It looks like a new literary magazine will be hitting the newstands in western North Carolina very soon. The editors have begun with a bang with some big names among the authors represented.
fresh…stories, ideas, poetry
What is fresh?
It is a new quarterly literary magazine distributed in selected locations in five counties of Western North Carolina and soon to be available on the internet. Thanks to our advertisers and generous sponsors such as John Buckley and Dr. Darryl Nabors the first issue is free.
Our mission is to present fine writing through stories, ideas and poems from excellent writers across the nation and our region. Contributing writers in the first issue include Robert Morgan, prize winning author of Gap Creek, Boone and others; Keith Flynn, publisher of The Asheville Review, and prolific author of poetry; Kathryn Magendie, author of Tender Graces; and Eric S. Brown, author of World War of the Dead, plus hundreds of short stories. We believe it is important to offer a publication for fiction, essays and humor which reflect contemporary ideas and opinions.
fresh will be available in locations where people gather…restaurants, bookstores, coffee shops, libraries.
Comments and recommendations from readers are welcome. Future issues will have space for a readers’ forum. If you wish to participate, please e-mail your thoughts to: jcwalkup@bellsouth.net.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
SOUTHWESTERN TRIBES CULTURAL ARTS CELEBRATION
SOUTHEASTERN TRIBES CULTURAL ARTS CELEBRATION WILL TAKE PLACE RAIN OR SHINE!! September 18-19.
SCHEDULE AT http://www.cherokeemuseum.org/events-set.html
Monday, September 14, 2009
CATHERINE CARTER: NETWEST ENVIRONMENTAL WRITING CONTEST
Catherine Carter, who lives in Cullowhee, is one of the most interesting poets writing today. Also one of the best. Her poems about the environment go beyond cliche into the biological realities of the world around us without missing a lyrical beat. "Swarm" pulls us into the universe of a honeybee swarm with language that connects us with the real living "other" around us. When you read her first book, The MEMORY OF GILLS, that won the Roanoke-Chowan award from the NC Literary and Historical Association, your learn a lot about the natural world. I hope we have more poems of this caliber submitted to Netwest's Environmental contest. This is a contest we mustn't let die.
CATHERINE CARTER
(Third Place Winner)
SWARM
Twenty-five years back, at home,
the summer hour was late when the afternoon
light began to hum, and a thousand
specks came arrowing out of the west,
the air waxed thick with honeybees up in swarm.
They crept and crawled on our closed
screens, stormed and boomed around the old
maple: one of the things you remember
forever, a sign you can’t read, alien,
and yet down in your bones you know
you want this. Want to open the screen and go
out there, breathe the wind of gauze
wings, pet striped velvet, feel
the sisters’ feet prick your skin.
I didn’t know then that swarming
bees don’t sting, and working bees hardly
sting, and bumblebees let you stroke
their black satin as they drink the blooms.
I didn’t know how little harm
most things mean, how even the dangerous
snake tries to slide away, how safe
we were. But I think of it now, stirring
the soft bees barehanded, shaking
down this week’s thrumming swarm,
hoping they’ll come home. The summer
hour is late, but not too late.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
JOHN EHLE READING IN ASHEVILLE
John Ehle Reading in Asheville, NC
Internationally acclaimed author and Asheville native, John Ehle, will read and sign books on October 10 at 2 pm. The event, sponsored by The Writers' Workshop, will be held at the West Asheville Public Library at 942 Haywood Street. It is free and open to the public. A reception follows, hosted by Friends of West Asheville Library. Books will be available for purchase at the book-signing.
Mr. Ehle is the authorof seventeen books, including Winter People; The Journey Of August King; and Trail of Tears: The Rise and Fall of the Cherokee Nation. He will read from his novel, Last One Home, first published in 1984 and recently re-issued. It is the last in a seven-book series about the settling of the Appalachian Mountains in Western North Carolina.
Ehle is a member of the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, and has received the North Carolina Award for Literature, the Thomas Wolfe Prize and the Lillian Smith Award for Southern Fiction. He is a five-time winner of the Sir Walter Raleigh Award for Fiction, and has received the Mayflower Award; the Governor's Award for Meritorious Service; and the John Tyler Caldwell Award for the Humanities. Mr. Ehle holds honorary doctorates from UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Asheville, the North Carolina School of the Arts, and Berea College.
He also serves on the Advisory Board of The Writers' Workshop, a non-profit organization founded in 1985. A luncheon for Mr. Ehle will be held at noon, prior to the reading. For more information about the reading or luncheon, please email writersw@gmail.com, or call 828-254-8111.
CONNOTATION PRESS FIRST ISSUE NOW ONLINE
John Hoppenthaler has just notified me that the first online issue of Connotation is up. This is a free-wheeling e-zine that features drama, essay, poetry, fiction, as well as visual art. Give it a looksee. One of the poets in this first issue is Catherine Carter, 3rd place winner in Netwest's Environmental Writing contest. Her three poems are well worth your reading time. Catherine is a Roanoke-Chowan Winner; one of her poems won the recent Randall Jarrell Poetry Award from NCWN. She teaches at WCU.
If you to to the Guest Editor section, you will find a couple of my poems, one for my father, the dedicatory poem in my new manuscript.
Enjoy! And submit to Connotation. (www.connotationpress.com)
Connotation Press accepts submissions in poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, play writing, screenplay, graphic or visual arts, interview, book review, music review, video (for spoken word or music or…), etc. Basically, we′re looking at virtually every genre or crossover genre you can create.
Connotation Press only accepts online submissions, and we read submissions all year long. We generally will respond to submissions within six weeks; if you don′t hear back from us by then, feel free to inquire about the status of your manuscript. Please wait for a response before sending a second submission in any one genre.
We encourage simultaneous submissions, but please inform us immediately if your work is accepted elsewhere.
We only accept original, previously unpublished work. Translations should be submitted with original texts. Indicate that you have copyright clearance and/or author permission.
If your work is chosen for publication, we may ask for a brief interview, conducted by one of our editors, in addition to or in lieu of a traditional author′s bio, and a photograph.
What Digital Formats We Accept
Text Submissions: .doc, .pdf or .rtf files.
Visual Art Submissions: .jpg, .png, .pdf
Video Submissions: AVI, MPG, MP4
Guidelines by Genre
POETRY: Please submit not less than three and not more than five poems per submission.
FICTION: Please submit one short story or chapter at a time, or 1-5 flash fiction pieces.
CREATIVE NONFICTION: Please submit one piece or segment of a piece at a time.
DRAMA: Please submit one complete play, act, or segment thereof.
SCREENPLAY: Please submit one complete screenplay, act, or segment thereof.
GRAPHIC/VISUAL ART: If sending Images - Send at 72 DPI and no wider than 800 Width.
INTERVIEW: Submit a short treatment about the subject before submitting
REVIEWS: We will read all unsolicited reviews. However, if you would prefer to submit an inquiry first, we welcome that as well.
VIDEO: Please submit one at a time due to file size restrictions on attachments.
UNDERGRAD: For the undergrad section we are asking writing teachers around the world for their best and brightest new writers. Our hope is that the teacher will nominate the undergrad and work with the undergrad to compile a submission. For some new writers this will be their first submission process, and we gratefully welcome those writers.
When documentation is required for any submission, please use MLA style format.
Connotation Press holds first serial rights for material that we publish. The copyright automatically reverts to the author upon publication. We do not require that material be copyrighted prior to submission.
Go to Connotation Press for more guidelines.
Second Place winner of the Netwest Environmental Contest
Peg Russell of Murphy, NC is the second place winner of the Netwest Environmental contest.
THINK OF A FOREST
Think of a forest,
Think of a forest,
Not a foreboding evergreen forest past decaying cabins, but
Light green leafed hardwoods so tall they could be masts for ocean sailors.Think of a vaulted cathedral forest
So thick with trees there is only filtered sunlight,
No sunny meadow or grasses.
Think of boulders,
Boulders big and strong enough to hold back a glacier
Yet an ideal place to sit and listen
for deer
for a small bubbling stream
or a wild turkey to come by,
so cool you put on a mid-June jacket.
Think of a forest floor
So piled with leaves that it's clean to walk in,
With a scattering of brave hardwood seedlings,
a few hardy ferns,
three holly bushes.
Think of forest beauty worthy
of being preserved for a nation.
Eden's address is Ebenezer Road, Murphy.
Peg and Mike live in a Hanging Dog area log cabin. She compiled a history of Murphy Presbyterian Church, is active in Murphy Library Writers Workshop and Richard Argo's NetWest Prose critique group. She will teach an OASIS mythology class in September and will read at the John C. Campbell Folk School November 19.
Monday, September 7, 2009
POETRIO: SEPT. 13 at Malaprops
On Sunday, September 13, 2009, 3:00 p.m., Malaprop's Bookstore/Café
(55 Haywood Street in downtown Asheville, NC) welcomes poets Terri
Kirby Erickson, author of TELLING TALES OF DUSK; Linda Annas Ferguson
reading from DIRT SANDWICH; and John Hoppenthaler with ANTICIPATE THE
COMING RESERVOIR.
A North Carolina native who now lives in Charleston, South Carolina,
Linda Annas Ferguson has published five collections of poetry,
including BIRD MISSING FROM ONE SHOULDER (2007), STEPPING ON CRACKS IN
THE SIDEWALK (2006), LAST CHANCE TO BE LOST (2004), and IT'S HARD TO
HATE A BROKEN THING (2002). She serves on the Board of Governors of
the South Carolina Academy of Authors, was recognized as the 2005
Poetry Fellow for the South Carolina Arts Commission, became a
featured poet for the Library of Congress Poetry at Noon Series, and
was named the 2003-04 Poet-in-Residence for the Gibbes Museum of Art
in Charleston, S.C. She is also a former recipient of the South
Carolina Academy of Authors Poetry Fellowship. Her work is archived
by Furman University Special Collections in the James B. Duke Library,
and her poetry is included in several anthologies. Linda Annas
Ferguson's most recent book, DIRT SANDWICH(2009), is a Tom Lombardo
Poetry Selection from Press 53. Fellow poet Chris Forhan writes of
DIRT SANDWICH, "[Linda Annas Ferguson's] work exists at the shimmering
mid-point between an urge to celebrate the world's beauty and a pained
recognition that this beauty is mutable. . . . She has given us a book
of tender, clear-eyed, complex meditations, a lovely book by a poet
whose vision we can trust."
Another poet North Carolina born, Terri Kirby Erickson has traveled
extensively and lived for a time in Louisiana, Virginia, and Texas,
but she has spent most of her life in North Carolina. Her first
collection of poetry, THREAD COUNT, was published in 2006. Her
writing has appeared in numerous literary reviews and other
publications, including Pisgah Review, the Christian Science Monitor,
Paris Voice, Smoking Poet, and Wild Goose Poetry Review, among several
others. In 2006 and 2007, The Northwest Cultural Council selected her
work for an international juried poetry exhibit; and in 2009, her poem
"Oak Tree" earned a 2009 Best of the Net nomination. Pisgah Review
editor Jubal Tiner has praised Terri Kirby Erickson as "an exciting
new voice in American poetry." He admires the fact that "Her subject
matter spans the width between a lone Ferris wheel at a county fair,
where 'Coal dust fine and black as pulverized midnight, / covers
everything for miles,' to the vagaries of aging in the face of youth
. . . Erickson's verse is filled with spot-on similes and metaphors,
dotting its distinct and lucid structure with apt and artful
alliteration, telegraphing image upon finer image to the nexus of who
we are."
John Hoppenthaler's career in letters began when he served for several
years as personal assistant to Toni Morrison, whose work has been
recognized with both a Pulitzer and a Nobel Prize. John Hoppenthaler
is currently a member of the writing faculty at East Carolina
University, and he served as poetry editor of Kestrel for eleven
years. His reviews, interviews, and essays are widely published, and
his poems frequently appear in such distinguished The Southern Review,
Virginia Quarterly Review, Kansas Quarterly, The Laurel Review, and
Chautauqua Literary Journal, among many others. He has frequently
earned prestigious writing fellowships and grants. His first book of
poetry, LIVES OF WATER, was published in 2003, and his second poetry
collection, ANTICIPATE THE COMING RESERVOIR, appeared in 2008. Poet
Natasha Trethewey makes the following observations about his recent
book: "In this aptly titled new collection, ANTICIPATE THE COMING
RESERVOIR, John Hoppenthaler grounds an exploration of longing and
loss in a firm sense of place. From upstate New York to the Florida
coast, to the landscapes that exist only in memory and dream,
Hoppenthaler knows well the geographies he traverses, and he maps the
lives of the people who inhabit these places with tenderness."
Poetrio: Terri Kirby Erickson, Linda Annas Ferguson, John Hoppenthaler
Sunday, September 13, 2009, 3:00 p.m.
Malaprop's Bookstore/Café
55 Haywood Street
Asheville, NC 28801
(828) 254-6734
www.malaprops.com
Saturday, September 5, 2009
SHADOW BOX: Fred Chappell
CITY LIGHTS BOOKSOTRE
(http://www.lsu.edu/lsupress/bookPages/9780807134528.html) Four years ago Fred Chappell sent me a beautiful broadside of The Foreseeing, telling me that it was a new kind of poem he was now exploring, the "embedded poem," or a poem within a poem, and that it was devilishly difficult. In this poem, the voice of the woman is embedded in that of her partner, who is beginning to realize that she is in love again. The two voices work with and against each other, forming a whole. Call it poetic counterpoint. The "inlaid" poem. Better yet, call it stunning, an enviable achievement. 
Now these poems, at which Fred has been working since The Foreseeing, have been gathered into a new collection from LSU Press: its title appropriately enough is SHADOW BOX. Last night, August 7, at City Lights Books in Sylva, NC Fred read from SHADOW BOX, with his wife Susan presenting the woman's voice in the poems. The two of them gave a haunting, at times beguiling, performance. 
(Joyce Moore introduces Fred to the audience in the bookstore's Regional Room.) 
Spotlight 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. 
Brian's wife, the poet Catherine Carter, gets acquainted with Dana Wildsmith, who drove several hours from Georgia to be with Fred and Susan. Catherine's first book, The Memory of Gills, won the Roanoke-Chowan Award two years ago and was highly praised by none other than---Fred Chappell. 
Dana Wildsmith, a long-time friend of the Chappell's, has published several collections of poetry, as well as numerous essays, the most recent being in The Sun, published out of Chapel Hill. She lives in Bethlehem, Georgia. 
Fred will be on hand for the NC Literary Festival in Chapel Hill in September, as well as at the Smoky Mountain Bookfair in November, to name just a few opportunities for hearing him and Susan read from his new book. This new collection by the author Lee Smith calls our "resident genius," deserves all the readers it can get! City Lights contact information: more@citylightsnc.com phone: (828) 586-9499 web: http://www.citylightsnc.com
(http://www.lsu.edu/lsupress/bookPages/9780807134528.html) Four years ago Fred Chappell sent me a beautiful broadside of The Foreseeing, telling me that it was a new kind of poem he was now exploring, the "embedded poem," or a poem within a poem, and that it was devilishly difficult. In this poem, the voice of the woman is embedded in that of her partner, who is beginning to realize that she is in love again. The two voices work with and against each other, forming a whole. Call it poetic counterpoint. The "inlaid" poem. Better yet, call it stunning, an enviable achievement. 
Now these poems, at which Fred has been working since The Foreseeing, have been gathered into a new collection from LSU Press: its title appropriately enough is SHADOW BOX. Last night, August 7, at City Lights Books in Sylva, NC Fred read from SHADOW BOX, with his wife Susan presenting the woman's voice in the poems. The two of them gave a haunting, at times beguiling, performance. 
(Joyce Moore introduces Fred to the audience in the bookstore's Regional Room.) 
Spotlight 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. 
Brian's wife, the poet Catherine Carter, gets acquainted with Dana Wildsmith, who drove several hours from Georgia to be with Fred and Susan. Catherine's first book, The Memory of Gills, won the Roanoke-Chowan Award two years ago and was highly praised by none other than---Fred Chappell. 
Dana Wildsmith, a long-time friend of the Chappell's, has published several collections of poetry, as well as numerous essays, the most recent being in The Sun, published out of Chapel Hill. She lives in Bethlehem, Georgia. 
Fred will be on hand for the NC Literary Festival in Chapel Hill in September, as well as at the Smoky Mountain Bookfair in November, to name just a few opportunities for hearing him and Susan read from his new book. This new collection by the author Lee Smith calls our "resident genius," deserves all the readers it can get! City Lights contact information: more@citylightsnc.com phone: (828) 586-9499 web: http://www.citylightsnc.com
GREETINGS FROM YOUR NEW PROGRAM COORDINATOR
First, I want to thank Glenda Beall for what she has done for Netwest during her tenure as Program Coordinator. She kept this organization and its blog going under great personal stress, and I'm grateful to her. I will be keeping this blog going and invite you to send us posts. Here is one about a poetry contest that I hope Netwest members will thinking about entering.
I will be going to the NC Literary Festival next week in Chapel Hill and will spread the word about Netwest.
Poets:
Are you interested in compiling a book of your poetry and submitting it to a contest? Check out the links below.
Coal Hill Review Poetry Chapbook Contest: $250 and Publication
Postmark Deadline: November 1
The 2009 Coal Hill Review Poetry Chapbook Contest is now open. Please submit your manuscripts online at www.coalhillreview.com. Reading fee: $15 to be paid via PayPal (major credit cards accepted). Submit 10-15 pages of poetry, either a group of poems or one long poem. Poems may be previously published. Include an acknowledgements page.
The winning chapbook will be published electronically in Coal Hill Review, as well as in a paper edition. All finalists will be considered for publication in Coal Hill Review. The final judges for the competition are Anna Catone and Philip Terman, poetry editors of Coal Hill Review (see bios). Please address any questions to msimms@autumnhouse.org with the words "CHAPBOOK COMPETITION QUERY" in the subject line.
MYSTERY WRITERS WORKSHOP
BUILD YOUR WRITING SKILLS
All Writers All-day Skill-Building Workshop
from Mystery Writers of America,
Southeast Regional Chapter
Location: Raleigh, NC, Cameron Village Regional Library, 1930 Clark Ave. Directions Mapquest.
Date: Saturday, October 3, 2009.
Time: Doors open at 10:00 am. (A coffee bar is on Library premises.) Program ends at 4:30 pm.
Program: Welcome by KAREN MCCULLOUGH, president of the Southeast Regional Chapter of Mystery Writers of America. McCullough is the Eppie Award-winning author of 9 mystery, fantasy, sci-fi, and romantic suspense novels, including SHADOW OF A DOUBT.
ALEXANDRA SOKOLOFF
"Film Techniques for Your High-Concept Novel." Learn pacing, suspense, character arcs, and more to use in writing and pitching your fiction. Sokoloff is an experienced screenwriter, winner of the Thriller Award, and author of 3 novels: THE HARROWING, THE PRICE, THE UNSEEN. www.alexandrasokoloff.com
J. D. "DUSTY" RHOADES
"Build Setting and Mood to Take Readers to Another Place." Rhoades is an attorney and the Shamus Award-nominated author of the Jack Keller Southern Crime series: DEVIL'S RIGHT HAND, GOOD DAY IN HELL, SAFE & SOUND, and BREAKING COVER. ("Masterful"-Chicago Tribune). www.jdrhoades.com
CHRIS ROERDEN
"Develop Your Voice and Survive the Submission Process." Enjoy interactive exercises to expand your options and boost your odds of being read. Roerden is a book editor who wrote the Agatha Award-winning triple-nominated DON'T MURDER YOUR MYSTERY and the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Award-winning DON'T SABOTAGE YOUR SUBMISSION.www.writersinfo.info
AUTHORS-AUDIENCE DISCUSSION
"What Else You Need to Know About Writing and
Selling Your Work."
Friday, September 4, 2009
POETRY OUT LOUD: CALLING ALL HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS IN THE NETWEST AREA
THIS NATION WIDE PROGRAM DESERVES OUR SUPPORT. OUR STATE FINALS HAVE HAD ONLY ONE STUDENT FROM OUR REGION PARTICIPATE, SARAH TRAMPER OF CHEROKEE. IT'S TIME TO HAVE OUR NETWEST COUNTIES REPRESENTED, AND TEACHERS HAVE UNTIL SEPT. 18 TO REGISTER. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD TO YOUR HIGH SCHOOLS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO ENTER THIS COMPETITION. OUR MOUNTAIN STUDENTS NEED TO MAKE THEIR VOICES HEARD! THE PAGE BELOW, TAKEN FROM THE ARTS COUNCIL WEBSITE, GIVES THE INFORMATION NEEDED. THANKS.
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Saturday, August 29, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
CONDOLENCES TO SHIRLEY UPHOUSE, PAST PROGRAM COORDINATOR FOR NETWEST
Our membership is saddened today to hear of the passing of Warren Uphouse, Shirley's husband of 37 years. To send condolences, you will find Shirley's address on your membership list. No service is planned.
Shirley served NCWN West as Program Coordinator for several years and was responsible for holding the Lights in the Mountains writing conferences in 2005 and 2006. She also was co-editor of the first NCWN West anthology, Lights in the Mountains, Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
Shirley served NCWN West as Program Coordinator for several years and was responsible for holding the Lights in the Mountains writing conferences in 2005 and 2006. She also was co-editor of the first NCWN West anthology, Lights in the Mountains, Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
DOLLS REMEMBERED
Christensen, Madonna Dries. DOLLS REMEMBERED. Bloomington, IN: i Universe, 2009. 172 pages, trade paperback. $16.95.As touchstones to the past, dolls validate childhood, a span of years that often seem like a fragmented moment in time. With their life-like faces, blemished complexions, and snarled hair, childhood dolls hold sway with a magical power that rarely wanes, and often grows.
This charming anthology, DOLLS REMEMBERED, features more than 60 reminiscences and readers will learn that dolls can make or break friendships. Dolls are enjoyed alone or with a friend; they fuel creativity and imagination. Dolls teach sharing, nurturing, and loyalty; they assuage loneliness and hurt feelings; they calm fears and keep secrets. Dolls teach values and lessons--to adults as well as children. Dolls share adventure with their owners, and without them. When one girl outgrew her favorite doll but kept it under her bed, her friends "dollnapped" it. For years, the doll showed up at unlikely events.
Separately, two girls brought a treasured doll with them to America when they fled Nazi Europe with their family. Another girl lost her doll to that war. One girl disowned the doll she received for Christmas, while the same type doll was yearned for by others. More than one doll met an untimely fate. A childhood doll softened a poignnant reunion between two sisters after a rift had kept them apart for several years.
In the vignettes revealed in this anthology, not all dolls are pretty--except in the eyes of the beholder. Not all dolls were wanted; some were disappointing; not all became favorites, but each is memorable.
This book is available online through www.iUniverse.com and www.amazon.com. All royalities go to Down Syndrome Association of Northern Virginia.
Book reviewed by: Madonna Dries Christensen.
Brenda Kay Ledford's story, "Finding Dottie," appears in the anthology, DOLLS REMEMBERED. Brenda became reunited with her childhood doll through a serendipitous circumstance. Brenda is a member of North Carolina Writers' Network-West.
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Dana Wildsmith
Tonight on Facebook, I learned that Dana Wildsmith has been chosen for the 2009-2010 Artist-in-Residence Programs for the National Parks. She will be at the Grand Canyon National Park. Below is an interview I did with Dana a couple of years ago. I thought our new members and readers might like to read it.
Dana Wildsmith is a fine poet, writer and teacher. Recently I discovered Dana's poetry on Jayne Jaudon Ferrer's Poetry Parade and commented with enthusiasm about my appreciation of this poet's work. I was delighted to have Dana respond to me with a thank you email. From there we have become email friends, and I'm delighted she agreed to take time to give me an interview for this site. You can find her books listed on her website, http://www.danawildsmith.com/.
Glenda: Dana, you grew up living in different places because you are a preacher's kid. How did that affect your writing?
Dana: I loved being a PK, and moving around. I loved moving to a new place and having everyone already know who I was and why I was there. Even as a small child I got excited about the possibility inherent to moving- that idea of starting over (as if a seven-year-old has anything to start over from!). I think the moving made me more aware of my surroundings and more attentive to differences. I became a person who notices by habit, and that is a good trait for a poet.
Glenda: Where did you live the longest as a child? Where was your favorite place to live?
Dana: I didn't live anywhere the longest. My daddy was transferred every five years, so my inner time clock still starts thinking about moving on after four and a half years. MY favorite place while I was growing up was definitely Savannah. I loved Savannah from the first time I saw it. I loved being part of all that history and I loved the somewhat self-centered air of assurance Savannahians have from birth. My mother says I was born secure, so I guess I felt at home with the sense of assurance of place and role among the old families of Savannah. And, of course, I loved the beauty of the place.
Glenda: Did you always know you wanted to be a writer or poet? When did you begin to realize you actually are a writer?
Dana: I don't know if I always wanted to be a writer, though I have always written. To me, words and playing words was always tied in with music. I am a singer and need music in my life at all times.
When did I realize that I am a writer? The flip answer would be to say- the first time someone gave me money for words I had written. That's partly true, though. I consciously think of myself as a writer whenever someone else thinks of me in that way. Otherwise, I think of myself as writing, which is a whole other attitude.
Glenda: I have come to believe that many writers are insecure about their work until someone they respect validates them by telling them they are indeed a writer or a poet. What do you think about that?
Dana: I think there's a lot of truth to that. But I also think it's not limited just to writing, Any time we are investing huge amounts of time and energy into something that doesn't (at least at first) come with a paycheck as validate, we need some other form of validation that we aren't being foolish or wasting our time- and the validation which seems to hold the most weight is affirmation from someone more established in the art.
Glenda: You and your husband are now living on a family farm outside Atlanta and you are feeling the impact of developers buying up properties and making subdivisions all around you. We face that here in the mountains and feel helpless to stop this destruction of mountain tops. What are you and your husband doing to make a difference?
Dana: We are doing the same things my friends involved in the fight against Mountain Top Removal are doing- we're fighting. We don't give in to any changes which are needlessly harmful without questioning, and then- if need be- starting the process of taking any possible civic or legal action to stop the harm. We are attentive, constantly, to what's going on around us. We don't let anyone get away with anything.
Glenda: When did you publish your first poem and where?
Dana: I truly don't remember. But I know that one of my very first acceptances was from Yankee magazine- a commercial journal whose poetry editor I greatly admired.
Glenda: What advice do you have for beginning writers or those who have been writing a long time, but have trouble getting published?
Is it really all about "who you know"?
Dana: It helps to know people, but the happy secret is that the more you plod along, sending things out and getting rejections, the more you get to know people- and they, you. All you can do is keep on keeping on. And commiserate with other strugglers. I remember going to a writing festival and running into the quiet successful poet Michael Chitwood, who told me he'd just started having a few things accepted after a year of rejections. He had no idea how much this cheered and heartened me!
Glenda: Why do you think so many writers and poets are self-publishing now?
Dana: Two reasons:
- Because it is so possible now. It's relatively easy to turn out as fine or nearly as fine a product as many publishing houses do.
- and because the book market is so tough right now that this may be their only way to get published without a long wait.
Glenda: What place do you think the Internet has in the future of publishing? Do you have a website or a blog?
I think it is firmly established to the extent that any writer who wants to keep on seriously being published and in the public eye needs to keep this medium in mind.
I have a web site: http://www.danawildsmith.com/ It has proved invaluable to me, and has put me in touch with people who otherwise would have had a tough time finding me.
Glenda: I know you are on faculty for the John C. Campbell Folk School. What do you most enjoy about teaching there? When is your next class at JCCFS?
Dana: What I love most about teaching there (besides the food- seriously!) is the space of time I have to get to know my students and their work. We have all day, for five days, with each other. It's a great luxury which affords us the chance to make leaps forward in our writing.
My next class there will begin on Sunday, August 17th and go through that week. It's entitled:Beyond Memoir. In this class (which will be fine for writers of all levels of experience), we'll work on taking the facts of our lives and using them to create writing which moves beyond the mere recording of facts, into a larger purpose.
(Dana will teach Beyond Memoir again in 2010. Contact the folk school to register for the class.)
Glenda Beall writes, teaches and manages this blog from Hayesville, NC.
Dana Wildsmith is a fine poet, writer and teacher. Recently I discovered Dana's poetry on Jayne Jaudon Ferrer's Poetry Parade and commented with enthusiasm about my appreciation of this poet's work. I was delighted to have Dana respond to me with a thank you email. From there we have become email friends, and I'm delighted she agreed to take time to give me an interview for this site. You can find her books listed on her website, http://www.danawildsmith.com/.
Glenda: Dana, you grew up living in different places because you are a preacher's kid. How did that affect your writing?
Dana: I loved being a PK, and moving around. I loved moving to a new place and having everyone already know who I was and why I was there. Even as a small child I got excited about the possibility inherent to moving- that idea of starting over (as if a seven-year-old has anything to start over from!). I think the moving made me more aware of my surroundings and more attentive to differences. I became a person who notices by habit, and that is a good trait for a poet.
Glenda: Where did you live the longest as a child? Where was your favorite place to live?
Dana: I didn't live anywhere the longest. My daddy was transferred every five years, so my inner time clock still starts thinking about moving on after four and a half years. MY favorite place while I was growing up was definitely Savannah. I loved Savannah from the first time I saw it. I loved being part of all that history and I loved the somewhat self-centered air of assurance Savannahians have from birth. My mother says I was born secure, so I guess I felt at home with the sense of assurance of place and role among the old families of Savannah. And, of course, I loved the beauty of the place.
Glenda: Did you always know you wanted to be a writer or poet? When did you begin to realize you actually are a writer?
Dana: I don't know if I always wanted to be a writer, though I have always written. To me, words and playing words was always tied in with music. I am a singer and need music in my life at all times.
When did I realize that I am a writer? The flip answer would be to say- the first time someone gave me money for words I had written. That's partly true, though. I consciously think of myself as a writer whenever someone else thinks of me in that way. Otherwise, I think of myself as writing, which is a whole other attitude.
Glenda: I have come to believe that many writers are insecure about their work until someone they respect validates them by telling them they are indeed a writer or a poet. What do you think about that?
Dana: I think there's a lot of truth to that. But I also think it's not limited just to writing, Any time we are investing huge amounts of time and energy into something that doesn't (at least at first) come with a paycheck as validate, we need some other form of validation that we aren't being foolish or wasting our time- and the validation which seems to hold the most weight is affirmation from someone more established in the art.
Glenda: You and your husband are now living on a family farm outside Atlanta and you are feeling the impact of developers buying up properties and making subdivisions all around you. We face that here in the mountains and feel helpless to stop this destruction of mountain tops. What are you and your husband doing to make a difference?
Dana: We are doing the same things my friends involved in the fight against Mountain Top Removal are doing- we're fighting. We don't give in to any changes which are needlessly harmful without questioning, and then- if need be- starting the process of taking any possible civic or legal action to stop the harm. We are attentive, constantly, to what's going on around us. We don't let anyone get away with anything.
Glenda: When did you publish your first poem and where?
Dana: I truly don't remember. But I know that one of my very first acceptances was from Yankee magazine- a commercial journal whose poetry editor I greatly admired.
Glenda: What advice do you have for beginning writers or those who have been writing a long time, but have trouble getting published?
Is it really all about "who you know"?
Dana: It helps to know people, but the happy secret is that the more you plod along, sending things out and getting rejections, the more you get to know people- and they, you. All you can do is keep on keeping on. And commiserate with other strugglers. I remember going to a writing festival and running into the quiet successful poet Michael Chitwood, who told me he'd just started having a few things accepted after a year of rejections. He had no idea how much this cheered and heartened me!
Glenda: Why do you think so many writers and poets are self-publishing now?
Dana: Two reasons:
- Because it is so possible now. It's relatively easy to turn out as fine or nearly as fine a product as many publishing houses do.
- and because the book market is so tough right now that this may be their only way to get published without a long wait.
Glenda: What place do you think the Internet has in the future of publishing? Do you have a website or a blog?
I think it is firmly established to the extent that any writer who wants to keep on seriously being published and in the public eye needs to keep this medium in mind.
I have a web site: http://www.danawildsmith.com/ It has proved invaluable to me, and has put me in touch with people who otherwise would have had a tough time finding me.
Glenda: I know you are on faculty for the John C. Campbell Folk School. What do you most enjoy about teaching there? When is your next class at JCCFS?
Dana: What I love most about teaching there (besides the food- seriously!) is the space of time I have to get to know my students and their work. We have all day, for five days, with each other. It's a great luxury which affords us the chance to make leaps forward in our writing.
My next class there will begin on Sunday, August 17th and go through that week. It's entitled:Beyond Memoir. In this class (which will be fine for writers of all levels of experience), we'll work on taking the facts of our lives and using them to create writing which moves beyond the mere recording of facts, into a larger purpose.
(Dana will teach Beyond Memoir again in 2010. Contact the folk school to register for the class.)
Glenda Beall writes, teaches and manages this blog from Hayesville, NC.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Last Day in Norway with Nancy Sales Cash
We have enjoyed the posts by our guest, Nancy Sales Cash, as she travels on board the Queen Mary 2. Thanks so much, Nancy, for taking us vicariously along with you. Glenda Beall
On our last day in Norway aboard the Queen Mary 2, we went to the small town of Alesund, which was totally destroyed by fire in 1904 and completely rebuilt in the then-cutting-edge style of Art Nouveau. It's an interesting, albeit watered-down version of Paris' and Brussels' exuberant examples of the architectural style.The photo, above, in black raincoat and red hat, shows me frowning at the stiff wind atop Alesund's lookout point with the ship far below. After two weeks in cool, windy weather in 50 and 60 degrees, I am ready for some of those hot August nights you're having back in WNC. For writers, there was an interesting lecture on the ship about Norwegian and Icelandic (Norse) Sagas.The earliest ones are among the world's oldest literature, and can be found in translation. The first ones were family sagas, then came romantic sagas. Some of these are called Njal's (Niel's) Saga, Loxdaela Saga, Valsunga Saga. But the most interesting thing was that the lecturer maintained these contained most of the basic elements of drama that we as writers still use, and that have been used throughout history by people such as Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, the Brontes, etc. They are the forerunners of Moby Dick, the Forsyte Saga, and even Dallas! So, next time I'm stuck for a plot, I'm going to look up some of those old Norse Sagas, and maybe I'll come out with another Jane Eyre or Rebecca. All of the Sagas, the lecturer pointed out, have a dark 'father' who is lovable but heartless and egotistical (think Mr. Rochester), and a foreboding woman (Mrs. Danvers?) whom the lecturer equated to the trolls: whimsical, perverse creatures from the Sagas.I happened to be reading an interesting book, "Daphne," by Justine Picardie (Bloomsbury Press, 2008), a fictional account of Daphne du Maurier's life and writings which told how much she borrowed from the Brontes. In this book, the Brontes and du Mauriers and J.M. Barrie ('Peter Pan') are all mixed up, and there's a literary mystery you might enjoy reading; I did. Just goes to show: there's nothing new under the sun, and as writers we can only hope to find a new way of saying it. Finding these earliest influences on writers and writing was, I thought, a fitting end to a wonderful trip to interesting places. Hope you've enjoyed these posts for the Netwest blog; I've really enjoyed writing them, and it has helped me put the trip into a writer's perspective. Best regards, 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.
On our last day in Norway aboard the Queen Mary 2, we went to the small town of Alesund, which was totally destroyed by fire in 1904 and completely rebuilt in the then-cutting-edge style of Art Nouveau. It's an interesting, albeit watered-down version of Paris' and Brussels' exuberant examples of the architectural style.The photo, above, in black raincoat and red hat, shows me frowning at the stiff wind atop Alesund's lookout point with the ship far below. After two weeks in cool, windy weather in 50 and 60 degrees, I am ready for some of those hot August nights you're having back in WNC. For writers, there was an interesting lecture on the ship about Norwegian and Icelandic (Norse) Sagas.The earliest ones are among the world's oldest literature, and can be found in translation. The first ones were family sagas, then came romantic sagas. Some of these are called Njal's (Niel's) Saga, Loxdaela Saga, Valsunga Saga. But the most interesting thing was that the lecturer maintained these contained most of the basic elements of drama that we as writers still use, and that have been used throughout history by people such as Ibsen, George Bernard Shaw, the Brontes, etc. They are the forerunners of Moby Dick, the Forsyte Saga, and even Dallas! So, next time I'm stuck for a plot, I'm going to look up some of those old Norse Sagas, and maybe I'll come out with another Jane Eyre or Rebecca. All of the Sagas, the lecturer pointed out, have a dark 'father' who is lovable but heartless and egotistical (think Mr. Rochester), and a foreboding woman (Mrs. Danvers?) whom the lecturer equated to the trolls: whimsical, perverse creatures from the Sagas.I happened to be reading an interesting book, "Daphne," by Justine Picardie (Bloomsbury Press, 2008), a fictional account of Daphne du Maurier's life and writings which told how much she borrowed from the Brontes. In this book, the Brontes and du Mauriers and J.M. Barrie ('Peter Pan') are all mixed up, and there's a literary mystery you might enjoy reading; I did. Just goes to show: there's nothing new under the sun, and as writers we can only hope to find a new way of saying it. Finding these earliest influences on writers and writing was, I thought, a fitting end to a wonderful trip to interesting places. Hope you've enjoyed these posts for the Netwest blog; I've really enjoyed writing them, and it has helped me put the trip into a writer's perspective. Best regards, 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.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Netwest Contest First Place Winner
Janet Benway's poem, Childhood of an Environmentalist, is our first place winner in the Netwest Environmental Contest. Theme for this contest was showing a love for the environment in which we live, the land where we live, the earth.
Childhood of an Environmentalist
Raised in a playworld of cowboys and Indians,
he did not understand
my act of slipping the fish
back into the stream.
He appealed to parents; there were reprimands--
at ten, I had done wrong to someone younger.
Yet I saw the fish gasp
wriggle
struggle
fight
flapping her tail relentlessly against the walls
of a tin can filled with water.
And when the fish reached her natural element,
I thought I heard--above the little-boy tears--
a song of joy.
Years later, he's a hunter,
killing deer and birds for sport.
Years later, I'm a poet with Earth's wonders to report.
Two lives diverged from a common source
of family and town.
While he still kills, the fish is free,
and I must write that down.
Janet Benway is happily transplanted from Connecticut, where she was an editor and college English teacher. Now she sometimes teaches creative writing in the Creekside program at Brevard College. Her poetry has been published in magazines such as Lucidity, Bereavement, and Long River Run.
Childhood of an Environmentalist
Raised in a playworld of cowboys and Indians,
he did not understand
my act of slipping the fish
back into the stream.
He appealed to parents; there were reprimands--
at ten, I had done wrong to someone younger.
Yet I saw the fish gasp
wriggle
struggle
fight
flapping her tail relentlessly against the walls
of a tin can filled with water.
And when the fish reached her natural element,
I thought I heard--above the little-boy tears--
a song of joy.
Years later, he's a hunter,
killing deer and birds for sport.
Years later, I'm a poet with Earth's wonders to report.
Two lives diverged from a common source
of family and town.
While he still kills, the fish is free,
and I must write that down.
Janet Benway is happily transplanted from Connecticut, where she was an editor and college English teacher. Now she sometimes teaches creative writing in the Creekside program at Brevard College. Her poetry has been published in magazines such as Lucidity, Bereavement, and Long River Run.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
NETWEST CONTEST WINNERS ANNOUNCED
NETWEST recently held a contest asking members to write a poem, story or essay that is environmentally focused. The work should evoke a love of the land.
Lana Hendershott, Henderson County, NC
We are happy to congratulate the winners of the contest.
The winning entry “Childhood of an Environmentalist”, was submitted by Janet Benway of Brevard, NC.
The second place poem, “Think of a Forest”, was submitted by Peg Russell of Murphy, NC.
The third place poem “Swarm”, was submitted by Catherine Carter of Cullowhee, NC.
All of the submissions were excellent and I'm sure choosing the winners was difficult. We will post all the winning entries here and in the Netwest News in the coming months.
Thanks to those writers who submitted work. We hope you all will continue to enter the contests held by Netwest in the coming months.
Lana Hendershott, our representative in Henderson County, volunteered to manage the contest. She accepted the emailed entries and forwarded blind copies of them to our judge, Robert Kimsey, a former Ne
twest member who was our representative in Georgia.
twest member who was our representative in Georgia. Lana Hendershott, Henderson County, NC
We are happy to congratulate the winners of the contest.
The winning entry “Childhood of an Environmentalist”, was submitted by Janet Benway of Brevard, NC.
The second place poem, “Think of a Forest”, was submitted by Peg Russell of Murphy, NC.
The third place poem “Swarm”, was submitted by Catherine Carter of Cullowhee, NC.
All of the submissions were excellent and I'm sure choosing the winners was difficult. We will post all the winning entries here and in the Netwest News in the coming months.
Thanks to those writers who submitted work. We hope you all will continue to enter the contests held by Netwest in the coming months.
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.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
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.
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