Open Mic Night, March 11, City Lights Bookstore in Sylva

NetWest of Jackson County will host its third open mic night of 2016 on Friday, March 11, at 7:00 p.m., at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, N.C.  Sign-up begins at 6:45; there will be desserts, wine, water, and some caffeinated beverages.  We ask that writers bring shorter pieces to share; so far we've been able to give each writer about ten minutes, though if numbers of readers increase, that time limit may shrink.  This event is open to the public--bring non-Netwest friends!

JAMES DAVIS MAY Book Launch for poetry collection

Please join us at Young Harris College, Young Harris, GA, on Tuesday, March 15th for the book launch of James Davis May's first poetry collection, Unquiet Things, which was just released by Louisiana State University Press.  The reading, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., will be held in the Hatcher Room, located in the Rollins Campus Center. A book signing will follow the reading.   

Grounded in wonder and fueled by an impulse to praise, the poems in James Davis May's debut collection, Unquiet Things, to be published by LSU Press in March 2016, grapple with skepticism, violence, and death to generate lasting insights into the human experience. With compassion and humor, this second and final volume in Claudia Emerson’s Goat Island Poets series exposes the unseen tragedies and rejoices in the small, surprising moments of grace in everyday life.

May’s poems impart sincere astonishment at the natural world, where experiences of nature serve as "stand-ins, almost, / for grace." His poems seek to transcend cynicism, turning often to the landscapes of North Georgia, his native Pittsburgh, and Eastern Europe, as well as to his literary forebears, for guidance. 

For the poet, no force propels that transcendence more powerfully than love: love for his wife and daughter, love for language, and love for the incomprehensible world that he inhabits. These stylistically varied poems are by turns conversational, earnest, self-deprecating, meditative, and often funny, whether they're discussing grand themes such as love and beauty, or more corporeal subjects like fever and food poisoning.

Lyrical and strange, tragic and amusing, Unquiet Things traces an experiential journey in the ordinary world, uncovering joys that span from the lingering memories of childhood to the losses and triumphs of adulthood.

Originally from Pittsburgh, James Davis May now lives in the Georgia mountains. His poems have appeared in Five Points, the Missouri Review, New England Review, New Ohio Review, New Republic, Rattle, and The Southern Review, among others. He is married to poet Chelsea Rathburn.

Submitted by Rosemary Royston, Georgia Co-Representative for NCWN-West

Writers' Night Out 2016 Schedule - Blairsville, Georgia

Mark your calendars now for a stellar line-up...

Writers' Night Out is about to begin it's 6th year. Some readers may be added, but here are the dates and featured writers so far. And remember... there's always an open mic.
 

Union County Community Center, Blairsville

• April 8: Rupert Fike & Janice Townley Moore
• May 13: Carol Crawford
• June 10: Jonathan Kevin Rice (will teach the next day at Writers Circle) & Ronald Moran
• July 8: Rosemary Royston & Karen Paul Holmes
• August 12: Ginger Murchison & Lynn Alexander
• Sept 9: Jim May
• Nov 11 Christopher Martin& Staci Bell

The Union County Community Center in the heart of Blairsville has once again agreed to be our gracious host. They let us use the facility for free, with no minimum requirement on food purchases, which is an amazing benefit to NCWN-West and the area writers and audience.

Watch this blog for more information about the April 8 reading. Rupert and Janice are Writers' Night favorites.

Creative Writing Class at Tri-County Community College, Murphy, 3/1/2016. Hurry, two openings left!

Creative Writing Class, (Six Weeks)

with Glenda C. Beall,  

 Teacher, published writer and poet 

               at Tri-County Community College in Murphy

Begins March 1, 2016, Tuesdays 6 – 8 p.m. – Ends April 5, 2016           Twelve hours of classes @ $35.00 Great opportunity

If you have never taken writing classes and you like to write but you are not sure your writing is all that good, come to this casual class for beginning writers or intermediate writers.
 
If you don’t know what you want to write, fiction or nonfiction, poetry or articles, this is the class for you. We will give you opportunities to try them all and see what you like best.

You might be afraid to share your writing, shy, and maybe you were discouraged by a teacher or another adult when you were a kid. This is the class for you. No one is expected to read out loud unless he or she wants to do so.

Your fellow classmates will encourage and help you. Your instructor will make sure you are happy in class and that you are learning what you want to know.

Register now. We have two places open, so contact Lisa Long at Tri-County Community College and get your name on the list before Tuesday, March 1.

Take that step and follow that dream of being a writer. You will be so happy you did. 

Glenda Beall, Instructor
Read class description at www.glendacouncilbeall.com
828-389-4441
glendabeall@msn.com  

 


Lisa T. Long, M.Ed., CPP
Director of Community Outreach
Telephone: 828.835.4241
LLong@tricountycc.edu

Readings from the new anthology, "It's All Relative: Tales from the Tree," at Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, Asheville, NC, February 28, 2016, 3:00 PM.

On Sunday, February 28, 2016, at 3:00 PM, there will be a reading at Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe, 55 Haywood St, Asheville, NC. Local authors, contributors and co-editors Nancy Dillingham and Celia Miles will present their new anthology, It's All Relative: Tales from the Tree. This collection offers 50 stories and poems by Western North Carolina women authors, on the broad theme of family.

Rob Neufeld reviewed the book in the Asheville Citizen-Times and wrote that "there's a shadowy, down-to-earth and at times magical quality to the telling that makes the collection striking and significant."

Links to this post:

http://www.malaprops.com/event/nancy-dillingham-celia-miles-present-its-all-relative

http://ncwriters.org/our-members/book-buzz/7296-it-s-all-relative-tales-from-the-tree-edited-by-celia-h-miles-and-nancy-dillingham

http://celiamiles.com/how-to-buy-the-books/

Open Mic and CWP in Sylva, NC February 18, 19th

Upcoming Events at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva, NC

Coffee with the Poet Featuring Catherine Carter

02/18/2016 - 10:30AM
The Coffee with the Poet series continues on Thursday, February 18th at 10:30 a.m. at City Lights Bookstore. The February gathering will feature poet and professor, Catherine Carter. She is the author of Growing Gills, Swamp Monster and the chapbook Marks of the Witch. She is the Jackson County Rep for NCWN West.

Catherine directs the English Education program at Western Carolina University. She also teaches education, writing, and literature courses, and publishes and researches in poetry, American literature, and English Education....




NetWest Open Mic

02/19/2016 - 7:00PM
The NetWest program of the North Carolina Writers Network and City Lights Bookstore will host an open mic night at the bookstore on Friday, February 19th at 7 p.m. Folks are encouraged to bring their poetry or short pieces to share. The North Carolina Writers' Network connects, promotes, and serves the writers of this state. They provide education in the craft and business of writing, opportunities for recognition and critique of literary work, resources for writers at all stages of...



Ann Miller Woodford Presentation

02/20/2016 - 3:00PM
Ann Miller Woodford will present her book, When All God’s Children Get Together on Saturday, February 20th at 3 p.m. at City Lights Bookstore. Her book celebrates the lives and music of African American people in far western North Carolina. Ann Miller Woodford grew up in Andrews, NC during segregation. She is the founder One Dozen Who Care Inc., a nonprofit that works to create leadership capacity and build community unity in far western North Carolina. ODWC partnered with Ann to...




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Glenda Council Beall's poem, "The Ice House Job," published in the anthology LITERATURE TODAY; 2nd poem accepted by MAIN STREET RAG for later publication date.

Glenda Council Beall’s poem, The Ice House Job, was recently published in the anthology, LITERATURE TODAY (Vol. 4); the theme of this issue is Love. The book is edited by Dr. Deepak Chaswal and Dr. Pradeep Chaswal. The book can be purchased on Amazon and on Kindle.

Beall's poem, Shot into the Future, Clutching the Past, was accepted by "Main Street Rag" for publication at a later date.

Glenda Beall has been publishing her poetry for twenty years in journals, magazines, E-zines and in anthologies. She teaches Creative Writing at Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC, and administers two blogs: Writing Life Stories and Writers Circle around the Table. She is the owner/director of a writing studio where top instructors come each year and teach.

Beall is former Program Coordinator for North Carolina Writers' Network-West (NCWN-West), and is presently Clay County Representative for the program.

Old Mountain Press (OMP) is accepting submissions for, "Wish You Were Here: A Poetry and Prose Anthology", Deadline for submissions March 6, 2016

Old Mountain Press will publish a collection of poetry by a number of poets. Their goal is to gather enough quality poems and flash fiction for an estimated 50 to 90 page book with the theme being anything travel related to places you have been or would like to go: the place, the people, the food, etc.

OMP are accepting submissions February 6th to March 6, 2016.
Here are the guidelines and the link to an online submission form:

• Author must have rights to the poem (previously published OK, but not in an OMP anthology).

• Poem may not exceed 36 lines (including title, author's name and blank lines). Poetry lines that exceed 55 letters and spaces will wrap and count as two lines.

• Flash fiction may not exceed 325 words (bottom line is that it must fit on a 8.5"x5.5" page).

• Only one poem/flash fiction per writer, so give it your best shot:-)

• Submissions accepted from a former contributor or someone recommended by a former contributor

http://www.oldmp.com/anthology/wishyouwerehere.htm

Dr. Steven Harvey, author of The Book of Knowledge and Wonder, talks about writing the story of his mother's suicide.

Steven Harvey is the author of three books of personal essays. A Geometry of Lilies, Lost in Translation, and Bound for Shady Grove. He has also edited an anthology of essays written by men on middle age called In a Dark Wood. His memoir The Book of Knowledge and Wonder, which has him exploring his mother's suicide when he was eleven, was recently published by Ovenbird Books. I appreciate him giving his time to answer a few questions for this interview. 

GCB: Steve, I’ve known you for more than twenty years and always admired your writing and your teaching. You were a poet and you are an essayist. How was writing a memoir different from writing your other books?

STEVE: All of my writing has a personal component, but the memoir required a different kind of digging. Armed with only a few vivid memories of my childhood, I was asking myself to reconstruct a past. I did have more than four hundred letters that covered all but the last year of the book, but they served primarily as a mnemonic evoking images, thoughts, memories, and events that I had not thought about in years.

Read more:  here