Jacquelyn Frank, a NY Times best selling author, will speak at the Mountain Writers meeting, Tuesday, May 10 at 1:00 at Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville, NC.
A paranormal romance writer, she'll talk about building worlds--creating the worlds in which our characters live. Check out her website, http://www.jacquelynfrank.com/, to see her work.
Contact Merry Elrick for more information
Mountain Writers of NC
http://www.mountainwritersnc.com/
merryelrick@mac.com
Friday, May 6, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
May's Writers' Night Out
Friday the 13th of May will be lucky for audiences who come hear poet Robert W. Kimsey at 7 p.m. at Mountain Perk Coffee House in Hiawassee. To celebrate the first anniversary of Writers’ Night Out, one lucky audience member will win a book. Also, those who’d like to share their own poetry or fiction can participate in the
open microphone portion of the program following Kimsey’s reading.
Kimsey is a retired technical writer and illustrator who lives in McCaysville, GA. His poems have appeared in print and online publications including Kudzu, Pegasus, Southern Ocean Review, New Southerner and various anthologies. He is a member of the Georgia Poetry Society and was the judge for their youth contest in 2010. He is also a member of, and has won various awards from, the Kentucky Poetry Society. Robert has taught workshops in Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia, as well as at the Blue Ridge Writer’s Conference. Paths From the Shawnee Spring is the title of his first poetry chapbook. His new chapbook, Air Swimmer, is due out in May.
Writers’ Night Out takes place on the second Friday of each month at Mountain Perk Coffee House, 1390 Highway 76 East in Chatuge Harbor Plaza across from Towns County High School. The evening is free and open to the public. Food, gourmet coffees and other refreshments are available for purchase. Those interested in reading at the open microphone may sign up at the event. Each writer can read for up to
three minutes.
Writers’ Night Out moved to its current location last month when Green To Bean Coffee House closed. The event began a year ago and has steadily grown in popularity. Mountain Perk offers a larger space to accommodate the usual audience of 30 or more people from four counties. It’s a relaxed and fun atmosphere for anyone who loves the written word.
For more information, please contact Karen Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or
kpaulholmes@gmail.com, or call Mountain Perk at (706) 896-0504.
open microphone portion of the program following Kimsey’s reading.
Kimsey is a retired technical writer and illustrator who lives in McCaysville, GA. His poems have appeared in print and online publications including Kudzu, Pegasus, Southern Ocean Review, New Southerner and various anthologies. He is a member of the Georgia Poetry Society and was the judge for their youth contest in 2010. He is also a member of, and has won various awards from, the Kentucky Poetry Society. Robert has taught workshops in Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia, as well as at the Blue Ridge Writer’s Conference. Paths From the Shawnee Spring is the title of his first poetry chapbook. His new chapbook, Air Swimmer, is due out in May.
Writers’ Night Out takes place on the second Friday of each month at Mountain Perk Coffee House, 1390 Highway 76 East in Chatuge Harbor Plaza across from Towns County High School. The evening is free and open to the public. Food, gourmet coffees and other refreshments are available for purchase. Those interested in reading at the open microphone may sign up at the event. Each writer can read for up to
three minutes.
Writers’ Night Out moved to its current location last month when Green To Bean Coffee House closed. The event began a year ago and has steadily grown in popularity. Mountain Perk offers a larger space to accommodate the usual audience of 30 or more people from four counties. It’s a relaxed and fun atmosphere for anyone who loves the written word.
For more information, please contact Karen Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or
kpaulholmes@gmail.com, or call Mountain Perk at (706) 896-0504.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Which Lit Journal Shall You Read?
We all know that to be good writers we must constantly be readers. A colleague of mine recently directed me to this website, Every Writer’s Resource.com. This entity has selected “Top 50 Lit Journals” (see the website for criteria and list). If you are looking to subscribe to a new journal, I recommend this list, along with the website itself. As opposed to my other favorite website (www.newpages.com), Every Writer’s Resource.com takes a more historical approach to the written word, which I like - -it helps fill in any gaps we may have particularly as poets. If you click on the Poets section, you’ll find Thomas Hardy, Edna St. Vincent Millay, Phillis Wheatley, and Matthew Arnold to name just a few.
Back to the lit journals, I have been or am a subscriber to a few of them. My personal favorites include Crazy Horse (nice shape, interesting voices), Black Warrior Review (for its very oddness), Poetry (for the “comment” section as much as for the poetry), the Georgia Review (always something good in its pages), and the Southern Review (always something fresh). If you subscribe to the others on the list, I'd love to know your opinion. I’ve let a lot of my subscriptions slip lately due to the economy, but I’m going to choose a new one for this year…and it’ll be one I haven’t read yet. Here’s to happy reading and happy writing!
Back to the lit journals, I have been or am a subscriber to a few of them. My personal favorites include Crazy Horse (nice shape, interesting voices), Black Warrior Review (for its very oddness), Poetry (for the “comment” section as much as for the poetry), the Georgia Review (always something good in its pages), and the Southern Review (always something fresh). If you subscribe to the others on the list, I'd love to know your opinion. I’ve let a lot of my subscriptions slip lately due to the economy, but I’m going to choose a new one for this year…and it’ll be one I haven’t read yet. Here’s to happy reading and happy writing!
Saturday, April 30, 2011
MARY RICKETSON READS AT COFFEE WITH THE POETS IN HAYESVILLE
Coffee with the Poets has moved to Cafe Touche, at 82 Main Street in Hayesville, NC. Liz Bleauer, owner of the shop serves the best coffee and has an ample menu of other goodies. She has outside seating available, but we will meet inside.The next meeting is on Wednesday, May 11, at 10:30 AM. with Mary Ricketson as the featured reader.
Mary Ricketson has a long career as a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in rural western North Carolina. She has a special interest in women’s issues, victims of abuse, and family and couple relationships. Her work is well known locally. She is listed in Who’s Who in American Women.
She lives in a hand made house in the woods where she planted and maintains an organic blueberry farm. Her poems reflect her connections with a wealth of people and her close bond with the earth.
Mary has been writing poetry for twenty years and has completed a chapbook, I Hear the River Call My Name, published in 2007 by Finishing Line Press.
Her poetry has been published in Lights in the Mountains, Freeing Jonah IV, various magazines, and in Disorgananza, a private collection distributed among family and friends in 2000. For fifteen years she has written a monthly column, Woman to Woman, for a weekly newspaper in Murphy, NC, The Cherokee Scout. She is a member of North Carolina Writers Network.
With a new venue, comes a new format for CWP. We will be inviting out of town guests to read along with our local poets in the future. This month we expect a visit from Wayne Drumheller, member of the NCWN Board of Directors. Wayne didn't indicate that he planned to read, but he would like to meet members in the area, so please come and enjoy the morning with him and other writers.
Mary Ricketson has a long career as a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in rural western North Carolina. She has a special interest in women’s issues, victims of abuse, and family and couple relationships. Her work is well known locally. She is listed in Who’s Who in American Women.
She lives in a hand made house in the woods where she planted and maintains an organic blueberry farm. Her poems reflect her connections with a wealth of people and her close bond with the earth.
Mary has been writing poetry for twenty years and has completed a chapbook, I Hear the River Call My Name, published in 2007 by Finishing Line Press.
Her poetry has been published in Lights in the Mountains, Freeing Jonah IV, various magazines, and in Disorgananza, a private collection distributed among family and friends in 2000. For fifteen years she has written a monthly column, Woman to Woman, for a weekly newspaper in Murphy, NC, The Cherokee Scout. She is a member of North Carolina Writers Network.
With a new venue, comes a new format for CWP. We will be inviting out of town guests to read along with our local poets in the future. This month we expect a visit from Wayne Drumheller, member of the NCWN Board of Directors. Wayne didn't indicate that he planned to read, but he would like to meet members in the area, so please come and enjoy the morning with him and other writers.
This event is open to the community and everyone is urged to bring a poem or a short prose piece to share at Open Mic.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Social Media? Who Needs It?
Ronda Birtha talks about her upcoming class on Social Media and its importance to writers.
A pre-class prep talk to ease the nerves of non-tech-savvy attendees. This is not a technology class!
Overview: 3 hours.
1. Introduction to Social Media for marketing (1 hr)
Why Social Media is Necessary for your Marketing Strategy?
What do you mean, ‘be social’?
2. What you need to Start and Maintain a Blog (1hr)
3. Getting started with Facebook (1hr)
What kind of writer are you? Is your satisfaction complete when you pen your last word, or make your final edit? Are you the kind of writer that is completely satisfied with having friends and family read your manuscript? Or do you want more? Do you want people to talk about your book (favorably, of course)? Word of mouth has always been a powerful tool, but let’s consider how it works today.
When someone has some juicy information, a valuable recommendation, meaningful insight (or, not so meaningful), even a scathing review, it is talked about, not just in someone’s ear, but online, in the powerful and pervasive social media context. If you want people to talk about your book then that is where you have to get the conversation going: in the social media pool.
If you are concerned about getting started because of having limited computer knowledge or experience, rest assured, the most difficult part of engaging in social media is the commitment you will need to stick with it. The first word in Social Media Marketing, is, indeed, Social, and that is where our classroom conversation will begin. What does it mean to be social, how does one become social? The answers to these often-neglected, yet highly important questions, will help fortify your nerve and strengthen your resolve to stick with your social media marketing efforts.
Technologically speaking, what do you need at minimum to start?
Access to a computer that has an internet connection (preferably more than dial-up). Computer access will not be needed for this class, however, so breath easy (at least for now).
I don’t want to oversimplify the process or the methods, especially since many aspects of social media marketing are still very much an art form and not a science (like medicine), and are prone to surprise and confound us. But if we remember that many things in life surprise and confound us, we will not inflate our expectations.
There is no magic button that will set everything up for us. There is no secret preference that we have to click on to make people visit our site, comment on our blog, respond to our Facebook status updates. It takes work, and effort … like most worthwhile things.
So bring a positive attitude and a pen to take notes.
Ronda L. Birtha is a freelance photographer, writer and social media consultant. She can be contacted at rbirtha@rondabirtha.com. Her photography can be viewed at www.rondabirtha.com
The class will be held at Writers Circle, 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC
Contact glendabeall@msn.com for registration information or visit www.glendacouncilbeall.blogspot.com
A pre-class prep talk to ease the nerves of non-tech-savvy attendees. This is not a technology class!
Overview: 3 hours.
1. Introduction to Social Media for marketing (1 hr)
Why Social Media is Necessary for your Marketing Strategy?
What do you mean, ‘be social’?
2. What you need to Start and Maintain a Blog (1hr)
3. Getting started with Facebook (1hr)
What kind of writer are you? Is your satisfaction complete when you pen your last word, or make your final edit? Are you the kind of writer that is completely satisfied with having friends and family read your manuscript? Or do you want more? Do you want people to talk about your book (favorably, of course)? Word of mouth has always been a powerful tool, but let’s consider how it works today.
When someone has some juicy information, a valuable recommendation, meaningful insight (or, not so meaningful), even a scathing review, it is talked about, not just in someone’s ear, but online, in the powerful and pervasive social media context. If you want people to talk about your book then that is where you have to get the conversation going: in the social media pool.
If you are concerned about getting started because of having limited computer knowledge or experience, rest assured, the most difficult part of engaging in social media is the commitment you will need to stick with it. The first word in Social Media Marketing, is, indeed, Social, and that is where our classroom conversation will begin. What does it mean to be social, how does one become social? The answers to these often-neglected, yet highly important questions, will help fortify your nerve and strengthen your resolve to stick with your social media marketing efforts.
Technologically speaking, what do you need at minimum to start?
Access to a computer that has an internet connection (preferably more than dial-up). Computer access will not be needed for this class, however, so breath easy (at least for now).
I don’t want to oversimplify the process or the methods, especially since many aspects of social media marketing are still very much an art form and not a science (like medicine), and are prone to surprise and confound us. But if we remember that many things in life surprise and confound us, we will not inflate our expectations.
There is no magic button that will set everything up for us. There is no secret preference that we have to click on to make people visit our site, comment on our blog, respond to our Facebook status updates. It takes work, and effort … like most worthwhile things.
So bring a positive attitude and a pen to take notes.
Ronda L. Birtha is a freelance photographer, writer and social media consultant. She can be contacted at rbirtha@rondabirtha.com. Her photography can be viewed at www.rondabirtha.com
The class will be held at Writers Circle, 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC
Contact glendabeall@msn.com for registration information or visit www.glendacouncilbeall.blogspot.com
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
COFFEE WITH THE POETS AT CITY LIGHTS BOOK STORE IN SYLVA,NC
Thurs. 4/21 at 10:30 a.m.
Coffee with the Poet This Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
Coffee with the Poet will meet on Thursday, April 21st at 10:30 a.m. and will feature poet Rosemary Royston from Young-Harris, Georgia. The monthly third-Thursday-of-the-month event features an opportunity to meet a local poet and hear an informal reading. It is co-sponsored by NetWest and City Lights.
Rosemary received her MFA in Writing from Spalding University in Louisville, KY. Her poetry has been published in The Comstock Review, Main Street Rag,Alehouse, Literal Latte, Public Republic, and Dark Sky Magazine. A chapbook,Splitting the Soil, will be published in late 2011 or early 2012. Her essays on writing poetry are forthcoming in Women and Poetry: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing by Successful Women Poets. She was the recipient of the 2010 Literal Latte Food Verse Award, and she was the 2004 recipient of first and third place in poetry, Porter Fleming Literary Awards. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Writers Network-West. Her blog can be found at http://theluxuryoftrees.wordpress.com/
Coffee with the Poet This Thursday at 10:30 a.m.
Coffee with the Poet will meet on Thursday, April 21st at 10:30 a.m. and will feature poet Rosemary Royston from Young-Harris, Georgia. The monthly third-Thursday-of-the-month event features an opportunity to meet a local poet and hear an informal reading. It is co-sponsored by NetWest and City Lights.
Rosemary received her MFA in Writing from Spalding University in Louisville, KY. Her poetry has been published in The Comstock Review, Main Street Rag,Alehouse, Literal Latte, Public Republic, and Dark Sky Magazine. A chapbook,Splitting the Soil, will be published in late 2011 or early 2012. Her essays on writing poetry are forthcoming in Women and Poetry: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing by Successful Women Poets. She was the recipient of the 2010 Literal Latte Food Verse Award, and she was the 2004 recipient of first and third place in poetry, Porter Fleming Literary Awards. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Writers Network-West. Her blog can be found at http://theluxuryoftrees.wordpress.com/
Monday, April 18, 2011
April Folk School Reading
Come out to the Keith House at the John C. Campbell Folk School on Thursday, April 21st, at 7 pm to hear Nancy Simpson and Peg Russell read their work. The event is free and open to the public. You are guaranteed to enjoy what you hear and also to meet people who are taking classes during the week at the Folk School. In May NCWN-West readers will be Karen Holmes and Carole Thompson. Hope to see you there!
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Spring Conference in Greensboro, NC
Have you lived - or found - a fascinating true story, but need help capturing it on paper so that it reads like a great novel? You can find that help at the North Carolina Writers' Network's upcoming Spring Conference, Saturday, April 30, at UNC Greensboro.
Marianne Gingher's all-day workshop will inform you how to analyze a narrative's possibilities and how to mine " forgotten stories." You will also learn how to create suspense and make your story truly distinctive, however weird, wild, or provocative it might be. Gingher is the author of highly acclaimed nonfiction and fiction, and has taught at some of the top writing conferences in the United States. Currently, she is professor of English and comparative literature at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Award-winning journalist Paul Cuadros's workshop will give you the nuts and bolts of nonfiction memoir and narrative writing: researching the idea, crafting a nonfiction book proposal, and employing narrative journalism techniques of reporting. He will use his book, A Home on the Field, as a template. It has been described as "a parable in the tradition of Stand and Deliver and Hoosiers-a story of one team and their accidental coach who became certain heroes to the whole community." He will also discuss selling your manuscript to a publisher and effectively promoting your book.
For several years I attended the NCWN Spring Conference in Greensboro and enjoyed all the classes, meeting the faculty and other writers from "all over."
Ed Southern and Virginia Freedman are there bright and early on Saturday to get things underway. One year I volunteered to help give out the folders. It is a fun day and everyone goes home with tons of ideas swirling in their brains. I hope our Netwest members will attend if they aren't planning to be at Writers Circle for a workshop with JoAnn Dropp on April 30. (: )
The website where you can read about the faculty and register online is
http://www.ncwriters.org/
Marianne Gingher's all-day workshop will inform you how to analyze a narrative's possibilities and how to mine " forgotten stories." You will also learn how to create suspense and make your story truly distinctive, however weird, wild, or provocative it might be. Gingher is the author of highly acclaimed nonfiction and fiction, and has taught at some of the top writing conferences in the United States. Currently, she is professor of English and comparative literature at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Award-winning journalist Paul Cuadros's workshop will give you the nuts and bolts of nonfiction memoir and narrative writing: researching the idea, crafting a nonfiction book proposal, and employing narrative journalism techniques of reporting. He will use his book, A Home on the Field, as a template. It has been described as "a parable in the tradition of Stand and Deliver and Hoosiers-a story of one team and their accidental coach who became certain heroes to the whole community." He will also discuss selling your manuscript to a publisher and effectively promoting your book.
For several years I attended the NCWN Spring Conference in Greensboro and enjoyed all the classes, meeting the faculty and other writers from "all over."
Ed Southern and Virginia Freedman are there bright and early on Saturday to get things underway. One year I volunteered to help give out the folders. It is a fun day and everyone goes home with tons of ideas swirling in their brains. I hope our Netwest members will attend if they aren't planning to be at Writers Circle for a workshop with JoAnn Dropp on April 30. (: )
The website where you can read about the faculty and register online is
http://www.ncwriters.org/
Friday, April 15, 2011
Photos of Netwest Members at CWP on Wednesday
Carolyn Johnson, a long time member of Netwest 
Linda Smith posts Netwest events in local newspapers and schedules the John C. Campbell Folk School readings 
Marjorie Hobkirk listens intently to Brenda's reading at Coffee with the Poets.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
Coffee with the Poets - Last time at Phillips and Lloyd
Wednesday was our last time to meet at Phillips and Lloyd Books in Hayesville. Elizabeth Rybicki, who has graciously hosted us at the Dessertery in her store, is remodeling and bringing in the Yarn Shop as part of her store now. Our last day was memorable and who better to end our stint at the book store than Brenda Kay Ledford. She not only shared work from Simplicity, her collabration with her mother, Blanche Ledford, but she played harmonica as part of her presentation. Once again, Brenda surprised us with another facet of her various abilities. 
Bob Grove (above) read a piece from his yet to be published memoir. Karen Holmes (above) read one of her poems. Karen also shared with us the delightful time she had at the Gathering of Poets last weekend.
Brenda Kay played harmonica between poems and stories.
We are all saddened that we won't be meeting at Crumpet's Dessertery with Elizabeth (above) but Coffee with the Poets will continue next month on the second Wednesday of the month, as usual. Check this blog for more information later.
Bob Grove (above) read a piece from his yet to be published memoir. Karen Holmes (above) read one of her poems. Karen also shared with us the delightful time she had at the Gathering of Poets last weekend. 
Brenda Kay played harmonica between poems and stories. 
We are all saddened that we won't be meeting at Crumpet's Dessertery with Elizabeth (above) but Coffee with the Poets will continue next month on the second Wednesday of the month, as usual. Check this blog for more information later. Monday, April 11, 2011
Rosemary Royston, Congratulations!
Congratulations to our Program Coordinator, Rosemary Royston. Her poetry chapbook, Splitting the Soil, will be published by Redneck Press.
This excerpt is from the website of Redneck Press:
Rosemary Royston’s chapbook Splitting the Soil will be published in late 2011/early 2012. Rosemary is a poet and writer who has lived in the foothills of the Southern Appalachians for the last sixteen years. A native of north Georgia, she studied at Young Harris College, The University of Georgia, and received her MFA in Writing from Spalding University in Louisville, KY.
Rosemary’s poetry has been published in The Comstock Review, Main Street Rag, Alehouse, Literal Latte, Public Republic, and Dark Sky Magazine. Her essays on writing poetry are forthcoming in Women and Poetry: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing by Successful Women Poets, McFarland.
She was the recipient of the 2010 Literal Latte Food Verse Award, and she was the 2004 recipient of first and third place in poetry, Porter Fleming Literary Awards. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Writers Network-West. http://theluxuryoftrees.wordpress.com/
Poetry Contest
Poets living in NC and GA – pay close attention to this blog announcement, as YOU meet the criteria to enter the first ever Byron Herbert Reece Society Poetry Contest. For those unfamiliar with Reece, he was an Appalachian poet, fiction writer, farmer, and teacher. His life was too short, but he lived with great feeling, which is expressed through his poetry and fiction. You may learn more about Reece here: http://www.byronherbertreecesociety.org/bhr_theman.htm. Currently, the Reece property in Blairsville, Georgia, is being developed to house an amphitheatre, Reece’s writing studio, a visitor center, farm equipment of Reece’s, and nature trails. It is the mission on the Byron Herbert Reece Society (of which I’m a member) to preserve, perpetuate, and promote the literary and cultural legacy of Byron Herbert Reece. For the contest, there is no theme, and all judging is blind (as a board member I will NOT be participating). The only requirement is that you live in NC, TN, VA, WV, KY or GA. Jim Clark will select the winning poem, and the poet will receive $300 and the opportunity to read her or his poem at the Society’s annual meeting in summer 2011. To enter, fill out the entry form, send three poems and your $15 entry fee. Details are here: http://www.byronherbertreecesociety.org/poetry_contest.htm. Send your best, postmarked by May 2, 2011.
--Rosemary Royston
--Rosemary Royston
Saturday, April 9, 2011
COFFEE WITH THE POETS
Brenda Kay Ledford will be featured during Coffee With the Poets at Phillips & Lloyd Book Shop in Hayesville, NC on Wednesday, April 13, 10:30 a.m.
Ledford is a native of Clay County, NC. She earned a MA in education from Western Carolina University and did post-graduate work at the University of Tennessee. Her writing has appeared in many publications including Our State, Pembroke Magazine, Appalachian Heritage, Broad River Review (Gardner-Webb University), Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, The Reach of Song, other journals and anthologies.
She’s listed with A Directory of American Poets and Fiction Writers and Who’s Who in America. Ledford is a member of North Carolina Writers’ Network West, North Carolina Poetry Society, North Carolina Storytelling Guild, and chaplain for the Clay County Eastern Star.
Ledford received the Paul Green Award from North Carolina Society of Historians for her three poetry chapbooks: Patchwork Memories, Shewbird Mountain, and Sacred Fire. She also won the award for collecting oral history on Velma Beam Moore, a prominent citizen of Clay County.
Recently, Ledford co-authored the book, Simplicity, with her mother, Blanche L. Ledford. It’s a collection of poetry and prose about Clay County and coincides with the sesquicentennial celebration of our county. Simplicity is available at: Phillips & Lloyd Book Shop, Hayesville, NC.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Writers' Night Out Moves to Mountain Perk
It’s the place to be once a month in Hiawassee: Writers’ Night Out. The event, which draws 30 or more people from four counties, has a new home at Mountain Perk, across from Towns County High School. This month, writer Ron Salzer will be featured on April 15 at 7 p.m. Those who’d like to share their own poetry or fiction can participate in the open microphone portion of the program following Salzer’s reading.
Salzer has entertained audiences with his humor at the Writers’ Night Open Mic for the last year. In addition to writing fiction, he has been a sculptor of iron for over 40 years and builds private property bridges nationwide as president of Bridges to the Other Side, Inc. Salzer lives in Hayesville, NC with his wife Charlotte.
Writers’ Night Out was formerly at Green To Bean Coffee House, which recently closed. The event now takes place at the larger Mountain Perk, located at 1390 Highway 76 East in Chatuge Harbor plaza in Hiawassee. The evening is free and open to the public. Food, gourmet coffees and other refreshments are available for purchase. Those interested in reading at the open microphone may sign up at the event. Each writer will have three minutes to read.
In addition, music will be performed by award-winning songwriter, Wyatt Espalin, who recently moved back to his native Hiawassee after a stint in Nashville. He delighted the audience at last month’s Writers’ Night Out.
Usually on the second Friday of the month at 7 p.m., Writers’ Night Out has been changed to the third Friday for April. Beginning on May 13, the event will resume its normal schedule on second Fridays.
For more information, please contact Karen Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or kpaulholmes@gmail.com, or call Mountain Perk at (706) 896-0504.
Salzer has entertained audiences with his humor at the Writers’ Night Open Mic for the last year. In addition to writing fiction, he has been a sculptor of iron for over 40 years and builds private property bridges nationwide as president of Bridges to the Other Side, Inc. Salzer lives in Hayesville, NC with his wife Charlotte.
Writers’ Night Out was formerly at Green To Bean Coffee House, which recently closed. The event now takes place at the larger Mountain Perk, located at 1390 Highway 76 East in Chatuge Harbor plaza in Hiawassee. The evening is free and open to the public. Food, gourmet coffees and other refreshments are available for purchase. Those interested in reading at the open microphone may sign up at the event. Each writer will have three minutes to read.
In addition, music will be performed by award-winning songwriter, Wyatt Espalin, who recently moved back to his native Hiawassee after a stint in Nashville. He delighted the audience at last month’s Writers’ Night Out.
Usually on the second Friday of the month at 7 p.m., Writers’ Night Out has been changed to the third Friday for April. Beginning on May 13, the event will resume its normal schedule on second Fridays.
For more information, please contact Karen Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or kpaulholmes@gmail.com, or call Mountain Perk at (706) 896-0504.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
BLUE RIDGE WRITER'S CONFERENCE
Glenda Beall, Brenda Kay Ledford, Bob Grove, and Carol Smucker attended the 14th annual Blue Ridge Writer's Conference at the Arts Center in downtown Blue Ridge, Georgia on April 2. 
Robert Lee Brewer, senior editor of WRITER'S MARKET and POET'S MARKET, spoke about marketing your work and launching your career. 
Scott Owens, editor of "Wild Goose Poetry Review," spoke about writing prompts and online journals. 
C. Hope Clark, editor of the website, "Funds for Writers," was one of the speakers. 
Celia Miles, co-editor of CHRISTMAS PRESENCE and CLOTHES LINES, attended the conference. 
Diana Smith and Jo Carolyn Beebe 
Cowan's Book Nook of Blue Ridge, GA sold books for the authors. Thursday, March 31, 2011
WORDS ANTHOLOGY
Tom Davis, editor and publisher of Old Mountain Press, recently released WORDS, a Poetry and Prose Anthology. Brenda Kay Ledford's poem, "Reach of Words," appeared in this collection. Her works have been included in all 15 Old Mountain Press anthologies. Blanche L. Ledford' short story, "Fainting Words," was included in WORDS. Barbara Ledford Wright' essay, "Fruit of Our Words," also appeared in this collection. Only writers previously published in Old Mountain Press were eligible to submit to WORDS, or persons recommended by these contributors. Writers with works in this anthology include: Jim Clark, Celia Miles, Nancy Dillingham, Al Manning, Debra Elramey, C. Pleasants York, Ed Cockrell, Tom Davis, Jo Barbara Taylor, Dr. Lynn Veach Sadler, Mark Harden, and others. Marian Kaplun Shapiro, thrice Senior Poet Laureate of Massachusetts, volunteered to judge the contest for this anthology. Mark E. Harden's poem, "Gun Line," won the Best of the Best Award. Honorable mentions included: Michael Colonnese, David Treadway Manning, and Jerome Norris. For more information about WORDS, go to: www.OldMountainPress.com.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Another Review for Living Above the Frost Line Forthcoming
I am very pleased to share that my review of Living Above the Frost Line was just accepted by Prairie Schooner! Let's hear it for Nancy's great work, which will be recognized in this wonderful journal. If you are not familiar with Prairie Schooner, check them out here: http://prairieschooner.unl.edu/index.html. As soon as I know the actual publication date, I will share. Join me in congratulating Nancy on her great work being reviewed by such a great journal.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
WHAT DAVID CHORLTON SAYS ABOUT NANCY SIMPSON'S POETRY COLLECTION
Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems
Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems, by Nancy Simpson, 2010, Carolina Wren Press, 108 pp., paper, ISBN 978-0-932112-61-3, $15.95. Reviewed by David Chorlton.
This is not a book of poetry which grabs its reader’s attention with spectacular lines and extroverted virtuosity, rather a more contemplative one. While the language is generally uncomplicated, it has momentum and holds interest with a grasp of concrete imagery. The virtues in Nancy Simpson’s works include restraint and humility, as well as being firmly set in natural surroundings; for example, "On a Mountain in an Unfinished Cabin" (in the opening section with poems from 1977-81) ends with this stanza:
I am among the living.So many trees,I make an agreement with leaves,acting silly, singing-Give me all your oxygen,I’ll give you CO2.Wegia is pleased. It rains.We watch the sun set as if visible.
While many of these poems grow from the details of daily life, such as waiting at the mailbox or watching for "Carolina Bluebirds" and noting the date they arrive (December 3rd), there is frequently an underlying drama not far away. "The Wreck" is short and well paced in providing the information that leads from:
Witnesses saw it all, heard the crash,the speeding blue Camaro stopped deadat Pinelog Bridge. Sam Beck insistshe saw a man fly through the windshield,
to:
Something in me moving fastwants to fly out through my eyeslike a body thrown free of the wreck.
One of the later poems, describing a walk around Knowles Lake with a granddaughter, highlights the balance of an everyday life within its radius of personal concern and the natural world. In this case, the walkers see a turtle heading into traffic and are able to steer it to safety. We care for what we can, while greater forces often conspire to leave a feeling of despair.
"Voices from the Fringe" is the most ambitious poem in the book, interweaving public and personal aspects of the Gulf War. The way war slips into our lives far from the battleground itself is first expressed when news of hostilities beginning is announced on the radio between music by Mozart and Haydn. "Who wants war?/I’ve only just started to stop/grieving over the last one." The poem reads meaningfully as a journal of the war and voices raised against it domestically. For all the implicit horror, the author remains steady and focused as she quotes Norman Schwarzkopf ("We are softening the battlefield") and notes that "Today President Bush wants us to pray." A daughter tells her mother not worry, and after a message from her son a mother says "That was/the last I heard from him." Then confetti, not bombs, falls amid the fervent cheering in Manhattan.
So much of this book hinges on considering what is happening on a vast scale as opposed to the scale of an individual’s life. "Small Scope" is a gentle enough poem, layering observations from the spreading asphalt to a skunk’s carcass on the road to a walk along the beach, and concluding with "I see myself/and all of us, minute." It is interesting to find one of the more dramatic beginnings to "This Night": "Insomnia is a mountain and grief/is a lion gripping my throat." This time it is mourning that occupies the subconscious without letting go. Throughout, each small gesture points to a more universal one, and more than a tree is lost when an oak dies and something more is gained when the cicadas arrive.
Nancy Simpson is very good at showing her readers that looking around them will reveal more pleasures than expected, and yet she never leaves the mistaken impression that they live in an untainted or unthreatened world. Here is the ending of her reflection on "Network News," a poem with more than a dash of her folksy wisdom:
Would it be better to turn offthe set, refuse to hear, maybemake up a lie or two of my own?I have to make myself laughsometimes or go madand my gods help me do that.
It is satisfying to find a deserving poet well represented by this selection from more than thirty years of looking at her world and writing about it with heart.
Want to buy a copy from Carolina Wren Press?
http://carolinawrenpress.org/books-and-merchandise/poetry/living-above-the-frost-line
or on line at Amazon.com
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Basic Blogging Terms
Not everyone is familiar with blogging terms, even some of us who have blogs.
Below are a few basic words used in the blogging world that might prove helpful.
BLOGGING
• Weblog- An online dated diary listing your periodic thoughts on a specific topic, often in reverse chronological order.
• Blog - short form for weblog
• Blogging - the act of posting on blogs
• Blogger - a person who blogs
• Blogosphere - The internet blogging community
BLOG COMPONENTS AND FUNCTIONS
• Index page - the front page fo the blog
• Header - the topmost part of the blog usually listing the blog title.
• Footer - the most bottom part of the blog usually listing navigation and copyright statements
• Sidebar - One or more columns along one or both sides of most blogs main page
• Categories - A collection of topic specific posts
• Post, Entry- individual articles that make up a blog
• Comments - enabling readers to leave their remarks
Below are a few basic words used in the blogging world that might prove helpful.
BLOGGING
• Weblog- An online dated diary listing your periodic thoughts on a specific topic, often in reverse chronological order.
• Blog - short form for weblog
• Blogging - the act of posting on blogs
• Blogger - a person who blogs
• Blogosphere - The internet blogging community
BLOG COMPONENTS AND FUNCTIONS
• Index page - the front page fo the blog
• Header - the topmost part of the blog usually listing the blog title.
• Footer - the most bottom part of the blog usually listing navigation and copyright statements
• Sidebar - One or more columns along one or both sides of most blogs main page
• Categories - A collection of topic specific posts
• Post, Entry- individual articles that make up a blog
• Comments - enabling readers to leave their remarks
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Spring/Summer Folk School Readings
Thanks to Linda Smith who organizes our readings at the John C Campbell Folk School. Mark your calendars now for upcoming spring/summer readings, which are the third Thursday of each month at 7 pm, Keith House.
April 21 - Nancy Simpson and Peg Russell
May 19 - Karen Holmes and Carole Thompson
June 16 - Brenda Kay Ledford and Glenda Beall
August 18-Bob Grove and Glenda Barrett
April 21 - Nancy Simpson and Peg Russell
May 19 - Karen Holmes and Carole Thompson
June 16 - Brenda Kay Ledford and Glenda Beall
August 18-Bob Grove and Glenda Barrett
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