WRITERS' NIGHT OUT FRIDAY, MAY 10, 7:00 PM

WRITERS' NIGHT OUT
FRIDAY, MAY 10, 7:00 PM

Mary Mike Keller

Glenda Beall

 On May 10 Glenda Beall and Mary Michelle Keller will read their poetry and prose. The reading begins at 7 p.m. and is followed by an open microphone where audience members can share their own poetry or prose. The free event takes place at the Union County Community Center in Blairsville, GA, and is open to the public.

Beall has been writing and publishing poetry, short stories, and personal essays since 1995. Her latest book, Paws, Claws, Hooves, Feathers and Fins; Family Pets and God’s Other Creatures, was co-authored with local writer Estelle Rice in 2018. Other books include a family history, Profiles and Pedigrees, Descendants of Thomas Charles Council (1858 – 1911), and her poetry chapbook, Now Might as Well be Then (Finishing Line Press). Beall is owner/director of Writers Circle Around the Table in Hayesville, NC, where she teaches and invites writing instructors to hold workshops. She is also Program Coordinator for the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West. 

Keller lives in Young Harris, where she began writing over twenty years ago. She finds inspiration in the happenings around her and her life experiences. She is also a painter and finds writing and painting go hand-in-hand as each demands the expression of emotion. She writes for the pure pleasure of creation.  She has been published in several places, but does not strive to do so.  She enjoys reading her work to others and finds satisfaction in sharing.

Writers’ Night Out is sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West on the second Friday of every month through November. Anyone wishing to participate in the open mic can sign up at the door to read three minutes of poetry or prose.

The Union County Community Center is located at Butternut Creek Golf Course at 129 Union County Recreation Rd., Blairsville, Georgia 30512, off Highway 129 near the intersection of US 76, phone (706) 439-6092. Food and drinks are available for purchase in The View Grill, but please arrive by 6 pm to get served.  For more information on Writers’ Night Out, contact Karen Paul Holmes at (404) 316-8466 or kpaulholmes@gmail.com.

Don't missThe Literary Hour with host writers Carol Lynn Jones, Kanute Rarey, and Rosemary Rhodes Royston, Wednesday, May 15, 2019, 7:00 PM, at John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC

On Wednesday, May 15, 2019, at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School (JCCFS) 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 Carol Lynn Jones, Kanute Rarey, and Rosemary Rhodes Royston. For more information about event, please contact Mary Ricketson at: maryricketson311@hotmail.com.

Carol Lynn Jones received a full scholarship to study art and illustration at Syracuse University and worked in New York City illustrating books and magazines. Later, she started a greeting card business and sold cards to stores throughout the country. Her travels have taken her across Europe where she lived for two summers with her extended family in communist Czechoslovakia. She also lived with a family in St. Petersburg, Russia as part of a friendship force exchange program for professionals. This experience triggered an interest in Russian culture, language and history, resulting in her first novel, Danya. Organic gardening and photography give her much contentment. She lives with her husband in Murphy.

Kanute Rarey is a local storyteller. He told his first "official" story in 2015 at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, and later at the Swapping Ground at the International Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. Since then he has also told stories at the Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival, the Big Fibbers Festival, the Texas Storytelling Festival, the Moth Story Slam in Asheville, and the Stone Soup Festival. Born on a family farm in Ohio, Rarey began visiting the North Georgia mountains regularly about forty years ago and fell in love with the people, their stories, the wild rivers, beautiful lakes, and mountains. He moved to Hayesville in 1990 and lived here for ten years. Work then took him away. Four years ago, he retired back to Hayesville full-time. 

Rarey is a traveler, teacher, grandfather, and lifelong learner. Stories are from his personal life, from growing up on a farm in the Western Carolina mountains, from listening to family tales at breakfast gatherings and holiday meals, from the "characters" that make up his family, and from living with children and grandchildren. Some of his stories are established fables that hold life lessons that have been told over and over for many years. Other stories are works of his imagination.

Rosemary Rhodes Royston holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University and is a lecturer at Young Harris College, Georgia. She is the author of Splitting the Soil (Finishing Line Press). Her poetry has been published in journals such as Appalachian Heritage, Split Rock Review, Southern Poetry Review, KUDZU, Town Creek Review, and *82 Review. She’s the VP for Planning and Special Projects at Young Harris College, where she teaches the occasional creative writing course. Her poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, she was the recipient of the 2010 Literal Latte Food Verse Award, received Honorable Mention in a George Scarborough Poetry Contest, at the Mountain Heritage Literary Festival, and her short fiction being selected as Honorable Mention in the Porter Fleming Literary Awards, 2012. Royston is treasurer for the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West.

Author of Elizabeth Goodweather Mysteries, Vicki Lane workshop June 1

Finding Focus: A Hook to Hang Your Narrative On

Whether it’s an event (such as a family gathering), an object ( like a carefully-preserved cheerleader’s uniform from the Fifties), or something less tangible (a sound, a scent,) we’ll explore how a close examination of something specific can segue into a multi-faceted story. Vicki will provide some sensory prompts; attendees are invited to bring a prompt (object or memory) of their own. There’ll be writing, reading, and discussion.

Saturday, June 1
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Writers Circle around the Table Studio
Hayesville, NC

Vicki Lane has lived on a mountain farm in Madison County, NC since 1975. Her novels include Signs in the Blood and four other Elizabeth Goodweather Mysteries, The Day of Small Things, and the forthcoming (2020) Within My Memory Yet.
Her work has been praised for authentic dialogue, evocative detail, and rich, clear, intelligent writing capturing the essence of the Carolina mountains and their people.

Vicki teaches with the Great Smokies Writing Program (UNC-Asheville) and leads writing workshops at Wildacres and John C. Campbell Folk School. Visit her at her (almost) daily blog http://vickilanemysteries.blogspot.com/ and her website http://vickilanemysteries.com/

To register for this course, contact Glenda Beall, gcbmountaingirl@gmail.com or send check for $50.00 made to Glenda Beall, PO Box 843, Hayesville, NC 28904.
REGISTRATION OPEN NOW