THE ANTHOLOGY, ECHOES ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE FLEW OFF THE BOOK TABLE INTO HANDS OF READERS at the Indian Summer Festival in SUCHES, GEORGIA, According to a Report From NCWN West Georgia Representative Carole Richard Thompson.

Hello, Everyone:  Thanks to each of you for your great help this weekend at the Festival in Suches.  Norm and I could not have done it without you.  It may not be a record, but we did sell 9 Echoes on Saturday, which was like a sunny blizzard, if you can understand what that means, and on Sunday, which was a little warmer, but still windy, we actually sold 5 more, totalling 14, which adds up to $196 at our Festival Reduction Price of $14.  I just sent the money off to Newt Smith with a little note.  I told him if I won the Lotto, I'd buy a very sturdy tent for Netwest to use at Festivals, because just being there can be so much fun. 

     Despite the cold and wind, Norm and I got the biggest kick out of looking at people and their kids and dogs going by, tents turning over, especially when, on Sunday, the nice guy selling lemonade caught the brunt of a mini tornado and his umbrella, stuck in the ground to add ambiance, pulled out of the ground and flew over to my tent, the steel pole side-glancing my head.  This, after just hearing on TV that one should be very careful to protect one's head, as studies have now shown that it might be a factor in onset of Alzheimer's somewhere along the line.  He had just brought me over lemonade that morning to show his appreciation to me for bandaging up his finger, which was cut somehow Saturday when his tent blew over the first time.  I had, also, along with several other people, set about picking up several dozens of his scattered lemons. 

    One of our poets, Judy Burch, was there with her husband, serving up lots of delicious barbeque to the hungry crowd.  Judy said it was a bit colder and windier than usual, but, some years it was just perfect.  Judy's farm was just over the hill, so she should know.They do have perfect fried pies, hot off the fire, and undescribably delicious funnel cakes. (Well, Robert and Norm minded the store and let Maren and me walk around some.  Maren found a basket that we both wanted, but that will have to wait til another day and another Indian Summer Festival in Suches.

 Kudos to the fine folks who live there and work hard every year to raise money for their brave little Woody Gap School, which turns out some some fine High School graduates every year.  Union County is very proud of Woody Gap School, located in Suches, elv. about 3,400 ft in a beautiful "Valley Above the Clouds."  Suches is the only town in Union County, other than Blairsville.

    Thanks for hanging in there with this long email.  I just enjoyed the whole experience so much.  Love, Carole Thompson

POETS - MARK YOUR CALENDAR FOR GEORGIA POETRY SOCIETY, Register For Lunch

Rosemary Royston, Janice Moore, Nancy Simpson

GEORGIA POETRY SOCIETY COMING TO YOUNG HARRIS COLLEGE 

FOR THEIR ANNUAL MEETING

Georgia Poetry Society will sponsor a Poetry Writing Workshop and Poetry Reading by poet Nancy Simpson at their all day annual meeting at Young Harris College October 29, 2011. Also scheduled to read that day is GPS member Janice Townley Moore. 

This event is especially important event for our poets living and writing in Georgia.

Georgia Poetry Society offers workshops, contests and opportunities to publish.

Carole Richard Thompson will Read Wednesday at Coffee with the Poets



Carole Thompson, writer and poet, Netwest Rep for GA

 Coffee with the Poets and Writers meets Wednesday, October 12, 10:30 a.m. at Café Touché in Hayesville, NC. Featured this month is poet and writer, Carole Richard Thompson.
Twenty-one years ago Carole and her husband moved to Blairsville, in the North Georgia mountains. After many years as a portrait painter, she began to study writing, and joined the North Carolina Writers' Network. She credits her love for writing to her friend and mentor, Nancy Simpson, whose classes in creative writing and poetry have been her greatest source of inspiration.

Her first short story, "A Bag of Sugar for Paula," was published in The Liquorian Magazine, and also the anthology, Christmas Presence, published by Catawba Press. Her story, "The Uniform" appeared in the anthology, Clotheslines, published by Catawba Press.

Carole's poems have been anthologized in A Sense of Place, published by Southeast Writers Association, Echoes across the Blue Ridge, published by Winding Path Publishing and Women's Places, Women's Spaces by Stone Ivy Press. Poems, "The Party's Over," and "36 Hours" were published in Wild Goose Poetry Review.

The public is invited to come and meet Carole, and read their original poems or short prose at open mike.

Café Touche, 82 Main Street, serves the best coffee in town and no one wants to leave without having a delicious muffin.

Contact Glenda Beall 828-389-4441 for information.

This event is free and is sponsored by NCWN West also known as Netwest, a chapter of the North Carolina Writers' Network.

Indian Summer Festival - Netwest book booth

Don’t miss the 34th Indian Summer Festival in Suches, in Union County, Saturday and Sunday, October 1 & 2.

This festival has been going on for over thirty years at the Woody Gap School in Suches. Crowds fill the area each year for the live music which goes on continually, the excellent food, and the handmade crafts. Suches is between Blairsville and Dahlonega, Georgia.

Netwest will have a booth this year. Carole Thompson and her husband Norm have worked very hard on this event. Echoes across the Blue Ridge will be featured as well as original books by our members.

NCWN West appreciates the opportunity to rent a booth and promote our organization, our authors and their books. Please tell your friends, your neighbors and family members to come to Suches and purchase Christmas gifts, souvenirs from the mountains, and good books for themselves.

Echoes across the Blue Ridge will be discounted for this event.

• $14.00 for the public
• $10.00 for NCWN West members

Check out the website for directions and map. http://indiansummerfestival.org/

Contact Carole Thompson, Georgia Rep for Netwest – mailto:carole4@windstream.net

Janisse Ray, Memoirist and Poet, visits City Lights Bookstore

Wednesday September 28th at 1 p.m.


Janisse Ray will be at City Lights Bookstore Wednesday, September 28th at
1 p.m. to read from two of her most recent books. Drifting into Darien: A Personal and Natural History of the Altamaha River is a memoir and as in her groundbreaking Ecology of a Cracker Childhood, Ray writes an account of her beloved river that is both social history and natural history, understanding the two as inseparable, particularly in the rural corner of Georgia that she knows best. Ray goes looking for wisdom and finds a river.

A House of Branches is her most recent poetry collection and of the book Kathryn Byer says: "These poems are about waking up, looking around at the world, and discovering how to live within it... how to gather and cherish the things of this world.

City Lights Bookstore is located at 3 E. Jackson St., Sylva, NC 28779
Call them at 828-586 9499 or visit their website: http://www.citylightsnc.com/

September Folk School Readings

On Thursday, Sept 22 at 7 pm, John C. Campbell Folk School and N.C. Writers Network West are sponsoring a reading of poetry, 7:00 pm, Keith House. The reading is free of charge and open to the public. Poets Janice Townley Moore and Joan Howard will be reading.

Janice Moore, a member of the English Department at Young Harris College, published a chapbook Teaching the Robins with Finishing Line Press in 2005. Her poems have appeared in such journals as Shenandoah, The Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, Southern Poetry Review, The Atlanta Review, and The Journal of the American Medical Association. An active member of the North Carolina Writers’ Network, she is the coordinator for the poetry critique group which meets at Tri-County Community College.

Joan Howard's poetry has been published in The Lyric, The Road Not Taken: The Journal of Formal Poetry, Lucid Rhythms, Victorian Violet, Our Pipe Dreams, and others. She is a former teacher, member of North Carolina Writers' Network West, has studied German and English lit, goes birding and spends time in Athens and on the beautiful waters of Lake Chatuge in Hiawassee, Georgia.

TWO GEORGIA POETS WILL READ THEIR POEMS - DO NOT MISS THIS CHANCE TO HEAR ROBERT KIMSEY AND ROBERT S. KING

GEORGIA POETRY SOCIETY

with thanks to the Blue Ridge 

Mountains Arts Association

presents

Poetry Readings &

Workshop on Publishing

plus open mic, book raffle, 

book sales and signing

Where: Blue Ridge Mountains Arts Association, 420 West Main St., 

Blue Ridge GA 30513

When: Friday, September 16, 2011, 6:30 pm 

• No Admission Fees, 

Free Refreshments 

Please join us for a two‐hour poetry festival featuring:A workshop 

focusing on publishing in the electronic age. Learn the latest ways to 

publish your work.

Readings by Robert W. Kimsey and Robert S. King.  Two widely 

published poets read from their books and new poems as well.

A raffle. Your chance to win poetry books.

An open mic. Bring one or two of your own poems 

to share with the audience. Please limit poems to a maximum of 

35 lines each.

Book sales and signing. If you have published 

a book or books of poetry, please bring copies to 

sell at this event. No fees involved.

About the Featured Poets

Robert W. Kimsey is a retired Technical Writer 

Illustrator and lives in McCaysville, GA. 

His poems  have been published in various poetry 

and web columns including Kudzu, Pegasus 

the Southern Ocean Review, NewSoutherner 

and various anthologies.

Robert S. King lives near McCaysville, GA. 

He has published poems in hundreds of magazines 

and anthologies including The Kenyon Review,  

Southern Poetry Review, Main Street Rag, Midwest 

Quarterly, CaliforniaQuarterly, Chariton Review, 

Negative Capability, Slant, Sow's Ear, and many 

others.  He has also published three chapbooks 

(When Stars Fall Down asSnow, Garland  Press, 

1976; Dream of the Electric Eel, Wolfsong Publications, 

1982; and Traveller ’s Tale, Whistle Press, 1998) 

and two full‐length poetry  books 

(The Gravedigger’s Roots and The Hunted River, 

both from Shared  Roads Press, 2009).

Robert serves as President of the Georgia Poetry 

Society and is also Director  of FutureCycle Press.

Celebrate 20 Years at our Annual Picnic!

At our annual picnic, October 16, 2011, 2 pm, NCWN-West or Netwest will celebrate its 20^th anniversary! We will be in Hayesville, NC, at the Clay County Park (pavilion by the water). Our featured reader/speaker this year is NC poet, Scott Owens. All those attending should bring a covered dish, chair, and drink (plates, napkins, and silverware will be provided). Our meal will be followed by some brief remarks from myself as Program Coordinator, a reading from Scott Owens, and then open mike. Readings for the open mike session should consist of ONE PAGE of prose or two short poems per person. Time limit is 2.5 minutes. In order to accommodate as many readers as possible, please time your piece before reading.

I will be recognizing all county representatives throughout NCWN-West, and will send out requests for help (tablecloths, book sales table) in the near future. Please spread the word in your area so that as many people as possible can CARPOOL. Also, the public is invited to this picnic, so encourage anyone you know who may be interested in Netwest to attend! Press releases will be sent out to local papers in each county.

LET'S ALL GO TO THE NCWN FALL CONFERENCE IN ASHEVILLE

INFO FROM NC WRITERS NETWORK

Poetry Writing Class will be taught  by Nancy Simpson Poetry Writing Here and Now WRITTEN BY ADMINISTRATOR    MONDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2011 00:00 by Nancy Simpson Nancy Simpson I was shy and didn’t speak much in my young life because I feared whatever I said would come out of my mouth sounding quirky. I did not know then I was using figurative language. I only saw puzzlement on my mother’s face and almost stopped talking. Life changed for the better when someone in Raleigh sent three poets to read their poems at my local library. I heard free verse for the first time, and I recognized on the spot it was similar to what I had been hearing in my head most my life. At age forty, the state of North Carolina certified me to teach. At the same time, I began writing my thoughts and published poems right away in literary magazines. I entered the first writing class offered in the Warren Wilson College MFA Writing program. After graduation, I kept taking poems apart, hoping to see how they were made, especially wanting to understand the writing process. More advanced poets warned me, “Be careful, Nancy. Poetry is meant to be mysterious. If you learn how it works, you might stop being able to make it happen.” Nothing could stop me. Writing poetry changed me, smoothed my tongue, and greatly enriched my life. I kept practicing poetry, publishing poems, and passing on what I had learned to others. AsGary Snyder said, “You get it right, and then you pass it on.” My upcoming workshop "Poetry Writing Here and Now," scheduled for the 2011 Fall Conference, will focus on Contemporary Free Verse Poetry. I’m not one who believes “Free Verse” is a free-for-all, without rules nor responsibility. We will consider a list of specific guidelines aimed to guide you beyond the use of ordinary language. Where to break the line and how to make your poems sing with sound will be discussed. We’ll talk about specific forms of free verse and see what drives each kind. I’ll share my definition of the lyric poem, and we’ll write some poems. NANCY SIMPSON is the author of three poetry collections: Across Water, Night Student, and most recently, Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems, published in 2010 by Carolina Wren Press. She is also the editor of the recently published anthology Echoes Across the Blue Ridge. Her poems have appeared in the Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, and other literary magazines, as well as in several anthologies. She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College, and is  a recipient of an NC Arts Council fellowship. She is one of the co-founders of North Carolina Writers’ Network – West, the Network chapter for writers in the westernmost counties of the state. She lives in Hayesville. Registration for the 2011 Fall Conference is now open.

Home > Programs and Services > Conferences > 2011 Fall Conference in Asheville

2011 Fall Conference in Asheville

WRITTEN BY ADMINISTRATOR   

TUESDAY, 06 SEPTEMBER 2011 00:00

Friday-Sunday
November 18-20
DoubleTree Hotel Asheville-Biltmore
115 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
828-274-1800

The Network has also reserved a block of less-expensive rooms for the Fall Conference at the adjacent Sleep Inn, 828-277-1800.
When booking at either hotel, use “North Carolina Writers’ Network” for special conference rates.

Register Online | Download Registration Form

FEES AND DEADLINES | COMPLETE SCHEDULE-AT-A-GLANCE | CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS | WORKSHOP SCHEDULE AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

SESSION I | SESSION II | SESSION III | SESSION IV | SESSION V | MASTER CLASSES | MANUSCRIPT MART | CRITIQUE SERVICE | MARKETING MART | FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES

Fees & Deadlines

Register online here | Download Registration Form

Our local Irish poet Paul Donovan says he writes poetry as a hobby, but he has published an autobiographical poetry book, Ramblings of an Idiot. He is working on another book and we look forward to seeing what he will offer in this one. Paul is a Reiki Master and teaches spiritual writing classes at Writers Circle. Netwest’s first anthology, Lights in the Mountains, came to fruition because of Paul’s early ideas and suggestions. He began the Cherokee County High Schools Poetry and Essay contest several years ago and continues to be a guiding force in its success.

Paul is the featured reader at Coffee with the Poets on Wednesday, September 14 at 10:30 a.m. We meet and enjoy Liz’s coffee and delicious pastries at Café Touche, 82 Main Street in Hayesville, NC.

After Paul’s reading, we will open the floor to anyone who has brought an original poem or short prose piece. If you can’t be there early, you might want to bring a folding chair. Coffee with the Poets is bigger and better than ever in its fifth year. We appreciate all the poets and writers who have supported this event since 2007.

 In October, Carole Thompson will be the featured reader.

We are sponsored by NCWN-West (Netwest) a chapter of North Carolina Writers’ Network. http://ncwriters.org/

Contact me, Glenda Beall, for more information.

Poetry in North Carolina - You don't want to miss this

LOTS OF NEWS FROM THE POETRY COUNCIL OF NORTH CAROLINA



The Poetry Council of NC is keeping quite busy these days, planning for its annual Poetry Day on October 1, 2011 in Salisbury, NC while simultaneously starting up a new cycle of contests whose deadline for entry is November 21.

Poetry Day is a day-long celebration of poetry that will be held this year in the Crystal Peeler Lounge on the campus of Catawba College. Highlights of Poetry Day will include presentation of the 2011 Poetry Council contest winners, readings by those winners, the release of the council’s awards anthology titled Bay Leaves, and a live Poetry Slam competition.

The event is open to anyone, and reservations may be made via the form found on the council’s website: http://www.poetrycouncilofnc.wordpress.com/.



In 2012, the Council is moving Poetry Day from October to April to coincide with National Poetry Month.

To facilitate this transition, the Council’s annual contests have already opened for submission and will close on November 21.

The Council coordinates separate competitions for

Elementary School students

Middle School students, and

High School students, as well as

Adult competitions for free verse, traditional form poetry, light verse, and others.



The Oscar Arnold Young Award is given to the best book of poems by a NC poet each year. Information on entering any of the contests is available on the Council’s website or by calling Ed Cockrell at 919-967-5834.

Entry in the youth contests is free, while most of the other categories have a $5 entry fee. First, second, and third place prizes ranging from $10 to $100 are given in most categories, and up to three honorable mentions are commonly named in each.

All prizewinners and honorable mentions are published in Bay Leaves, and the poets are invited to read their poems at Poetry Day.

In 2012, Poetry Day will be held in Hickory NC, in the new Student Center on the campus of Catawba Valley Community College. (This is much closer to our western writers than Weymouth where it has been held in the past.)

Teachers interested in facilitating their students’ participation in the contests can contact Nancy Posey (nposey@embarqmail.com) for high school students or Michael Beadle (beadlepoet@yahoo.com) for elementary and middle school students.

Scott Owens, is available to visit classrooms in his local area to discuss these contests or coordinate workshops to get students started writing poetry. He can be reached at asowens1@yahoo.com.

In south western NC, contact Glenda Beall for information on the contests.


Information for this post comes from Scott Owens who will be in Hayesville, NC for a workshop at Writers Circle on Saturday, October 15.

WRITE YOUR POEMS IN FREE VERSE FORM - new poetry class with Nancy Simpson

Institute for Continuing Learning sign up luncheon

Reminder

Annual Luncheon & Fall Course Previews

Saturday, Sept 10, 11:00 am – 2:00 pm

St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church

Call 706.379.5194 (leave message) or

email icl@yhc.edu to reserve your spot.

Register on line now if you cannot come to sign up.

Please reserve your spot before September 3 so we can have

an accurate meal count. 

Hello fellow writers.  

Iʼm writing to let you know 

I will teach  an eight week class 

for Institute For Continuing Learning 

at Young Harris College - This is 

the class some of you have been asking 

me to teach with a focus on publishing 

a poetry chapbook. Mark Your Calendars.

WRITE YOUR POEMS IN FREE VERSE FORM

Cost $20.00(8 sessions) 

Meet Tuesday afternoons 1‐3 pm Goolsby 104 

September 20 - November 8th

Registration ‐ Sign up Saturday 

Sept. 10th at Luncheon  

http://iclyhc.org/course announcement.pdf

This class is for practicing poets will focus on 

forms of free verse. Also each week the class 

members can bring one copy of their own 

poems to share and discuss. Guidelines for 

how to assemble a chapbook manuscript 

will be thoroughly discusses. Poetry markets

will be discussed and a list of chapbook 

presses will be given.

Nancy Simpson 

nance@dnet.net

http://www.nancysimpson.blogspot.com

Writers' Night Out Features Two Poets

On Friday, September 9 at 7 p.m., come hear Karen Paul Holmes and Clarence Newton read their entertaining poetry. Mountain Perk Coffee House in Hiawassee hosts the free event, which also includes an open microphone. Those who’d like to share their own poetry or prose can sign up at the door to read for two minutes each, following the featured readers. Music will be provided by a local musician.

Karen Paul Holmes was scheduled to read at Writers’ Night Out in August but had to cancel due to a death in the family. Audiences instead enjoyed Young Harris poet, Maren O. Mitchell.

Holmes originated Writers’ Night Out in the spring of 2010, and she hosts the event on the second Friday of each month. She’s a freelance business writer who has poetry published or forthcoming in journals such as Poetry East, The Sow’s Ear Poetry Review, Atlanta Review, Main Street Rag, Caesura and Avocet. She has taught a writing class at Young Harris College’s Institute for Continued Learning and will be teaching at John C. Campbell Folk School next summer. Holmes lives in Atlanta and Hiawassee.

Clarence Newton of Hiawassee puts both humor and wisdom into his writings. Once a guest writer for several newspapers, he has turned his love of writing toward poetry. He studied under former Poet Laureate of Georgia Bettie Sellers and poet Nancy Simpson. His work appears in Echoes Across the Blue Ridge. After a long career in aviation, Clarence now finds inspiration in the things of retirement, such as fishing, gardening, and birding.

Mountain Perk Coffee House is located at 1390 Highway 76 East in Chatuge Harbor Plaza across from Towns County High School. Writers’ Night Out is open to the public. Food, gourmet coffees and other refreshments are available for purchase.

For more information, please contact Karen Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or kpaulholmes@gmail.com, or call Mountain Perk at (706) 896-0504.

Learn the Nuts and Bolts of Good Writing

Tri-County Community College, Enloe Building, Murphy,NC -

Saturday, September 10 -- 9:00 a.m. - 12:00, lunch break, 1:00 -4:00 pm.


Nuts and bolts of good writing.

Covering basics in writing: passive/active voice, dialogue, metaphors, show not tell.
Important things for anyone wanting to make their words sparkle and be noticed.
Some of the six hour course will be interactive. Bring laptops if you want. Wireless provided.

Instructor: Shirley Uphouse, former Netwest Program Coordinator, Co-editor of the anthology, Lights in the Mountains, author of a memoir, My Friends, My Dogs, and numerous stories in magazines.

Call Shirley Uphouse 828-837-6007 or contact TCCC Continuing Education,
828-837-6810, fee $25.00.

Review of Ron Rash's new poetry book by Gary Carden

If you haven't heard of Ron Rash, author of Serena, and other popular books, be sure to google him, and visit Gary Carden's blog, Holler Notes.

Read his excellent review of Ron's new book of poetry, Waking. This review will also be in the Smoky Mountain News this week.

If you live in the area, you will want to know that Ron Rash will appear at City Lights Books to read from this book on Sunday, August 28th, 1:00 p.m.