Congratulations to Bob Grove

Bob Grove, author of several books, has been awarded three gold medals for his  entries in the Cherokee and Clay County Silver Arts writing competition.

The first-place medals were for his short story, The Switch; his essay, A moral Conundrum; and his performance reading of The Follies of Youth, also written by Bob and delivered at the closing ceremonies of the Senior Games on May 16.

Bob Grove, medal winner

His recent memoir, Misadventures of an Only Child, can be found on Amazon.com. Bob is facilitator of the NCWN West Prose group that meets monthly at Tri-County Community College in Murphy, NC. He is known locally for his humor, his tales of the antics of his youth and his annual Christmas season performance of Dickens' A Christmas Carol at the John C. Campbell Folk School.

Just one more day - Kakalak submission due May 15

Submit now to Kakalak 2015. 

 Poets and Artists of the Carolinas, this is from editors of Kakalak 2015. 

 

Thanks to everyone who has already entered the KAKALAK 2015 poetry and art contests. If you haven't, this is a gentle reminder that we need your poems, your inside art (photography or photos of your artwork) by May 15.

Please visit the Main Street Rag web site for guidelines ( www.mainstreetrag.com, click on Kakalak 2015).    

A Large Turnout For Karen Holmes, Poet, at Coffee with the Poets and Writers, Hayesville, NC

Coffee with the Poets and Writers met Wednesday at Joe’s Coffee House in Hayesville, NC. We had an overflow crowd. Our hostess, Cindy, brought in chairs from outside to seat everyone as they continued to enter.

A lovely day here in the Appalachian Mountains invited us all to get out and enjoy the sunshine, low humidity, and a poet who has blossomed this past year.  Karen Paul Holmes, a resident of Atlanta and Hiawassee, Georgia, published her first book of poetry, Untying the Knot, last year. Reviewers praised her work and she has read to large groups in Atlanta as well as other places. Her book is for sale online. To get an autographed copy, find Karen locally at Writers Night Out in Blairsville, GA on the second Friday night of the month. The event takes place at the Union County Community building at Butternut Creek Golf Course.

After Karen’s reading today, we held Open Mic, a time for our guests to read a couple of poems or a short story. Paul Schofield chose to read a chapter from the upcoming fourth book of his Trophy series. Paul writes Future Fiction. Find his books on Amazon.com.

Dr. Eugene Hirsch was with us today and read two poems. Dr. Hirsch, along with Nancy Simpson and Janice Moore, were major players in the creation of NCWN West. Nancy read two poems from her most recent book, Living Above the Frost Line published by Carolina Wren Press.

NCWN West (Netwest) appreciates Joe Powell of Joe’s CoffeeHouse, 82 Main Street, for giving our writers a place to meet. We thank Cindy who is the perfect hostess.

After our meeting several of us walked down the block and had lunch at Angelo’s, on the corner of the town square. We discussed Hayesville, Netwest, and plans for the future. Our literary community in the far western part of North Carolina is thriving.

We invite others to join us on the second Wednesday of each month, 10:30 a.m. at Joe’s. In June our featured readers are Joan Gage and Mary Ricketson. We look forward to another enjoyable day.

Joan Ellen Gage

Mary Ricketson

Laurence Holden's poem "Only the River Now" in June issue of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel & at "Seedtime on the Cumberland" Celebration

Laurence Holden will read his poem "Only the River Now" at the June 6th launch of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel: Volume 18, The Dead, held at the Southern Appalachian Writers Collaborative Summer Gathering/Reading.  This will be Appalshop's 29th annual Seedtime on the Cumberland in Whitesburg, Kentucky, celebrating Appalachian people, music, arts, and culture.

You can listen live to this reading June 6th at 12 noon on WMMT-FM 88.7

Laurence's poem in this issue "Only the River Now" was inspired by the nearby river, the Chattooga, the surrounding mountain community, and the way things pass there. The author says that it is the only poem he has ever written that comes close to being a story. After he had written it, he put it away in a drawer very unsure about its "narrative arc," or even what that really meant. Several writers told him it was very important to have this arc. So months later he had an opportunity to ask his poet friend Mildred Greear, who writes ballads, what a story needs. She said - it only has to be true! Without her saying that, this poem would never have seen the light of day. So, of course, Laurence dedicated the poem to her.

Change in Prose Group date in May

We have a change in the schedule for the Netwest Prose Group that meets at Tri-County College in Cherokee County.

That group will meet on the third Thursday, May 21 at 7:00 p.m. for this month only.

Bob Grove leads those writers who write fiction and nonfiction and they usually meet on the second Thursday of each month.
Because of a change in the John Campbell Folk School reading in May, prose writers meeting was changed. 

Anyone in the area of Murphy, Hayesville, Robbinsville, Blairsville, Young Harris, or Hiawassee are within driving distance. 

This is a small group of writers who want to improve their writing skills by sharing their work with other writers. Feedback is gentle but honest, and many of us have honed our skills around the table with others who write short stories, personal essays, memoirs, and all kinds of writing that is not poetry.

Contact Bob Grove for more details -  bobby.grove@gmail.com