Prose writer Bob Grove to read at Coffee With the Poets and Writers, at the Moss Memorial Library, Wednesday, May 18, 2016, at 10:00 AM

This month, Coffee With the Poets and Writers welcomes Bob Grove. Bob is very entertaining, and will read some of his prose on Wednesday, May 18th, 2016, at 10:00 AM.


Coffee With the Poets and Writers meets every third Wednesday at 10:00 AM, at the Moss Memorial Library, at 26 Anderson Street, Hayesville, NC. The reading will be followed by open mic and the public is invited to attend.

North Carolina Writers' Network-West sponsors Coffee with the Poets and Writers. Please be sure to attend and to bring a friend! Coffee and cookies will be provided. For more information, please call Glenda Beall at: 828-389-4441, or the Moss Memorial Library at: 828-389-3734.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Bob Grove now lives in the mountains of North Carolina. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at Kent State University and his Master of Science at Florida Atlantic University. His diversified curriculum enabled him to teach courses in English, journalism, creative writing, physics, chemistry, biology and psychology.

Bob has been an ABC-TV public affairs director, an on-air personality, and the founder and publisher of Monitoring Times magazine. A prose critique facilitator for the North Carolina Writers’ Network and an officer with the Ridgeline Literary Alliance, he has published seventeen books and hundreds of articles in sixteen national magazines.

Now retired after 35 years as founder of Grove Enterprises, an international supplier of radio communications equipment, Bob has more time to write. Most recently, he has published a mystery novella (Secrets of Magnolia Manor), his memoir (Misadventures of an Only Child), a collection of children’s stories (Adventures of Kaylie and Jimmy) and has written several flash fiction stories as well as some forgettable poetry. He has been awarded gold, silver and bronze medals in the Silver Arts literature competition.

Bob’s public readings are popular as a performance art form, typified by his annual December reading, in costume and dialect, of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol at the John C. Campbell Folk School.

His collected writings on technical topics (Antenna Basics, Antenna Anthology and Ask Bob) are now available, as is his informative overview of deviant mental behavior (Abnormal Psychology) which he uses as a teaching text in continuing education classes.

All Bob’s publications are available on Amazon Kindle, and you are welcome to visit him at bobgrove.org.

 

The Literary Hour to be held on Wednesday, May 18, 2016, at John C. Campbell Folk School, in Brasstown, NC, features poets Gene Hirsch and Maren O. Mitchell

On Wednesday evening, May 18, 2016 at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School and N.C. Writers' Network-West are sponsoring The Literary Hour, an hour of poetry and prose reading. The reading is free of charge and open to the public. Normally scheduled for the third Thursday of the month, this month the event will be on Wednesday. Poets Dr. Eugene Hirsch and Maren Mitchell will be the featured readers, both of whom are accomplished poets. This should be an excellent program and greatly anticipated by writers and poets in our area.

Gene Hirsch is a physician who, for many years, has taught human values in patient care, and in dying people, to medical students and doctors. His major interests are people in health and sickness, and poetry. Hirsch initiated the writing program at John C. Campbell Folk School in1992 and, with Nancy Simpson, co-founded NC Writers’ Network West, and he has been active in both. Hirsch conducts workshops for interested poets twice a year, as well as Glenda Beall’s Writers Circle.

Gene’s poetry has appeared in medical and non-medical journals such as: Pharos (Medical Honor Society), Journal of the American Medical Assn., Hiram Poetry Review, Human Quest, and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. Anthologies include: Atahita Journal, Blood & Bone (poems by physicians), Behavioral Medicine, Crossing Limits (Afro-American and Jewish Poets), Tyranny of the Normal, and Echoes across the Blue Ridge. He has edited five volumes of Freeing Jonah (poetry from J.C. Campbell Folk School and the surrounding community) and two books. Two more books will appear this spring.

Maren O. Mitchell has taught poetry at Blue Ridge Community College, Flat Rock, NC, and catalogued at the Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site. In 2012 she received 1st Place Award for Excellence in Poetry from the Georgia Poetry Society. For over twenty years, across five southeastern states, she has taught origami, the Japanese art of paper folding.

Although a native of North Carolina, Mitchell lived in Bordeaux, France, and Kaiserslautern, Germany, as a child.. After moving throughout the southeast U.S., she now lives with her husband in Young Harris, Georgia, on the edge of the national forest.

Mitchell’s poems have appeared in Iodine Poetry Journal, The Lake (UK), Appalachian Heritage, The South Carolina Review, Hotel Amerika, Southern Humanities Review, Town Creek Poetry, Pirene’s Fountain, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Skive (AU), The Journal of Kentucky Studies, Appalachian Journal, The Arts Journal, The Southern Poetry Anthologies, V: Georgia & VII: North Carolina, Sunrise from Blue Thunder, and elsewhere. Work is forthcoming in Hotel Amerika, The World Is Charged: Poetic Engagements with Gerard Manley Hopkins, The Crafty Poet II, Chiron Review, Poetry East, and Tar River Poetry.

Her nonfiction book is Beat Chronic Pain, An Insider’s Guide (Line of Sight Press, 2012) www.lineofsightpress.com, available on Amazon.

WaterSedge Poetry Chapbook Contest's deadline is May 25, 2016

WaterSedge poetry chapbook contest's deadline is May 25, 2016. Ohio's poet laureate, Amit Majmudar, is the contest judge.
The winner of the WaterSedge Poetry Chapbook Contest will receive:
• $500 cash prize
• Publication of the poetry chapbook in both print and e-book format
• Amazon distribution for Kindle and print
• 25 free copies
Details are included in this 2-minute video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2zWfUJSy1I 
The contest is limited to poetry chapbooks 24 - 48 pages in length, and the entry fee is $20. For complete contest submission guidelines, visit http://writersrelief.com/watersedge-poetry-chapbook-contest/.
The contest is limited to poetry chapbooks 24 - 48 pages in length, and the entry fee is $20. For complete contest submission guidelines, visit http://writersrelief.com/watersedge-poetry-chapbook-contest/

NCWN-West is not a sponsor of this contest.

Joan M.Howard to have poem published in future issue of online journal, Vox Poetica

Joan M. Howard has had a poem accepted in a future issue of Vox Poetica. The poem is titled, Beyond All knowing.

Joan M. Howard lives near the beautiful waters of Lake Chatuge in Georgia. The serenity of her surroundings inspires much of her poetry. Her interests include kayaking, birding and boating. 

Joan M. Howard's poetry has appeared in the Aurorean, Lucid Rhythms, The Road Not Taken:The Journal of Formal Poetry, The Deronda Review, Victorian Violet Press, Wild Goose Poetry Review, The Reach of Song 2012 poetry anthology (Georgia Poetry Society), POEM, Miller's Pond, Eclectic Muse,The Lyric and other journals.

Poetry & Prose reading sponsored by Ridgeline Literary Alliance & North Carolina Poetry Society, featuring poet Shelby Stephenson, at Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC., Sat., May 7th, at 2:00 PM

North Carolina’s Poet Laureate Shelby Stephenson returns to the western mountains of NC to read his award-winning poems. Local writers David Brown, multiple-award-winning publisher of the Cherokee Scout and associated newspapers; and Bob Grove, founder and publisher of Monitoring Times Magazine and prose critique facilitator for the North Carolina Writers’ Network, will follow with their original works.

At the conclusion of the scheduled readings, an open mic session will be available for RLA members and anyone in attendance who wishes to read.

This exciting literary event is scheduled for May 7, 2016, at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street in Hayesville, NC, and will run from 2:00 p.m. through approximately 4:00 p.m. There is no cost and all ages are welcome. Complimentary snacks will be provided. Contact Moss Memorial Library for directions: 828-389-8401.

For complete details of this event, download the PDF flyer at https://goo.gl/Obq3fH

Song Lyrics & Poetry Weekend, May 20 at the Folk School

A class for poets, songwriters, prose writers, 

and anyone who loves words... 

You are in my blood like holy wine, you taste so bitter and so sweet. (Joni Mitchell)

I keep her weary ghost inside me. (Donald Hall)

fill your arms with the white and pink flowers, with their honeyed heaviness, their lush trembling, (Mary Oliver)

Mommy rocked the babies at night
And read the Bible by the coal oil light (Loretta Lynn) 

Inspiration... Fun... Good Food... Camaraderie... Words, Words, Words... There's music in good poetry and poetry in good music.  And if you're a lover of words, this class is for you. We'll share our favorite song lyrics and poems... and learn from them. What makes them so effective? How can we "steal" ideas and techniques for our own writing. 

What's not to love at the John C. Campbell Folk School? If you haven't been there, you're missing out on the enchantment of this beautiful place. And if you have been, you know the magic that happens. It's learning and inspiration in a supportive, non-competitive environment.
 
Karen Paul Holmes has taught and spoken at conferences across the U.S. She's the author of the poetry collection, Untying the Knot (Aldrich Press, 2014) and has been published in many fine journals and anthologies. She's the NC Writers' Network-West regional rep for the Georgia border counties. 

The class is definitely a "go," and locals can still get 1/2 price tuition at this point.  May 20-22. Register today using this link:
Song Lyrics and Poetry at the Folk School

Video excerpts from April 20, 2016, NCWN-West's Coffee with the Poets and Writers, with Brenda Kay Ledford and Nancy Simpson

For those of you who missed Coffee with the Poets and Writers at Moss Memorial Library, in Hayesville, NC, on April 20, 2016, here are some video excerpts of Brenda Kay Ledford and Nancy Simpson.

Brenda Kay Ledford

Nancy Simpson

For other videos of this event, please go to our network's new YouTube channel at :  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu63wy0hyAFhgTPRo7by4og

Joan Ellen Gage, Admin of NCWN-West Blog

 

NCWN-West's Coffee with the Poets and Writers to feature Brenda Kay Ledford and Nancy Simpson, on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, at 10:00 AM at the Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC

The North Carolina Writers' Network-West's Coffee with the Poets and Writers will feature poets Brenda Kay Ledford and Nancy Simpson, on Wednesday, April 20, 2016, at 10:00 AM. The event will be held at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street, Hayesville, North Carolina, and is open to the public. As always, the readings will be followed by an open mic.

Brenda Kay Ledford is a seventh-generational native of Clay County, North Carolina. She was an honor graduate of Hayesville High School and earned her Master of Arts in Education from Western Carolina University. She studied Journalism at the University of Tennessee and was editor of "Tri-County Communicator" at Tri-County Community College. She holds a diploma of highest honors from Stratford Career Institute in Creative Writing.

Ledford's prose and poetry have appeared in many publications including: "Angels on Earth Magazine," "Our State Magazine," "Asheville Poetry Review," "Appalachian Heritage," and 30 anthologies printed by Old Mountain Press. Finishing Line Press published three award-winning chapbooks. Aldrich Press printed her poetry book, "Crepe Roses," that received the 2015 Paul Green Multimedia Award from North Carolina Society of Historians. She has received the Paul Green Award seven times for her literary works and collecting oral history. Ledford blogs at: http://blueridgepoet.blogspot.com.

Nancy Simpson is the author of three poetry collections: Across Water, Night Student and Living Above the Frost Line, New and Selected Poems published at Carolina Wren Press. She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and a B.S. in Education from Western Carolina University. She received a N.C. Arts Fellowship and co founded NC Writers Network-West, a non profit, professional writing organization serving writers living in the remote mountains west of Asheville. For more than thirty years she has been known as “beloved teacher” to thousands of young writers.

Simpson’s poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Southern Poetry Review, Seneca Review, New Virginia Review, Prairie Schooner and in other literary magazines. Her poem, “Night Student” was reprinted in the anthology Word and Wisdom, 100 Years of North Carolina Poetry and in Literary Trails of North Carolina. Seven of her poems are featured in Southern Appalachian Poetry, a textbook anthology published at McFarland Press. The Southern Poetry Review, Armstrong College in Savannah, Georgia included one of her poems in their 50^th Anniversary issue, Don't Leave Hungry and a new poem in their recent issue featuring Georgia poets. Her poem “Carolina Bluebirds” was included in The Poets Guide to Birds, an anthology edited by Judith Kitchen and Ted Kooser, and her poem “Pink Pantsuit” was featured recently in Ted Kooser’s widely read “American Life in Poetry” newspaper column. Simpson blogs at: http://nancysimpson.blogspot.com/.

For more information, please contact Glenda C. Beall at 828-389-4441.