The Dancing Years, poetry, by Barbara Groce

In memory of one of our dearest members, Barbara Groce. Barbara passed away Monday, February 2.

A book of poetry, The Dancing Years, by Barbara Groce was released by Cardinal House Publishing in 2012. 

Upon moving to the North Georgia Mountains in 2007, Barbara turned to poetry as an outlet for the childhood and lifetime memories pressing for release. Although she had never written, she poured her energy into learning. She attended a number of classes and workshops, including the annual Writer's Conference sponsored by the Blue Ridge Arts Center. Numerous area, regional and national poets shared generously to mentor her. Barbara is a member of the Georgia Poetry Society, North Carolina Writers Network, the Kentucky State Poetry Society, the Shallow Enders and her local church poetry group.

Barbara's poems have been published in Pegasus, journal of the Kentucky State Poetry Society, Reach of Song, 2011, annual publication of the Georgia Poetry Society, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Spring 2011 and local newspapers. She has won awards from the Kentucky State Poetry Society (2009, 2010, 2011) and the Illinois State Poetry Society (2010). She published two Chapbooks, Appalachian Girl and Christmas Legends.

The Dancing Years is a comprehensive collection of Barbara’s poetry.  She previously published two chapbooks, Appalachian Girl and A Legendary Christmas.

Barbara will be missed by all who knew her.

Read more here.

SEPTEMBER 20, 2008 - After a Week of Hearing the Word by Nancy Simpson

Recently I sent out an email to  members with two links for early posts of this blog, but I find now that those links to  many of the post in 2007, 2008 do not work. You can go to Archives and find most of the early posts however.
Nancy Simpson, co-founder of NCWN West, our mountain writers organization, in the early 1990s, sent me this early post that portrays the activity and enthusiasm we had in 2008.
Saturday, September 20, 2008

AFTER A WEEK OF HEARING THE WORD

Michael Beadle and Glenda Beall

Jo Carolyn Beebe

Bill Queen and Nancy Simpson

Hello Friends of Netwest,

Something is happening. The seasons are changing. It's difficult to keep my feet on the ground. I'm telling you. I'm flying off the earth. It started last Sunday at Koneheta Park in Cherokee County at our 17th annual picnic. There have been a lot of good Netwest 

I've missed only one. The Cherokee County members out-did themselves. They welcomed writers as far away as Jackson and Haywood. There were also writers from Clay,Cherokee and some from Georgia. The food was the best ever. I didn't see one Ingles cake on the table.
Playwright, Gary Carden was the featured writer. He was born to entertain. He paid homage to Appalachian poet, Jim Wayne Miller who exhorted in his poem: "Come home to your father's house."

There were at the same time, near us, some boys practicing baseball with their coach. The boys could not keep their minds on the game. Every time Gary Carden raised his voice, shouting, "Come home to your father's house," a boy would miss hitting the ball or would miss the catch. The louder Gary Carden read Jim Wayne Miller's famous words, the more the boys missed the ball and the louder and the meaner their coach yelled insulting words at them.

Sitting between Gary Carden, who was telling his heart out and between the boys who wanted to drop the ball and come over to see who was talking, drawn to poetry I believe, and sitting there in hearing distance of their mean-mouthed coach, who needed someone to gag him, I almost lost my way for a moment. What a presentation from our special guest! The readings continued with old favorites such as poets Brenda Kay Ledford and Mary Ricketson reading their newest poems. You must know, my ears also love to hear those new and younger voices and there were some of those. As it turned out, it was the best NCWN West annual picnic ever.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, I tried to get my feet back on Terra Firma. On Thursday evening I went to John C. Campbell Folk School to our scheduled monthly reading. Each month two of our members read there to a captive audience. By that I mean, they read to the folk school students who have come from all over America to learn a craft. In the audience we also have local writers and Netwest members who come to support the program.

The featured writers were two of Netwest's most accomplished: fiction writer Jo Carolyn Beebe from Hiawassee, Georgia and poet, Michael Beadle from Canton, N.C. Oops. I started losing traction, floating. What a show! I enjoyed Jo Carolyn's stories. They were filled with vivid imagery. As she read, I felt as if I were turning the pages of a book with colorful illustrations.

Michael Beadle is a performance poet. He started reciting loudly, pacing, looking at me. I lost myself. What a joy to remember that there are different kinds of poetry. He recited free verse and read haiku to the beat of a drum. It was inspiring. His best was a free verse poem about a boy wanting his estranged parents to kiss again, so he creates a kiss by taking his father's coffee mug and without washing it, pours his mother a drink. Where their lips touched the mug, he had their kiss. It's the kind of lyric poem I long to hear.

On Friday, (just yesterday) all I wanted to do all day was write. I wondered if my life could get better. I reheard poems and phrases in my head. I floated on joy.

But the week wasn't over yet. Netwest had scheduled the award winning play, Birdell, by Gary Carden. Gary had donated the play to Netwest for a fundraiser. It was to be performed in Murphy. I went out into my garden to gather flowers to be used as props, got dressed and went to help set up for the play.
I knew I would enjoy this play written my our own Gary Carden. But, I was not prepared for this moving story, set in Appalachia long ago. I was not prepared for the professional, outstanding performance of Bobbie Curtis, who took me back to that time in the mountains. She made me laugh and she made me cry, the emotions that remind me I am human. 

Up, up again.

Yes, after a full week of taking in the word, the word itself, I am still floating. My thanks to all of you who are responsible for my elevated condition. Don't worry about me. Don't call my doctor. I'm fine. I'm alive, healthy and happy.

Nancy Simpson

Consultant, NCWN West

Award Winning Poets - Don't miss this workshop if you write poetry

Workshop Opportunity with Award-Winning Poets

Chelsea Rathburn and James Davis May are teaching a poetry workshop on Saturday, February 21, 10 am – 1pm, at Young Harris College in Young Harris, GA. The widely published poets, who happen to be married, are both assistant professors of English and creative writing at Young Harris College.

The workshop is geared to intermediate to advanced poets, and the fee is $20 per person.  Reservations are on a first-come/first-served basis.  Send your check, payable  to Rosemary Royston, POB 694, Young Harris, GA, 30582, along with your name, address, and email.  The class will be held on the campus of Young Harris College.  Once registration is received, further details will be provided. 

Rathburn is author of two full-length poetry collections, A Raft of Grief, published by  Autumn House Press in 2013, and The Shifting Line, winner of the 2005 Richard Wilbur Award. Her poems have appeared in The Atlantic, Poetry, The New Republic, The Threepenny Review, Ploughshares, and New England Review, and her prose has appeared in Creative Nonfiction. In 2009, she received a poetry fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.

May's poems have appeared or are forthcoming in Five Points, The Missouri Review, New England Review, New Ohio Review, The New Republic, Pleiades, Rattle, The Southern Review and elsewhere. The former editor of New South, he has received scholarships from The Sewanee Writers’ Conference, Inprint, and the Krakow Poetry Seminar. In 2013, he won the Collins Award from Birmingham Poetry Review.

When the two poets read at Writers' Night Out last year, they were well-received and we were urged to have them teach a workshop. Here in our mountains, we are fortunate to have poets of their quality available for classes. 

For more information, please contact Rosemary Royston at 706.897.6667 or rosemary28rr@gmail.com .

News News News

Hello, Karen Paul Holmes here. I've been saving up news items, so here is a mishmash:

Give yourself the gift of time to write: Come to my all-genre writing class at the wonderful John C. Campbell Folk School, May 3-9. Locals may qualify for half-price tuition, so get on the list today! Bring a friend for any number of other arts/crafts classes offered that week -- it's like summer camp for adults.   https://classes.folkschool.org/class_details.aspx?pk=17708

Writers' Night Out will resume in April. We may be switching back to Friday nights, so please let me know your preference.

Some of you know that my dog Watson loves watching TV.
Well, he loves looking at my laptop screen as I type too,
and he's pretty good at grammar.

Have you Googled yourself lately? Recently, I was surprised to find that the poem "Rug" from my book, Untying the Knot, was included in a list of the Top 10 "Red" Poems by Tweetspeak Poetry on Oct 14. Go figure! You an read it and the other top poems using the color red here: http://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/2014/10/16/top-ten-red-poems/

I've been busy doing readings from my book and workshops, including the Georgia Poetry Society meeting in Gainesville, the Decatur Public Library (as part of the Georgia Center for the Book), and an upcoming reading with Michael Diebert (editor of the Chattahoochee Review) at Callanwolde Arts Center in Atlanta on Feb 11 at 8 pm. My book is available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. If you'd like a personalized copy, please let me know. I'm running out of my supply, which is a happy problem for poets.

A new publication is accepting submissions: Sling Magazine. My poem about my mom and dad meeting in Australia during WWII is in the second issue (page 7) here: http://www.slingmag.com/

My mom and dad in Australia, WWII

As It Ought to Be featured two poems on their Saturday Poetry Series, November 15. You can read "Drawn into Circles" (my most published poem) and "Teaching Mozart in Stone Mountain Prison" here:  http://asitoughttobe.com/2014/11/15/saturday-poetry-series-presents-karen-paul-holmes/

OK, folks, I think that's it for the new news. Hope your writing will flourish in 2015.

New Venue for Coffee with the Poets and Writers - Clay County, NC

Coffee with the Poets and Writers has met at Blue Mountain Restaurant in  Murphy for the past two years. Beginning in March, 2015, this event will meet at Joe's Trading Post and Coffee Shop, 32 Main Street, Hayesville, NC. Joe Powell is owner of the coffee shop. We met at this location when it was  Cafe Touche and run by Liz. The seating is different now and probably will be better for our group. This event is open to  the public and everyone is invited to read a couple of  poems or a prose piece of around 1,000 words,.

The only food sold at Joe's will be his fine varied brands of coffee, soft drinks, tea and a few snack items. He will be open to  the public while we meet. Please pass this change on to anyone who would like to join us on the second Wednesday of each month at 10:30 a.m.

We are pleased that Coffee with the Poets and Writers, sponsored by NCWN West, was founded  in 2007 and has continued with a loyal following ever since.

We will NOT MEET in January or February.
Our featured reader in March will be Bob Grove, well-known man of many talents from Brasstown, NC.
To learn more about reading at Coffee with the Poets and Writers contact Glenda Beall, gcbmountaingirl@gmail.com or call 828-389-4441.

Congratulations to NCWN West member, Pat Davis

We received this email from Pat Davis of Brevard who has published her first mystery novel for teens and young adults. I met Pat in 2008 when she lived in Pennsylvania. We were attending a NCWN Conference and began talking while standing in front of an elevator. That was the beginning of a friendship we still enjoy. A native of Transylvania County, NC, Pat moved back to the mountains and continued with her writing. Give this new writer a try. Order her book on Kindle. That is what I am doing. Glenda Beall

From Pat Davis:
I'm delighted to announce the publication of my Teen and Young Adult mystery novel, THE NIGHT THE DANCING STOPPED.

It is now available on Kindle eBooks for $2.99 or through a variety of other e-sellers for approximately the same price.
The paperback is still in the review process and will go on sale on Amazon and other book retailers in a week or two.

I hope you will consider buying my eBook or paperback. The story has characters of all ages, and adults have reported enjoying reading it too. For those of you familiar with the Blue Ridge/Great Smoky Mountains area, many locations will be familiar, although they are used fictitiously.

If you purchase and enjoy The NIGHT THE DANCING STOPPED, please write a REVIEW. Sales and Reviews are crucial to the success of this novel. Thanks for your continuing encouragement and the purchase and review of my first foray into fiction writing.

Netwest member published e-book about rescue operation during Viet Nam War

Tom Davis via Old Mountain Press has published an eBook for Amazon Kindle and Nook entitled Operation Ivory Coast AKA The Son Tay Raid: A Short Briefing. This briefing was found over 20 years ago (40 years after the operation) in a classified US portion of the Korean Special Forces Compound near Seoul, Korea. 

In Operation Ivory Coast, a group of 61 Special Forces soldiers conducted a rescue operation to free prisoners-of-war deep inside North Vietnam. Tom has introductory notes followed by the briefing. There are several things in this 1368 word briefing that pique one’s interest. Of particular note are the named Americans who are listed as assets. One in particular you won't believe!http://www.oldmp.com/e-book/#sontay

New NC Poet Laureate named by Governor

Shelby Dean Stephenson, poet, editor and teacher, has been named by Governor McCrory as the new poet laureate of North Carolina. He will be installed in February, 2015.

Earlier this year the governor set off a storm among poets when he appointed a woman, Valerie Macon, without going through proper procedure with the NC Arts Council. This time he chose Stephenson from a field of nominations using a panel of respected poets and writers.

Read more here.

Brenda Kay Ledford Featured on Windstream Communications

Brenda Kay Ledford was interviewed by Jim Geer, host of the "Common Cup," on Windstream Communications regarding her new poetry book, CREPE ROSES.

Kelsay Books printed CREPE ROSES, October, 2014.  Dr. Joseph Bathanti, former Poet Laureate of North Carolina, and Carolyn York, North Carolina Poetry Society President, endorsed Ledford's book.

You may view Brenda Kay Ledford on the "Common Cup," Windstream Communications, Channel 4 cable television, the following dates:

Monday, December 15, 2014 at 9:30 AM, 4:00 PM, 7:30 PM

Wednesday, December 17, 2014 at 9:30 AM, 4:00 PM, 7:30 PM

Friday, December 19, 2014,  at 9:30 AM, 4:00 PM, 7:30 PM

Monday, December 22, 2014 at 9:30 AM, 4:00 PM, 7:30 PM

Wednesday, December 24, 2014 at 9:30 AM, 4:00 PM, 7:30 PM

Friday, December 26, 2014 at 9:30 AM, 4:00 PM, 7:30 PM

Monday, December 29, 2014 at 9:30 AM, 4:00 PM, 7:30 PM

Wednesday, December 31, 2014 at 9:30 AM, 4:00 PM, 7:30 PM

CREPE ROSES is available online at:  www.Amazon.com
                           and locally at the John C. Campbell Folk School Craft Shop,
                           Clay County, NC Chamber of Commerce,
                           Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC