.
Kimberly wanted other women to experience the same comfort, joy and magic in writing that she and Candy Maier discovered on their artistic journeys. In 2007, she donated nine of her final fabric art pieces to The Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers. All pieces exhibited at the church are available for sale, with proceeds benefitting The Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers.
Candy Maier, according to her many friends, always lit up a room with her presence, sharing with everyone her zest for living. Her stories were often poignant, funny and meaningful, bringing joy to others.

After Candy’s sudden death in 2005, her writing friends created The Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers, an IRS 501(c)3 non-profit organization, which grants scholarships to Western North Carolina women over age twenty-one for shared writing classes from private teachers, universities and other sources.

Proceeds from the sale of the “Nature’s Patchwork” artworks will provide Candy Maier writing class scholarships to other women living in Western North Carolina in continuation of Candy Maier’s legacy.

Kimberly Childs
828-299-4499
http://www.kimberlychilds.net/

The Candy Maier Scholarship Fund for Women Writers

Attn: Whitney Laura George 828-255-1847 whitneylgeorge@mindspring.com

First Congregational United Church of Christ
Attn: Gary Mitchell
20 Oak Street
Asheville, NC 28801
828- 252-8729
828-231-5856
http://uccasheville.org/

More Winners in 2009 Cherokee County Senior Games/SilverArts

In the 2009 Cherokee County Senior Games/SilverArts (SilverArts: one word, two caps), in addition to Brenda Kay Ledford and Blanche Ledford, who won the silver and bronze for their life experience entries, Jerry Hobbs won the gold medal for his short story "A Slippery Bar of Soap and the Rose Colored Bikini."

Jerry Hobbs also won the bronze for his essay, "How To Sweep Away The Silence." Peg Russell won the silver medal for her essay, "Hanging Around In North Carolina And Cherokee County."

Cherokee County Games is in its second year, and Jerry, Brenda Kay, and Blanche have won medals both years. Richard Argo won the NC state silver medal in 2008 for his poem "Ode to Rock and Roll."


Other NetWest participants in the 2009 Literary Arts included Shirley Uphouse, Richard Argo, and Mary Ricketson. Other medalists this year included Judith T. Lott and Carol McAfee, (who both also won last year), and John C. Tuffy

Contest for Netwest Members deadline July 4th

If any of you have seen Silas House's new book on Mountaintop Removal, you may know it got a rave in the Washington Times.
Netwest is holding a contest for our members. Write a poem, story or essay that is environmentally focused. We want work that evokes a love of the land. It doesn't need to be preachy or even "environmental" in the literal/political sense.
Send one poem or an essay or story with no more than 450 words to Lana Hendershott lanadhnc@aol.com our moderator for this contest. Lana will send the blind entries to our judges.

The winning entry will be published on the Netwest blog, in the Netwest News and if possible, in the winner's hometown newspaper.

WHY AREN'T GOOD WRITERS PUBLISHED?

From Blue Pencil Editing

Lauren questions Wendy Burt-Thomas, editor, writer, mentor and teacher.

I excerpted a small part of her interview here because she speaks to a matter I have harped on for two years.


Lauren: You've been a mentor, coach, or editor for many writers. What do you think is the most common reason that good writers don’t get published?


Wendy Burt-Thomas replies:
Poor marketing skills. I see so many writers that are either too afraid, too uninformed, or frankly, too lazy, to market their work. They think their job is done when they write "the end" but writing is only half of the process. I've always told people who took my class that there are tons of great writers in the world who will never get published.

I'd rather be a good writer who eats lobster than a great writer who eats hot dogs. I make a living as a writer because I spend as much time marketing as I do writing.

Freelance writer/editor Wendy Burt-Thomas's third book is The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters.

Visit Wendy's site to learn more about her.
http://www.guidetoqueryletters.com/. If you have a writing-related question, you can post it to http://askwendy.wordpress.com/.

POETS OF WNC - DON'T MISS THIS CHANCE TO STUDY WITH CATHY SMITH BOWERS

There are still spaces available for the poetry workshop with Cathy Smith Bowers at the Network's Squire Summer Writing Residency, July 24-26, at Warren Wilson College.
Cathy has been described as "an inspiration and model for her students. Cathy is on fire with love for the written word and she fires up her students as well. Her students love and admire her; they flock to her creative writing classes."
Her work has appeared in publications such as the Atlantic Monthly, the Gettysburg Review, the Georgia Review, Poetry, the Southern Review, and the Kenyon Review. She served for many years as poet-in-residence at Queens University of Charlotte, where she received the 2002 J. B. Fuqua Distinguished Educator Award.

She now teaches in the Queens low-residency MFA in Creative Writing Program, and at conferences throughout the United States.


The Squire Summer Writing Residency offers:
Affordable three-day session includes daily classes, free writing periods, evening readings & discussions, and group meals
Commuter rates for those who do not wish to stay on campus
Limited number of dedicated writers in each workshop
In-class exercises and "hands on" discussion of work

The registration deadline is July 8th. Please visit our website to get more information and to register online. We hope you can join us for a weekend of poetry and community in the cool mountain air.



Best Regards,

Virginia Freedman
Administrative Director

North Carolina Writers' Network
P.O. Box 954
Carrboro, NC 27510
Phone: 919.251.9140
E-mail: http://www.blogger.com/
Website: http://www.blogger.com/

Silverarts Winners

Brenda Kay Ledford and Blanche L. Ledford received medals for their entries in the 2009 Cherokee County Silverarts literary competition May 16 during an award's ceremony held at Murphy First Baptist Church; Murphy, NC.

Brenda received a silver medal for her entry, "Birthday Present." Blanche won a bronze medal for her story, "Red Shoes." Nancy Gadsby and Clarence Newton were the judges for the Silverarts literary competition.

Brenda is a member of North Carolina Writers' Network and North Carolina Poetry Society. Her work has appeared in OUR STATE, ASHEVILLE POETRY REVIEW, PEMBROKE MAGAZINE, and other journals.

Blanche's work has appeared in many publications including EXIT 109, MOONSHINE AND BLIND MULES, LIGHTS IN THE MOUNTAINS, and other journals.

Another Netwest Winner in Poetry

Congratulations, Janice Townley Moore, first place winner in poetry, Press 53 Open Awards anthology.

The results of the 2009 Press 53 Open Awards writing contest are posted online at http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=1024106115&msgid=1837059&act=KZ5G&c=416361&admin=0&destination=http://www.press53.com/OpenAwards_2009.html.

Celebrate Nancy Simpson

Nancy Simpson celebrates her 100th post on her blog, Living Above the Frost Line. Look at the photo on her page today of some Netwest members back in 1998 when we soaked up Nancy's gifts in her classes at Tri-County Community College. Can you name those writers?

NETWEST SUPPORTS INDEPENDENT BOOK STORES

Curiosity Shop Bookstores in Murphy and Andrews, NC
sent their upcoming events list.


Friday, 5/29 - 5-7pm Hondo will be playing music at The Shoppes of Murphy.
5pm - Relay for Life in Konehete Park, Murphy

Saturday, 5/30 3-4pm The Bear Notes will play music at our Andrews location.

Saturday, 6/6 11:00am-1:00pm Senator Zell Miller will be in our Murphy store to sign his book, Purt Nigh Gone
The Murphy Spring Fest takes place that day downtown.
(If you can't be here that day and want him to sign a book, you may purchase in advance and we'll take care of it)!

Saturday, 6/13 11am-1pm Senator Zell Miller will be in our Andrews store.

Saturday, 6/20 6pm - 11pm Andrews "Cruise Night". Join us on our deck to watch the action!!

Saturday, 6/27 - Andrews Cultural Art Center Garden Tour
also, Andrews Music Festival