A MESSAGE FROM NC POET AND WRITING INSTRUCTOR NANCY SIMPSON

Hello Fellow Writers and Students of Poetry Writing,

It’s becoming one of my busiest teaching years for me after all.  Choose a class, or at least please pass the info on to others who may be interested.

Thank you, Nancy Simpson

(1) Write Poems Your Reader Can "See"

at John C. Campbell Folk School. This probably will be my last week long poetry class at the folk school. It is intense for sure.  If you can afford to give yourself a week for writing and organizing your poetry, this is the class most likely to change your writing life.

April 10-16, 2011

Instructor: Nancy Simpson

Tuition: $546.00 (half price for local students)

Pre register now.  (828)837-2775 or 1-800 FOLK-SCH

(Class description)

Write Poems Your Reader Can "See"

Time to stop asking your reader to play a guessing game. Learn to put your poem on the page so that the reader gets the picture and says, "Yes, I see." Instruction covers how to encapsulate truth, emotion, and music in poems. Learn the two rules of poetry that cannot be omitted - not even in writing free-verse. Share your work and get helpful feedback; we'll also discuss publication. All levels welcome.

(Nancy Simpson with former student Monica Henson)


Note: This class only. TO MY FORMER POETRY STUDENTS,  I’m OFFERING YOU AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK WITH MY GUIDENCE DURING THE WEEK ASSEMBLING YOUR POETRY MANUSCRIPT.

(2)        POETRY WRITING WORKSHOP 
Beginning May 9th, 2011.

INSTITUTE FOR CONTINUING LEARNING AT YOUNG HARRIS COLLEGE

(Description) Workshop method

The focus will be on your poems. If you are a practicing poet and want to share your writing with other poets and get constructive comments, sign up. Each week you will bring copies of one of your poems to be read and discussed.  There will be instruction as we discuss your writing but no lecture. We will talk about the publication process. A  list of markets will be given. Poetry Writing Workshop will meet at Young Harris College, Institute for Continuing Learning   1:00-3:00 four weeks, for two hours each meeting.  May 9, May 16, May 23, June 6  (no class on Memorial Day.) Fee. $13.00

(3) A FREE POETRY WRITING WORKSHOP

 You are Invited to the second annual Blue Ridge Bookfest featuring forty authors.  When is the event? Friday May 20 and Saturday June 21 , 2011.

POETRY WRITING WORKSHOP WILL BE TAUGHT BY POET NANCY SIMPSON

 at 1:00 - 3:00 Friday May 20,  2011.

Other workshops and events will be held also.

Where is it held  in East Flat Rock near Hendersonville, NC just off I-26 on the campus of our hosts, Blue Ridge Community College. The space is abundant as is the parking. Map-It on website.   www.BlueRidgeBookfest.org WS(see

More info on classes taught by Nancy Simpson in fall, 2011 will be announced. One to one coaching will be available. Stay tuned.

LET'S ALL GO TO THE NCWN FALL CONFERENCE IN ASHEVILLE

INFO FROM NC WRITERS NETWORK

Poetry Writing Class will be taught  by Nancy Simpson Poetry Writing Here and Now WRITTEN BY ADMINISTRATOR    MONDAY, 12 SEPTEMBER 2011 00:00 by Nancy Simpson Nancy Simpson I was shy and didn’t speak much in my young life because I feared whatever I said would come out of my mouth sounding quirky. I did not know then I was using figurative language. I only saw puzzlement on my mother’s face and almost stopped talking. Life changed for the better when someone in Raleigh sent three poets to read their poems at my local library. I heard free verse for the first time, and I recognized on the spot it was similar to what I had been hearing in my head most my life. At age forty, the state of North Carolina certified me to teach. At the same time, I began writing my thoughts and published poems right away in literary magazines. I entered the first writing class offered in the Warren Wilson College MFA Writing program. After graduation, I kept taking poems apart, hoping to see how they were made, especially wanting to understand the writing process. More advanced poets warned me, “Be careful, Nancy. Poetry is meant to be mysterious. If you learn how it works, you might stop being able to make it happen.” Nothing could stop me. Writing poetry changed me, smoothed my tongue, and greatly enriched my life. I kept practicing poetry, publishing poems, and passing on what I had learned to others. AsGary Snyder said, “You get it right, and then you pass it on.” My upcoming workshop "Poetry Writing Here and Now," scheduled for the 2011 Fall Conference, will focus on Contemporary Free Verse Poetry. I’m not one who believes “Free Verse” is a free-for-all, without rules nor responsibility. We will consider a list of specific guidelines aimed to guide you beyond the use of ordinary language. Where to break the line and how to make your poems sing with sound will be discussed. We’ll talk about specific forms of free verse and see what drives each kind. I’ll share my definition of the lyric poem, and we’ll write some poems. NANCY SIMPSON is the author of three poetry collections: Across Water, Night Student, and most recently, Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems, published in 2010 by Carolina Wren Press. She is also the editor of the recently published anthology Echoes Across the Blue Ridge. Her poems have appeared in the Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, and other literary magazines, as well as in several anthologies. She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College, and is  a recipient of an NC Arts Council fellowship. She is one of the co-founders of North Carolina Writers’ Network – West, the Network chapter for writers in the westernmost counties of the state. She lives in Hayesville. Registration for the 2011 Fall Conference is now open.

Home > Programs and Services > Conferences > 2011 Fall Conference in Asheville

2011 Fall Conference in Asheville

WRITTEN BY ADMINISTRATOR   

TUESDAY, 06 SEPTEMBER 2011 00:00

Friday-Sunday
November 18-20
DoubleTree Hotel Asheville-Biltmore
115 Hendersonville Road
Asheville, NC 28803
828-274-1800

The Network has also reserved a block of less-expensive rooms for the Fall Conference at the adjacent Sleep Inn, 828-277-1800.
When booking at either hotel, use “North Carolina Writers’ Network” for special conference rates.

Register Online | Download Registration Form

FEES AND DEADLINES | COMPLETE SCHEDULE-AT-A-GLANCE | CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS | WORKSHOP SCHEDULE AND COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

SESSION I | SESSION II | SESSION III | SESSION IV | SESSION V | MASTER CLASSES | MANUSCRIPT MART | CRITIQUE SERVICE | MARKETING MART | FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES

Fees & Deadlines

Register online here | Download Registration Form

WRITING FREE VERSE; SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Reprint

This post is a reprint from June 14, 2008. Nancy Simpson writes about free verse. I thought some of our new poets would find this helpful. You might want to print this for referral later.



WRITING FREE VERSE POETRY: Some Questions and Answers

Nancy Simpson, Instructor

When talking with free verse poets, I tread lightly to see if we are on the same page. Many free verse poets believe there is no form in free verse poetry and that there are no rules. I do not agree with that. I believe writers of free verse must follow the essential rules of poetry. Free verse poets have a great amount of freedom, but it is a misconception to think we can write with abandon of rules.

Yes, we must break with traditional verse. We must shun rhyme, but after that, in my opinion, free verse poets must decide carefully which guidelines of poetry they will practice.

Some of the most asked questions from my students.

1) QUESTION: If there are free verse rules, what is number one?

ANSWER: Economy of Words is the first rule of poetry. The second is Use of Diction, choice of words, choosing the best word in regard to correctness. Poets of old followed these essential rules. Free verse poets must follow these rules.

2) QUESTION: Do I have to write in sentences?

ANSWER: Yes. According to the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetics, poetry is written in sentences and lines. Poets of old followed this guideline. Free verse poets must do so. Why? Syntax of Sentence. A sentence has syntax, and it is syntax that gives your words meaning. No meaning, no understanding for your reader.

3) QUESTION: Do I have to punctuate?

ANSWER: No. This is your choice. Once in a while, in the literary magazines, I read poems that have no punctuation. However, it is as if the poem were punctuated and then the poet lifted out the punctuation marks. There is no rule, but caution would say, help the reader all you can. If there were a rule regarding punctuation, it would be: Do not lose your reader.

4) QUESTION: What is the rule for line breaks?

ANSWER: There is no rule. Line breaks are completely your responsibility and your choice. Some free verse poets work in unrhymed meter, some count syllables, some spoon feed the reader one thought on one line and the next bite on the next line. There are no rules, but there are a few guidelines.

A.) End the line with a strong word, not a weak word such as a, and, or the.

B.) Be aware of your one word lines. That one word you want to use will draw attention to itself. It had better be great, for it will provoke questions, and it will slow your reader.

C.) If your line is too wide for a narrow page, it will wrap, and you will lose what ever it was you were trying to accomplish. Editors shun the wide line that wants to wrap.

D.) If there were one rule to line breaks, it would be, work your lines.

5) QUESTION: What if I have a sentence that ends in the middle of the next line? What is the rule?

ANSWER: There is no rule against ending a sentence in the middle of a line. What you have is a caesura, a pause, and you have a golden opportunity. Caesura in a line can be a dreadful mistake, or it can be one of the most brilliant, most sophisticated moves in your free verse poetry. The guideline would be, make that line with the caesura stand alone as a thought. It is comparable to giving your reader a spoonful of something delicious that was not on the menu. You have the first sentence and the second sentence, and in-between you have a line with a period somewhere in it. Words on each side of the period should add up to something in itself. Guard against caesura lines that make no sense.

Post any questions or comments to http://www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com/
Nancy Simpson is the author of two collections of poetry.
She is Resident Writer at John C. Campbell Folk School.

Updated information on Nancy Simpson, Dec. 16, 2011. Nancy is the author of three books of poetry. Her most recent is Living Above the Frost Line, New and Selected Poems, published by Carolina Wren Press.
She is no longer Resident Writer at John C. Campbell Folk School, but she teaches at Young Harris College with the ICL program.

Labels: Caesura, Instructor, John C. Campbell Folk School, line breaks, Nancy Simpson, punctuation in free verse, Rules of Free Verse Poetry

3 comments:

Lonnie Busch said...

Wow, Nancy, thank you so much for this post. I have learned more about writing poetry in the few minutes it took me to read your comments than anything I've ever known before! Very fascinating! I will read poetry with a new eye.



Sunday, June 15, 2008 10:49:00 PM EDT

Glenda (Writerlady) said...

Nancy, Thank you for sharing your vast knowledge of poetry with all of us.

Anyone who writes poetry will benefit from this post.

Glenda



Monday, June 16, 2008 8:43:00 AM EDT

Anonymous said...

You covered a vast spectrum and distilled it to clear perfection. I am going to make a copy of this and refer to it often. Thank you, Nancy!

Pat Workman



Friday, July 18, 2008 8:06:00 PM EDT

Poets nancy Simpson and Janice Townley Moore Were Honored at Coffee With the Poets

Nancy Simpson and Janice Townley Moore, were honored at Coffee With the Poets, sponsored by N.C. Writers Network West, March 11, 2009 at Phillips and Lloyd Book Store on the town square in Hayesville, NC. These two poets were recognized for having poems included in the recently released anthology, THE POETS GUIDE TO THE BIRDS, edited by Judith Kitchen and former U.S. Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser, (2009 Anhinga Press, Tallahassee.)

Janice Townley Moore read poems from the anthology, most of them related to sounds of birds, for example, “ Songbird” by John Brehm, which she said was the best poem in the book. Moore also read “Cardinal” by Bruce Bond, and she read her poem, “Teaching the Robins,” which is the title poem of her own chapbook, published at Finishing Line Press, (2005 Gergetown, Kentucky.) The poem, “Teaching the Robins,” gives readers the image of an English teacher attempting to teach students in her classroom, specifically trying to teach them the grief poetry of Emily Dickinson.

Nancy Simpson read several poems from the anthology, including Linda Pastan’s “The Birds,” and Gray Jacobik’s “ Flamingos.” She also read , “Cranes in August,” by Kim Addonizio and she dedicated the crane poem to poet Maren O. Mitchell who is a proficient poet as well as accomplished at making paper cranes. Nancy Simpson also read her poem chosen for the anthology titled, “Carolina Bluebirds.”

The editors of THE POETS GUIDE TO THE BIRDS presented 151 contemporary American poets. Nancy Simpson said, “This is a different kind of field guide. You see a bird but when you look it up in this “poet’s guide”, you will find ten poems listed under Cardinal, thirteen under Crow, only one under Carolina Bluebird, and only one under Nuthatch and so on. Twenty-five poems are listed under Birdsong/Sound.

Editor Ted Kooser expressed the hope that “readers will enjoy this book just half as much as if they’d actually seen all the birds these poems represent.”

Poets attending Coffee With the Poets read their original poems in the open mic reading. Some of those poets celebrating birds were: Karen Holmes, Carole Thompson, Brenda Kay Ledford, Ellen Andrews, Maren O. Mitchell, Ann Cahill, Linda Smith and Glenda Barrett. 

THE POETS GUIDE TO THE BIRDS can be ordered at www.anhinga.org, or www.amazon.com, or at Phillips and lloyd Book Store on the square in Hayesville, N.C.

WHAT DAVID CHORLTON SAYS ABOUT NANCY SIMPSON'S POETRY COLLECTION

Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems

By Nancy Simpson. Reviewed by David Chorlton.

Living Above the Frost Line: New and Selected Poems, by Nancy Simpson, 2010, Carolina Wren Press, 108 pp., paper, ISBN 978-0-932112-61-3, $15.95. Reviewed by David Chorlton.

This is not a book of poetry which grabs its reader’s attention with spectacular lines and extroverted virtuosity, rather a more contemplative one. While the language is generally uncomplicated, it has momentum and holds interest with a grasp of concrete imagery. The virtues in Nancy Simpson’s works include restraint and humility, as well as being firmly set in natural surroundings; for example, "On a Mountain in an Unfinished Cabin" (in the opening section with poems from 1977-81) ends with this stanza:

I am among the living.

So many trees,

I make an agreement with leaves,

acting silly, singing-

Give me all your oxygen,

I’ll give you CO2.

Wegia is pleased. It rains.

We watch the sun set as if visible.

While many of these poems grow from the details of daily life, such as waiting at the mailbox or watching for "Carolina Bluebirds" and noting the date they arrive (December 3rd), there is frequently an underlying drama not far away. "The Wreck" is short and well paced in providing the information that leads from:

Witnesses saw it all, heard the crash,

the speeding blue Camaro stopped dead

at Pinelog Bridge. Sam Beck insists

he saw a man fly through the windshield,

to:

Something in me moving fast

wants to fly out through my eyes

like a body thrown free of the wreck.

One of the later poems, describing a walk around Knowles Lake with a granddaughter, highlights the balance of an everyday life within its radius of personal concern and the natural world. In this case, the walkers see a turtle heading into traffic and are able to steer it to safety. We care for what we can, while greater forces often conspire to leave a feeling of despair.

"Voices from the Fringe" is the most ambitious poem in the book, interweaving public and personal aspects of the Gulf War. The way war slips into our lives far from the battleground itself is first expressed when news of hostilities beginning is announced on the radio between music by Mozart and Haydn. "Who wants war?/I’ve only just started to stop/grieving over the last one." The poem reads meaningfully as a journal of the war and voices raised against it domestically. For all the implicit horror, the author remains steady and focused as she quotes Norman Schwarzkopf ("We are softening the battlefield") and notes that "Today President Bush wants us to pray." A daughter tells her mother not worry, and after a message from her son a mother says "That was/the last I heard from him." Then confetti, not bombs, falls amid the fervent cheering in Manhattan.

So much of this book hinges on considering what is happening on a vast scale as opposed to the scale of an individual’s life. "Small Scope" is a gentle enough poem, layering observations from the spreading asphalt to a skunk’s carcass on the road to a walk along the beach, and concluding with "I see myself/and all of us, minute." It is interesting to find one of the more dramatic beginnings to "This Night": "Insomnia is a mountain and grief/is a lion gripping my throat." This time it is mourning that occupies the subconscious without letting go. Throughout, each small gesture points to a more universal one, and more than a tree is lost when an oak dies and something more is gained when the cicadas arrive.

Nancy Simpson is very good at showing her readers that looking around them will reveal more pleasures than expected, and yet she never leaves the mistaken impression that they live in an untainted or unthreatened world. Here is the ending of her reflection on "Network News," a poem with more than a dash of her folksy wisdom:

Would it be better to turn off

the set, refuse to hear, maybe

make up a lie or two of my own?

I have to make myself laugh

sometimes or go mad

and my gods help me do that.

It is satisfying to find a deserving poet well represented by this selection from more than thirty years of looking at her world and writing about it with heart.

Want to buy a copy from Carolina Wren Press?


http://carolinawrenpress.org/books-and-merchandise/poetry/living-above-the-frost-line


or on line at Amazon.com

Netwest Honors Nancy Simpson

A surprised Nancy Simpson was honored at the Celebration of Books and published authors and poets on Thursday evening, July 17. After a day at John C. Campbell Folk School where Nancy presented to the North Carolina Arts Council Board along with Kathryn Byer, she found herself acclaimed by award winning poets and recently published poets who began their writing in her classes at the Folk School, or in one of her many classes at Tri-County Community School. Glenda Barrett, whose chapbook, When the Sap Rises, was published by Finishing Line Press, brought a painting of mountains and Lake Chatuge that she had done for Nancy. Kathryn Byer, Poet Laureate of North Carolina and Debbie McGill, Literary Arts Director for the NC Arts Council spoke about when they first met Nancy. "I met Nancy when I came to read in Hayesville at the library when my daughter was a babe in my arms," Kay said. She went on to talk about her admiration of Nancy as a poet. She wanted us to realize that Nancy Simpson, while a wonderful teacher and leader, was first and foremost, a poet.

Debbie remembered how tenacious Nancy had been about Netwest and would not take "NO" for an answer when it came to getting what was needed for writers here in the rural mountains of North Carolina.

Brenda Kay Ledford, award winning poet, spoke about her first class with Nancy and how so many of us who were present Thursday evening, met in Nancy's classes. Glenda Barrett and Mary Ricketson expressed gratitude for Nancy's encouragement to those of us who call her our mentor. Mother and daughter, Dorothea Spiegel and Linda Smith, both met Nancy in one of her classes. Dorothea is likely one of the best poets in the area. She is in her 80's now and still writes excellent poems.

Netwest presented Nancy with a check to add to her computer fund. She is saving for a much-needed new Mac, and we want her to continue to write poetry and finish the historical novel she has begun.

Also, she will need it for her work on the proposed new Netwest anthology she will be editing.

There is no financial value we can put on the dedication and generosity Nancy devoted to NCWN West for thirteen years. Without her constant efforts to obtain funding, to maintain interest in all the counties represented, and keep mountain writers connected to each other and to Raleigh and Chapel Hill, we would not have continued as a program of NCWN.

BLUE RIDGE BOOKFEST WORKSHOP LEADER NANCY SIMPSON SHARES THE WEEKEND WITH YOU

Members of NC Writer Network West were all over the place at BLUE RIDGE BOOKFEST 2011 held at Blue Ridge Community College in Hendersonville/Flat Rock, North Carolina on May 20 and 21.

(in photo Glenda Beall former Program Coordinator and now Netwest Rep for Clay County, Dwayne Drumheller Netwest Rep from Brevard County and our NCWN Board Representative, Jayne Jaudon Ferrer  SC Rep, Nancy Simpson, a co founder of NCWN West, Lana Hendershott Henderson County Rep, Nancy Purcell Transylvania County Rep. and J C Walkup Haywood County Rep.

Poet and Program NCWN West Coordinator Rosemary Royston and 

Poet, Editor and Publisher Scott Owen 

(Nancy Simpson shares the weekend:)

I opened the bookfest with a poetry writing workshop, free and open to the public. The workshop, "Writing Comtemporary American Free Verse Poetry," discussed rules and guidelines for writing in the free verse form today. I gave my definition of  "Lyric" as it applies today  and led the students in writing a lyric poem.

I was amazed to look up and see so many accomplished poets and was more than pleased at how they took my writing prompt and wrote such fine  poems. I was pleased with the specific questions students asked about  how to make a free verse pleasing to the ear?  I was happy to have the poet, editor  and publisher Scott Owens  there because he added much to the discussion.

(in photo above Glenda Beall, Nancy Simpson, Jayne Jaudon Ferrer, Lana Hendrshott, Rosemary Royston, Nancy Purcell and JC Walkup.)

On Saturday, free and open to the public, Glenda Beall, former Program Cordinator moderated a panel discussion on the publication of  ECHOES ACROSS THE BLUE RIDGE:

Stories, Essays and Poems by Writers  Living in and Inspired by the Southern Appalachian Mountains.

  I am happy that I had the opportunity to discuss how I assembled this colletion of stories, essays and poems,  how in editing the book "a variation of individual voices began telling me the story of the wide mountains, the high summits, valley towns, farms, the deep woods, 

rivers, lakes, the critters  and the humans who dwell here." This I read straight from the front of the book.

Our panel had less than one hour to share information. One of my questions was how to assemble a chapbook poetry collection. I guarantee that topic would take weeks to cover, but I  gave my best tips as did others on the panel.

Tom Hooker of Hendersonville, author of the short story "SHMILY" (in Echoes) signed my copy of the anthology, which I carry to all NCWN West events. During the day Poet Joan Thiel Blessing stopped by my book table and bought my book. I asked her to to sign her poem in my copy of the anthology.

I thank The Blue Ridge Bookfest for giving me my first opportunity to exhibit and sell my book  LIVING ABOVE THE FROST LINE New and Selected Poems, published by Carolina Wren Press.

 Poet Linda M. Smith of Hayesville, visited  at my table. Also Rosemary Royston of Georgia  with Poet Ken Chamlee of Brevard who stopped by my table and  bought my book.  I happily signed it for him.

Short Story Writers: Lana Hendershott, Nancy Percell and J.C. Walkup welcome visitors at  the NCWN West table. (THANK YOU LADIES) Copies of the anthology sold like hot cakes. 

Poet Glenda Beall at her own table where sold copies of her chapbook NOW MIGHT AS WELL BE THEN published at Finishing Line Press.

Jayne Jaudon Ferrer at her own book table at the Blue Ridge Bookfest- books, books, books,

This was the 3rd Annual Blue Ridge Bookfest. It was financed by a large grant and offered free to the public.  Their purpose is "Celebrating authorship, creative writing, and the joy of reading." Another is being planned for next year. Plan to participate next year if you missed this year.  

Glenda Barrett and Nancy Simpson will Read at the John C. Campbell Folk School

Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories

copy of announcement

by John C. Campbell Folk School

September 16, 2010

Reading begins at 7:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Location: Library, Keith House

Once each month, Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories is held at the Folk School in the Keith House Living Room. Two members of North Carolina Writers Network West read their original work for an audience of Folk School students and the community. These writers and poets come from all over the southwestern mountain area of North Carolina, north Georgia and South Carolina. The featured readers for this month's meeting are:

Glenda Barrett

Glenda Barrett, a native of Hiawassee, Georgia is an artist, poet and writer. Her paintings are on display at Fine Art America. Glenda’s writing has appeared in Woman’s World, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Farm & Ranch Living, Rural Heritage, Psychology for Living, Nostalgia, Journal of Kentucky Studies and many others. Her poetry chapbook titled, When the Sap Rises, is for sale on Amazon.com

Nancy Simpson

Nancy Simpson is one of the practicing poets who lives among us. She is the author of three collections of poetry:Across Water, Night Student, and a new book, Living Above the Frost line - Selected and New Poems (Carolina Wren Press, 2010). Nancy earned an M.F.A. in Writing from Warren Wilson College and is Resident Writer at John C. Campbell Folk School. She is a longtime member of NCWN and cofounder of NCWN West. She co-edited Lights in the Mountains and edited Echoes Across the Blue Ridge. Nancy Simpson’s poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, and in anthologies such as 100 Years of N.C. Poetry, The Poets Guide to the Birds, and Southern Poetry Review’s 50th Anniversary Anthology, Don’t Leave Hungry. Seven of her poems were reprinted in the textbook Southern Appalachian Poetry, McFarland Press.

Nancy Simpson's friends are sending their condolences as news slowly reaches across the state

Every day I receive emails from NCWN-West members and friends who share their sadness at the death of Nancy Simpson. This blog has had many people visit and read about Nancy. I pass the emails I receive on to our members and to Nancy's family. She has two sons and a niece, Lynn, who was like a daughter to her. They are all in mourning. 

Through your emails I have learned many things about Nancy. Joseph Bathanti, seventh NC Poet Laureate, 2012 - 2014, said he has known Nancy for thirty-five years, and they were very good friends. He is deeply sad about her passing. He is supportive of NCWN-West, he said. 

Nancy Purcell, author, teacher and a former county rep for NCWN-West in Brevard, NC, gives Nancy Simpson credit for helping her first publish her work. We only knew the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the people who were touched by Nancy.

You are welcome to send your condolences to glendabeall@msn.com and I will share them with those who knew and loved her.

Nancy Simpson's poem "Lingering at the Edge," published in Kudzu Literary Magazine's 2016 publication, "Women in Appalachia"

Poet Nancy Simpson has had a poem published in Kudzu Literary Magazine's 2016 issue. The theme of this year's magazine was Women in Appalachia. Simpson's poem was Lingering at the Edge.

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.

http://hazard.kctcs.edu/en/Student_Life/Kudzu.aspx
https://kudzu.submittable.com/submit

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.

Are you a poet? Do you want to be a poet?

Nancy Simpson will teach YOUR POETRY, LETS HEAR IT with focus on sound techniques at the John C. Campbell Folk School
in late July. Whether narrative or meditative, sound is important in a poem.

Nancy is the best at teaching free verse poetry. If you haven't had the opportunity to take a class with Nancy, be sure to find some way to register for one. Go to http://www.folkschool.org/ and look under writing or under instructors and find her class. This is a beautiful time to visit the mountains of western North Carolina.



It was spring of 1995 when I took my first class with Nancy in the Orchard House at JCCFS. I remember asking her, "Is this a poem?" I was unfamiliar with elements of free verse poetry and had shared very little of my writing with anyone. From that time on, I practiced Nancy's advice on writing poetry and by 1996 I had published several poems. Over the years I studied with Nancy Simpson at every opportunity. Many of us in Clay, Cherokee, and Graham counties of NC and in Towns, Union, Fannin and Rabun counties in Georgia claim Nancy as our mentor. Through her classes at JCCFS, Nancy continues to teach and encourage students from all over the country in their quest to write and publish poetry.

Have you taken a class with Nancy Simpson? Please comment or email and let us know.
writerlady21@yahoo.com

The Literary Hour at JC Campbell Folk School

On Thursday, June 26, 2014 at 7:00 PM, John C. Campbell Folk School and N.C. Writers Network-West are sponsoring The Literary Hour, a monthly hour of poetry and prose reading held at Keith House on the JCCFS campus. The reading is free of charge and open to the public. 

This month presents an exceptional opportunity to meet and listen to the featured readers, Nancy Simpson and Brenda Kay Ledford, whose poetry mostly centers around the mountains.

NANCY SIMPSON

 

Nancy Simpson is the author of three poetry collections: Across Water, Night Student, and most recently Living Above the Frost Line, New and Selected Poems (Carolina Wren Press, 2010). She also edited Echoes Across the Blue Ridge (anthology 2010). She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College and a BS in education from Western Carolina University. She received a NC Arts Fellowship and co-founded NC Writers Network-West. For more than 30 years, young writers have known her as “beloved teacher.” Simpson’s poems have been published in The Georgia Review, Southern Poetry Review, Seneca Review, New Virginia Review, Prairie Schooner and others. Her poems have been included in anthologies, Word and Wisdom, 100 Years of N.C. Poetry and Literary Trails of N.C. (2008). Her poems have also been featured in Southern Appalachian Poetry, a textbook anthology published at McFarland Press.

Nancy lives in Hayesville, NC. Through 2010 she served as Resident Writer at the John C. Campbell Folk School. Presently she teaches Poetry Writing at the Institute for Continued Learning at Young Harris College.

BRENDA KAY LEDFORD

Brenda Kay Ledford is a seventh generational native of Clay County, NC, and holds a Master of Arts in Education from Western Carolina University.

She writes about her heritage and has done post-graduate work in Appalachian studies. Brenda received the Paul Green Multimedia Award from North Carolina Society of Historians seven times for her books, collecting oral history, and blog, Historical Hayesville.

Her work has appeared in Our State, Carolina Country Magazine, Chicken Soup for the Soul, Appalachian Heritage, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Asheville Poetry Review, Country Extra Magazine, Blue Ridge Parkway Silver Anniversary Edition Celebration, and many other journals.

Finishing Line Press published Brenda’s award-winning poetry books: Shewbird Mountain, Sacred Fire, and Beckoning. She co-authored Simplicity with Blanche L. Ledford. These books are available at the John C. Campbell Folk School Craft Shop.