New Poet Laureate of Georgia, Chelsea Rathburn

Congratulations to Chelsea Rathburn. She is a professor at Young Harris College, where she directs the creative writing program. She has just been named Poet Laureate of Georgia. 

Chelsea Rathburn, new Poet Laureate of Georgia

What an honor! She is following in the footsteps of Betty Sellers, the fabulous poet who was professor of English at YHC decades ago. She was also named Poet Laureate of Georgia. Sellers was author of numerous books of poetry and was best known for her poems about life in southern Appalachia. 

Chelsea Rathburn is the author of three full-length poetry collections, most recently Still Life with Mother and Knife, a New York Times “New & Noteworthy” book released by Louisiana State University Press in February 2019. Rathburn’s first full-length collection, The Shifting Line, won the 2005 Richard Wilbur Award, and her second collection, A Raft of Grief, was published by Autumn House Press in 2013.

Rathburn’s poems have appeared in the nation’s most esteemed journals, including Poetry, The Atlantic Monthly, the New Republic, The Southern Review, New England Review, and Ploughshares, among others.While she was born in Jacksonville and raised in Miami, Florida, Rathburn has deep roots in the state of Georgia, where her mother’s family has lived since the 1830s.

Rathburn moved to Decatur, Georgia in 2001 after completing graduate school at the University of Arkansas. Since 2013, she has lived in the North Georgia mountains with her husband, the poet James Davis May, and their daughter.


Chelsea Rathburn will be a featured guest at Writers Night Out in Blairsville, Georgia April 12, 2019. Karen Holmes is host and NCWN-West is sponsor of this event open to the public. For more info: kpaulholmes AT gmail DOT com

Free Biscuits from Biscuitville at NCWN Spring Conference

Charles really tempted me with this news. Free Biscuits? I would walk a mile for free biscuits, but, alas, I can't go to Spring Conference even for free biscuits. I would love to, but can't make the long trip anymore. 
I hope you can. Look at what is available for writers in Greensboro, NC on April 27!!

If you've already registered for Spring Conference, thank you! If not, please consider joining us for a full day of sessions and programs on the craft and business of writing.

The NCWN 2019 Spring Conference happens Saturday, April 27, on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Pre-registration is open at www.ncwriters.org.

It's Friday night, you probably have things to do, so we'll just offer a quick rundown of why you should think about coming out to Spring Conference:

* Classes in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and the basics of the book business
* The annual Slush Pile Live!
* A full exhibit hall offering access to publishers, literary groups, and more
* Open mics
* Faculty readings
* Lunch with an Author (only available to those who pre-register)
* Free biscuits from Biscuitville

Did we mention FREE BISCUITS FROM BISCUITVILLE?

I mean, we can't ask our attendees to handle all this excitement on an empty stomach....

Register at www.ncwriters.org.

Have a good weekend--see you April 27 in Greensboro!
Charles Fiore
Communications Director
North Carolina Writers' Network

The Literary Hour Readings, Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at The John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

On Wednesday, March 20, 2019, at 7:00 PM, the John C. Campbell Folk School and NC Writers' Network-West (NCWN-West) will sponsor The Literary Hour. At this event, NCWN-West members will read at the Keith House on the JCCFS campus, in Brasstown, NC. The Literary Hour is held on the third Thursday of the month unless otherwise indicated. This reading is free of charge and open to the public. This month's featured readers will be, poet and author Natalie Grant, poet Joan M. Howard, and poet Mary A. Ricketson.

Natalie Grant has spent much of her life in Western North Carolina and most of her career as the only high school language arts teacher at a rural k-12 school. She writes both fiction and poetry and is inspired by the landscape of her mountain home, its people, and the many storytellers in her family.

Currently, Grant is writing short stories and a volume of poetry entitled The Language of Bones. Her educational background includes an MFA in creative writing from the University of the South's School of Letters, an MA in English from Western Carolina University, and a BA in History and English from Berea College. Grant is also a Rep for NCWN-West. 

Joan M. Howard, whose poetry has been published in POEM, The Road Not Taken: The Journal of Formal Poetry, the Aurorean, Lucid Rhythms, Victorian Violet, the Wayfarer and other literary journals. She published the book Death and Empathy: My Sister Web, in 2017.  Her latest book is: Jack, Love and the Daily Grail, from Kelsay Publications.

Howard is a former teacher with an MA in German and English literature and is a member of the North Carolina Writers' Network.  She enjoys birding and kayaking on the beautiful waters of Lake Chatuge near Hiawassee,

Mary A. Ricketson, Murphy NC, inspired by nature and her work as a mental health counselor, has poetry published in Wild Goose Poetry Review, Future Cycle Press, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Red Fox Run, It’s All Relative, Old Mountain Press, Whispers, and Voices. Her chapbook is, I Hear the River Call my Name, and she has two full length collections, Hanging Dog Creek, and Shade and Shelter.  Her new book, Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian, is forthcoming, 2019, from Kelsay Books.

Currently Mary is using her own poetry to present empowerment workshops, combining roles as writer and her helping role as a therapist. Ricketson’s poems and activities relate with nature, facilitate talk about a personal path, and focus on growth in ordinary and unusual times. She writes a monthly column, Women to Women, for The Cherokee Scout, is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor, a Rep for NCWN-West, and an organic blueberry farmer.

For more information about this event, contact Mary Ricketson at: maryricketson311@hotmail.com.