Mountain Writers Award Winners in Short Story contest

Awards to Winners
Mountain Writers' Short Story Contest
Free and Open to the Public
Sunday afternoon, September 28 at 2:30 PM in the Waynesville Library Auditorium, Mountain Writers will present the winners of their Short Story Contest. Winning entries will be read and awards will be presented to winners. The high quality entries made the judges work difficult. Everyone is invited to come hear the winning stories read and to enjoy light refreshments.

Mountain Writers use the entry fees from the contest for a scholarship fund, and workshops for local writers.
Mountain Writers of North Carolina (MWNC) is a Waynesville-based non-profit organization dedicated to furthering all literary ventures. Their regular meeting is the second Tuesday of each month, at 6:00 PM in Osondu Booksellers Tea Room on Main Street in Waynesville. If you are interested in the craft of writing, they invite you to join them.

Submitted to this blog by JC Walkup of Haywood County, NC

Have you seen this interview on youtube?

I ran across this video on youtube and wanted to share the site with our readers and members. This is Ed Southern, Exe. Director of NCWN in an interview.
Ed will be visiting the far southwestern part of the state of NC in October.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y99XlxFlCsU

Lace Shawl by Michelle Keller

LACE SHAWL

The sign says Estate Sale, code words,
someone died, usually a grandmother,
mother or elderly aunt, the men already gone.

Two great nieces sit in overstuffed chairs
drawn to an early American table, topped
with Japanese Hummels and sandwiches
on waxpaper, potato chips and half full cola cans.

This is part of the ritual of letting go,
after all no one wants Aunt Mae’s old things.
The great nieces live in new vinyl houses,
decorated with designer furniture of pressed wood,
poly-acrylic protected, permanent press Pricillas,
and rent to own.

Put up that sign and strangers rush
in where family fears to tread.
I confess, I am one of those strangers,
I walk reverently through the house, after all
she well could have passed in this room.
Not wanting to appear insensitive, a vulture,
I examine, measure with care the leavings,
those in sight of the great nieces… mourners.

In the bedroom I quickly sum up a life’s accumulation,
unused gifts from sons and daughters, worn quilts
pieced by her mother, polyester dresses and slips,
straps pinned shorter with safety pins. I untangle
a lace shawl tossed on the floor in a cardboard box.
Aunt Mae had run a string through the top cupping
it to fit around her frail shoulders. I hold it up,
admire the flower tracings tatted into the triangle
of silky fringe. It cannot be much,
an old woman’s shawl.


Michelle Keller, a member of Netwest and hostess for Coffee With the Poets, also submits announcements to newspapers about Netwest events. Contact her about reading at John Campbell Folk School in 2009 if you are a NCWN West member. mmkeller@brmemc.net

Christmas Anthology by WNC women

Thanks to editors Celia Miles and Nancy Dillingham, forty-five western North Carolina women writers have had their Christmas stories, poetry, essays, or memoirs, published in an anthology titled "Christmas Presence." It is a beautifully bound book "filled with the unique voices of women writers who have roots in and connections to western North Carolina. These works add seasoning to the cultural landscape of a region already rich in custom and lore. Most of the writers are members of the NCWN and include Glenda Barrett, Celia Miles, Nancy Dillingham, Dee Dee Parker, Nancy Purcell, Susan Snowden, Barbara Ledford Wright, Lana Hendershott, to name a few. The book, "Christmas Presence," can be ordered from Catawba Publishing Company at (704) 717-8452 or http://www.catawbapublishing.com/. It will be available in local book stores and if not, they can get it for you. ISBN #: 978-1-59712-259-7. The stories will bring back fond holiday memories and the book would make a fine gift for a reading friend.

Editor Celia Miles and Nancy Purcell will be reading stories from "Christmas Presence" at Highland Book Store in Brevard, across the street from the college, between 10am and 12 noon on October 25. Please join us for this early touch of holiday spirit. The event will be in conjunction with Brevard College's Homecoming Weekend. Books will be available for sale.

Nancy Purcell will teach Brevard College's Creekside creative writing program

Nancy Purcell, Netwest Transylvania County Representative, will be teaching a creative writing program for Brevard College's Creekside community education series. The program, "ABC's of Creative Writing," will begin Oct. 16 and continue every Thursday evening, from 6:30-8:30pm in the college's McLarty Building. Fee- $60.
Learn the ABC's of creative writing in an interactive setting. Designed for beginners and intermediate writers, these comprehensive basics will develop your writing skills through class exercise and craft interpretation. One-on-one critiques will be offered. Maximum enrollment: 8

For registration contact: Carol Persek, Coordinator of Community Education, Brevard College. Phone (828) 884-8251 or email: persekca@brevard.edu

AFTER A WEEK OF HEARING THE WORD

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 picnics over the years.

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. Oops.

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

Gary Carden's play, Birdell, a smashing success for Netwest

Live theater came to Murphy, NC last night with Bobbie Curtis, actress from Lenoir, NC emerging from behind a black curtin as Birdell Tolley, octogenarian, outside her mountain cabin. At first she seemed a bit nutty, but in moments the audience was enamured with this small woman with the long white hair, telling in her delightful mountain twang, the story of her life beginning as a young girl falling in love with the man she married when she was an innocent fifteen.
Although we lacked a professional stage setup and had no back drop, Bobbie's props were perfectly placed for her act. Once Birdell was on stage and speaking, the missing set was forgotten and the listeners were caught up in the spell that is Birdell.
We learned about the early 20th century history of western North Carolina in that hour with Birdell.
I was asked after the play, "How did he know this woman? Did he interview her to know so many details about her life?"
Bobbie Curtis made the woman come alive on the stage and some thought she had to have been a real person, not a character made up in Carden's mind.
Others said, "It is hard to think a man can write about a woman and understand how she would have these deep feelings."
When my eyes filled and spilled, I thought it had to be because I'm an emotional mess these days, but I glanced around and saw others mopping away their tears as well. Within minutes, Bobbie Curtis changed the mood and had us laughing over some wild tale Birdy's husband used to tell. My favorite was the swinette he described to the TVA man.
We are all sorry Gary couldn't be with us last night. That would have been icing on the cake -- to hear how he came to write this play. Maybe we can persuade Gary to give us some background here on the blog.
Thank you, Gary and thank you Bobbie Curtis.
And many thanks to our Cherokee County Netwest members.
We'd love to hear from anyone who has seen Birdell. Please comment and tell us what you think.

My Dogs, My Friends reviewed by Peg Russell

Shirley and Fanci

Joe, Fanci's pup

In her book, My Dogs, My Friends, Shirley Uphouse writes short chapters about her dogs and their adventures together. Pictures of the dogs illustrate the book.
Often she prefaces a chapter with interesting factual information about the breed. The chapter about Yogi, the Old English Sheepdog, for example, tells us that their nickname, Bobtails, came about because in England, the dogs' tails were bobbed to show they were working dogs and free from taxation. Docking or bobbing of tails is no longer legal in England or much of Europe.
Shirley's humor threads through the stories, as illustrated by her training of Fanci not to dig up her garden. When she found plants flattened with stems broken, she realizes, 'I warned her about digging in the garden. We hadn't discussed rolling in the garden.' Appreciation of each dog's personality, the joy of working with dogs so they achieve recognition, and stories about patient rehabilitation of an abused or neglected dog and its response are entertaining and moving chapters.
Perhaps the most moving chapter was 'Paws Up' which describes Fanci's visit to a nursing home and the response from the residents to the friendly dog. A nurse said, after a woman in the Alzheimer's Unit smiled and reached out to Fanci, that it had been a long time since the woman had acknowledged anything or smiled.
This upbeat book would be a good companion for trips, a cheerful gift for friends in the hospital, and even for younger readers.
Shirley Uphouse teaches writing at Tri County Community College in Murphy, and is active in North Carolina Writers Network West, editing the Lights in the Mountains anthology and organizing and holding two writer's conferences.
This week she held a benefit book signing at the Humane Society Thrift Shop, donating a portion of each sale to the society. Fanci was a special attraction at her table.

Peg Russell writes short stories, articles and essays published in e-zines, newspapers, and magazines. She lives in Murphy, NC

Richard Argo's winning poem

Ode to Rock and Roll

On a cool morning I helped my friend Bob collect rocks for his garden. We drove his pick-up to a rain-rutted road off the highway and rode a quarter mile, sheer wall on one side, sheer drop on the other, to the top of a mountain.

First we huffed and hefted, stumbled and cursed the two-man rocks. Then we hugged the one-man rocks to our chests like teddy bears. Finally, we filled the gaps with one-hand rocks until the bed sagged as if the truck would tip up on its tailgate.

No room to turn around, Bob, eyes flitting side-mirror to side-mirror, backed the truck down that rutted road. The radio blared rock-and-roll, blared the Rolling Stones. Oh, children. It’s just a kiss away, kiss away, kiss away.

I knew what the song said. The precipice is a kiss away. Death is a kiss away. It’s always just a kiss away. In the seat, eyes closed, dust and sweat coated my arms and chest, seatbelt flapped against my shoulder, I smiled. Oh, children. I was not afraid.

Richard Argo leads the Netwest prose group every second Thursday evening, 7:00 pm at Tri-County College in Murphy, NC.

NCWN West 17th Annual Picnic a Big Success

If you were not able to attend the 17th annual NCWN West picnic held Sunday in Murphy NC , I’m sorry you missed it.

Writers from Haywood County, Jackson County, Cherokee and Clay Counties, from Georgia and one visitor from Buncombe County came down.
Gary Carden, playwright, storyteller and writer, held us rapt with his talk, his reading of poetry by Jim Wayne Miller and a great story about a fish that drowned because he forgot where he came from.

Fantastic dishes of all kinds, including Peg Russell’s rum cake, a popular pumpkin pie, salads and desserts and vegetables like new potatoes and fresh green beans loaded the table.

A long list for open mic kept us later than we had planned but almost everyone who signed up had the opportunity to read. We were happy to have those who came for the first time and even happier to have those new writers and poets join Netwest.

We’re pleased to see so many attending who had first come to one of our workshops. I see future Netwest leaders in the women and men who joined us for the picnic.

As always we are pleased when our former Program Coordinators, Nancy Simpson and Shirley Uphouse are present. The Netwest Representative for the Board of Trustees of NCWN, Al Manning came and brought several people with him. JC Walkup from Canton also brought writers from her area.

My photographer was not able to come today, but Peg Russell made several pictures and I will share them on the blog as soon as I can find an easy way to do so.

As many of you know, I will be resigning as PC at the end of this year. To my surprise I was acknowledged by JC Walkup and Peggy Morse with a lovely card and gift certificate to my favorite local restaurant. They expressed appreciation for making the writers in their area feel more a part of Netwest. I am happy that our 80 members feel closer to each other and hopefully in the years to come we will share readings between counties and teachers between counties. And I hope every one of the members of Netwest will support each other and promote each other in any way possible.

Thanks to Mary Ricketson and Jerry Hobbs, Netwest representatives for Cherokee County, for hosting this year’s picnic. They deserve the appreciation of all of us. I look forward to next year’s picnic wherever it will be.

New Southerner Literary Contest

This sounds good---two of the judges, Cecilia Woloch and Silas House--are friends and wonderful writers. KB

This is a great opportunity for new and experienced writers alike. It's a brand new contest, not heavily advertised due to budget constraints. Could you help me spread the word? Deadline is October 1, just a few weeks away!

Bobbi Buchanan, editor
NewSoutherner.com
375 Wood Valley Lane
Louisville, KY 40299
502-239-3438

New Southerner Literary Contest
$200 prizes for poetry, fiction and nonfiction

Three prizes of $200 each and publication in New Southerner will be awarded for works of poetry, fiction and creative nonfiction.
* 5,000 word limit for prose
* 50 line limit for poetry
* Entry Fee: $10 per entry; checks should be made payable to Swallowtail Press
* Multiple entries accepted
* Postmark deadline: October 1, 2008

Final judges:
Nonfiction — Kathryn Eastburn (author of A Sacred Feast and Simon Says)
Poetry — Erin Keane (author of The Gravity Soundtrack and The One-Hit Wonders) and Cecilia Woloch (author of Tsigan and Late) (ceciliawoloch.com)
Fiction — Silas House (author of The Coal Tattoo and Clay's Quilt)

All work must be typed on standard-sized paper. No manuscript will be returned; for acknowledgement of receipt, include self-addressed, stamped postcard with submission.

Send two copies—one with the author’s name, address, phone number and optional e-mail address in the upper right-hand corrner, the other with no author information. Include separate title page for each entry indicating title of work, category, author’s name, address and phone number.

Entries must be the author’s original, unpublished work and should be appropriate for publication in New Southerner, an independent journal dedicated to promoting self-sufficient living, environmental stewardship and support for local economies. For more information, see our submission guidelines online at newsoutherner.com/aboutus.htm.

Winners will be contacted by telephone and/or e-mail by the end of November. Winning entries will be published in the winter issue of New Southerner, scheduled for release Dec. 10. Judges may choose to award honorable mentions in each category.

Entries and entry fees made payable to SWALLOWTAIL PRESS should be mailed to:

New Southerner Literary Contest
375 Wood Valley Lane
Louisville, KY 40299

Questions regarding entries should be directed to bobbibuchanan@newsoutherner.com.

John Campbell Folk School Reading in September

Jo Carolyn Beebe

and Michael Beadle

Michael Beadle, poet and teaching artist, from Canton, NC, and Jo Carolyn Beebe, writer from Hiawassee, Georgia will read at the monthly Poets and Writers Reading Poems and Stories at the John C. Campbell Folk School, in Brasstown, NC Thursday, September 18, 7:00 PM.
Beadle’s first poetry collection, An Invented Hour, was published in 2004, and his poems have been included in various journals and anthologies such as The New Southerner, Kakalak, and Sow's Ear. Michael tours the state teaching poetry and creative writing workshops as an artist-in-residence. He also performs original, classical and contemporary poetry for schools, festivals, elderhostels, and church and civic groups.
His most recent poetry collection is Friends I’ve Never Met. Michael is a contributing writer and an award-winning journalist for the Smoky Mountain News, a weekly newspaper in Western North Carolina. Read some of his poems online at http://www.ncarts.org/ and http://www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com/.

Jo Carolyn Beebe was born in Baldwyn, Mississippi. She majored in Religion and Creative Writing at Miami University of Ohio. Her work has been published in Main Street Rag, Lonzie’s Fried Chicken, an anthology, Lights in the Mountains and in Heroes of Hackland. Abingdon Press published a short story and children’s play written by Beebe.
This busy writer has several pieces completed and waiting for the right publisher to take them.
“Most of my stories are based on oral family history handed down by my grandparents and great-grandfather. Their tales were rich in Civil War experiences of their parents and the hard life of the rural south,” said Beebe. “Besides writing fiction, my other passion is genealogy. When I'm writing fiction, I wish I could be tracking down an elusive ancestor. When I'm doing research, I wish I could be writing a story or a poem. I combined those two elements in my "waiting-to-be-published" novella, PIECES OF YESTERDAY. One literary agent said before it can be published, I need to purge my adverbs. I like adverbs. I absolutely, positively, really do.”

This night with this writer and this poet will be one of the most interesting events sponsored by NCWN West this year. Michael will share poems from his new collection and he'll be happy to sign books after the reading. Admission is free and the community is invited. Contact Glenda Beall 828-389-4441 for more information

Nor The Battle to the Strong reviewed by Gary Carden

Nor The Battle to the Strong by Charles F. Price
Savannah: Fredric C. Beil. Publisher – 2008
$25. 95 – 447 pages







I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, not yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all.
- Ecclesiastes; 9: 11-12

For most of us, the historic struggle for American independence has been elegantly embalmed in tasteful rhetoric and imagery: Washington at Valley Forge; The Surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown; the numerous statues of “Mad” Anthony Wayne – all depicted with grandiose posturing and melodrama. Such is not the case with Charles F. Price’s latest novel, Nor the Battle to the Strong – an imposing chronicle of General Nathanael Greene’s 1781 campaign through Virginia and the Carolinas. Price literally brings this elusive chapter of the Revolutionary War down to earth.

Historically, both the conflicts and the personalities depicted in Nor The Battle to the Strong have been pushed to the background of textbooks and nearly forgotten, their significance reduced to footnotes and postscripts to grander and more imposing events. However, for a brief, shining moment, Nathanael Greene hung on the cusp of fame – stood with George Washington and Lafayette as one of the Nation’s most capable military leaders. Then, came the summer of 1781 and the battle of Eutaw Springs.

From the first page, Nor The Battle to The Strong reflects the author’s impressive research. The reader is quickly immersed in the sights, sounds and smells of a rag-tag encampment composed of demoralized soldiers, often accompanied by wives and children. Many are former farmers or reluctant conscripts and the majority of them have neither weapons nor uniforms. Further, they seem to be at the mercy of drunken, inept or brutal officers who march them in meaningless circles. This is a regiment of the Continental Army of the United States.

The action of this novel is seen through the eyes of two remarkable characters: General Nathanael Greene and private James Johnson. Alternately, we view the action from high and low: Greene’s lofty perch from which he plots the “chess of war,” and then through the astonished eyes of “wee Jamie,” a runaway indentured servant who has joined the Continental army, believing it represents safety – a refuge for him and his sister, Libby. While Greene writes effusive letters to politicians and fellow officers plots campaign strategy and consults with his staff, young Jamie learns the art of butchery and pretends Libby is his wife so that his companions will not pursue her as a sexual companion. Greene envies the dash and glamour of his peers, ponders his lapsed religion (Quakers do not engage in warfare), and yearns for “a place in history;” Jamie devises a plan to “elevate himself” by becoming a member of the First Dragoons.

What then, do these two men have in common? At the crux of Price’s novel is a paradox. When Jamie learns that he may well be the direct descendant of a legendary warrior, the Scottish “Wee John, the Crowner’s son,” he begins to dream of a heroic encounter – an event that will carve his name in the family history. General Greene dares to dream of honor, fame and position. For both men, the battle of Eutaw Springs represents a predestined goal. However, for both, the battle will bring painful revelations.

Nor The Battle to The Strong is filled with characters that are locked in a great struggle to create a nation; yet all of them have a “hidden agenda.” The struggle for American Independence is a means to an end - personal glory. The irony of their travail may be this: regardless of the success or failure of their personal quests, they all (inadvertently, perhaps) contribute to the greater good: the creation of this country.

This novel is packed with the names of remarkable men who live on in the names of our cities and counties: Sumner (two of them), Lee, Washington, Hampton, Henderson, Blunt, Marion and Pickens – all emerge as vibrant and flawed beings who played a part in the shaping of our history. Especially memorable (and tragic) is “Light Horse Harry Lee.”

However, the real power of this novel resides in the beauty of the writing. Price’s descriptive passages are memorable. The serene beauty of the march by night on the eve of the battle stands in sharp contrast to the horrendous carnage of the battle and Jamie’s daunting ride through the British lines. The book bristles with vivid characters, including a defrocked Methodist preacher who has the ability to make people “bark like a flock of spaniels, foam at the mouth and pop their teeth;” a man who sleeps with a pig and a horse named Jesus.

There is much more. It will have to suffice to mention one detail: Wee Jamie falls in love, and true to the family prophecy, he lives to find a sassy, heavily armed girl named Agnes who waits for him in Burke County.

0 comments:

The Raindrop Waltz in Hendersonville Sept. 17

‘The Raindrop Waltz’ at BRCC

The Arts and Humanities Series at Blue Ridge Community College will present “the Raindrop Waltz” by award-winning playwright Gary Carden at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 17. This free event will be in the Patton Auditorium.
“The Raindrop Waltz” is poignant and sweet, painful and funny. It captures a handsome picture of one Western North Carolina family through several generations based on Carden’s Jackson County childhood.
Agnes is a fiercely independent Appalachian grandmother who lives alone in the rustic cabin she has inhabited for many years. Because she is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and soon will be unable to care for herself, her family is faced with the difficult decision of moving her from her beloved mountain home to a nursing home. With great love and humor, Jody Lee, her grandson whom she raised, tells the story of his life and hers through memories of family tales, songs, loves and relationships.
This performance will be staged by Burnsville Little Theater that has a history of providing dramatic presentations for more than 80 years. Director Elizabeth Westfall will bring a performance that has been staged many times in Western North Carolina and beyond. Cast includes Elizabeth Westfall, Bob Wilson, Milton Higgins, Bill Wheeler, Bruce Chuvala, Colette Blankenship and Jennifer Issacs. Carden will also be present and available to answer questions after the performance.
A Sylva native, Carden was raised by his grandparents in a “house filled with the past.” From birth, he was steeped in untainted mountain culture, lore and language. He has investigated and evoked his native region in drama, rendering authentic presentations of the characters and of mountain history and folklore. In the many plays he has written, Carden portrays the mountain people from earlier eras with great devotion and compassion but also with uncompromising honesty.
Carden is also known as a folklorist and storyteller. He graduated from Western Carolina University and for the past 15 years has taught literature and drama, worked for the Cherokee Indians and has been a storyteller.
Recently, Carden was awarded an honorary doctorate of humane letters by his alma mater, WCU. Widely acclaimed for his written works and spoken performances that bring to life the history, myths and legends of Western North Carolina, Carden is the author of “Mason Jars in the Flood and Other Stories,” the 2001 Appalachian Writers Association Book of the Year.
This program is sponsored by the Community Enrichment Division in the Continuing Education Department. For more information, contact Martha Howell at 694-1743 or at http://www.blogger.com/.

Top Ten Reasons I Have Enjoyed Being Program Coordinator for Netwest

1. I was able to bring onboard a corporate sponsor, United Community Bank, Inc..

2. I have been delighted to give something back to Netwest. We are steadily increasing our membership.

3. I’ve met and discussed Netwest with people throughout NC, and I’ve participated in exciting writing events and spoken to eager audiences of writers.

4. With the addition of Henderson County to our membership, I had the opportunity to meet the writers there, appoint a county representative and play a part in helping them build a writing community.

5. Working with our past and present leaders we revised a set of guidelines, drafted in 2003, which makes Netwest more independent without breaking from the North Carolina Writers’ Network. This was sorely needed.

6. One of the goals I had as Program Coordinator was to reach out to all the counties included in the membership of Netwest and let them know they are Netwest members just as much as members in Cherokee and Clay County.

7. For many years I had heard “we get nothing for our dues” from some members. I was able, in this past year, to give our members several low cost workshops by top writing instructors, to promote the work of deserving writers, to give computer classes to members at low or no cost, to start a Netwest blog and give our members’ work an outlet to the world.

8. I worked as a volunteer at the Spring Conference in Winston-Salem and found that NCWN needs volunteers and will offer an incentive to members who help out. I appreciate Ed Southern and Virginia Freedman giving me the chance to help with registration.

9. I’ve found working with Nicki Leone, President of NCWN, to be a joy and I admire her for her dedication to writers and to writing.

10. In my position as Program Coordinator, I now realize this is indeed a position which requires dedication and commitment. A PC must be visible, be active, and must respond to every phone call and email from members, possible members, writing instructors, from those who have published books, from those who want to publish books, from those who need the address of a fellow writer, from those who failed to check the calendar or just think it is easier to call the PC.

Part of the Program Coordinator’s job is to welcome new members, writers from out of town, make flyers, publicize and set up readings, contact and remind writers of the dates they read. Beg for volunteers to help when needed, work closely with all newspaper editors so they will happily print our news and calendar announcements, raise funds for special projects, and get to know our Indie book stores who are important to us as writers. And do all this with a smile. To many, the Program Coordinator is the face of Netwest.

10. The best part of being a Program Coordinator for Netwest is seeing our image, a mountain writer’s group, become respected and admired throughout the state of NC and beyond.
To see our members succeed and grow as writers, to see their work appreciated by others, to be their voices when they want to share good news, and know that I had some small part in making this happen, this is the best part.

Glenda Beall

NETWEST PROSE GROUP FACILITATOR, RICHARD ARGO ON CRITIQUE AND COMPOST

Author at end of table with
his prose group.

The Value of Critique
by Richard Argo

During my school years, a few lifetimes ago, I took a program with a professor who, in discussions on the weekly papers students were required to submit, always asked if we wanted support for our efforts or critique. This professor had the reputation for reducing students’ work to compost. So I, a forty-something, unsure of my abilities and indeed my entitlement to higher education, opted for support.
The professor dispensed this support without measure. He assured me that the submitted work was of proper length, neatly typed with references correctly listed and I could expect to receive full credit.
Life was good. This college stuff was easy – at least for the first two weeks. But then I wandered if my writing was good, was I expressing myself well, and was I right in what I said.
“Ah,” the professor said with a smile when I asked the question. “Are you now asking for critique?”
I gritted my teeth, took a deep breath and said, “Yes.”
To make a semester-long story short, he reduced my work to compost – again and again and again. However, his comments were spot on. I learned and came to appreciate critique.
When I moved to the mountains and found the Netwest group, I joined. That was thirteen years ago. I don’t think I’ve missed a dozen sessions since and I would be loathe to submit a piece of work for publication that had not first passed before the critique group.
Admittedly, and this may be more information than is necessary, there are times when the group reviews my work, that bring back memories of group therapy. Especially those times when it was my turn in the barrel. But, beyond the comments and suggestions, what are far more valuable to me are the sense I get after each session that “I can do this” and the inspiration to try.
I don’t always follow every suggestion or agree with every comment, but I know that these are given by other writers who have an objective eye for what makes writing better. It is this objectivity that I rely on rather that the well-intentioned comments of non-writing friends and relatives.
Support comes from the fact that even though the group knows me to be a poor speller with a limited knowledge of writing rules, they allow me to make comments and suggestions, too. And sometimes these suggestions are good ones because it’s all about learning. When you associate with smart people, some of it is bound to rub off.
A wise person (I believe it was Nancy Simpson) once said something like: you can learn to write on your own, but it is so much faster with a group. So, if you want to improve your writing, network with and learn from other writers – get thee to a critique group. After all, good things can grow from compost.





Richard Argo lives in Murphy, NC where he writes, teaches and leads the Netwest Critique group each month on the second Thursday. He will teach at JCCFS in early 2009. Check your catalog for dates or go online. http://www.folkschool.org/

Tipper of Blind Pig and the Acorn

Many thanks from Netwest to Tipper of Blind Pig and the Acorn for plugging our writing group in her article in Tri-State News where she listed www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com . Tipper writes an active and interesting blog with many, many comments on every post. We appreciate Tipper's support for our writers and poets. If you haven't visited her site, you should do yourself a favor and click on the above line.

Netwest Archives updated

We have made a change in the format of Archives for this blog. Hope this makes it easier for our readers to find some of the excellent posts from members over the past year and a half that we have been up and running.
If you are a member of Netwest and you read this blog, please take the time to comment. We are appreciative of folks like Gary Carden and Kay Byer who have taken time from their busy schedules to share with our readers, our members and the least we can do is let them know we appreciate their efforts.
Just click on comment and leave a few words. We've tried to make that process easier, also.
Thanks to those who regularly leave comments. We appreciate you!!

Netwest poets published in new anthology

We are proud to see some of our own Netwest poets in the company of the best poets in America in an anthology edited by Judith Kitchen , a new anthology about birds. It comes out in January 2009. Look for Nancy Simpson and Janice Townley Moore. If you read poetry, you will recognize many famous poets in the following list.


INSTANT POSTCARD
Dear Friends,“We hope this particular flock of poems succeeds in portraying birds in so many guises (or disguises) that one is forced to look more closely—as if through binoculars—to where these poets guide us.” Wish you were here . . .Yours, Judith Kitchen

The perfect gift for all the readers and/or birders in your life!
An anthology of poems
A dissimulation of birds
Betty Adcock, Kim Addonizio, Sandra Alcosser, Pamela Alexander, Linda Allardt, Christianne Balk, Rick Barot, Bruce Bennett, Boyd Benson, Wendell Berry, Linda Bierds, David Biespiel, Wendy Bishop, Ralph Black, Bruce Bond, Philip Booth, Marianne Boruch, David Bottoms, John Brehm, Geoff Brock, Van K. Brock, Fleda Brown, Rick Campbell, Hayden Carruth, Robert Cording, Stephen Corey, Deborah Cummins, Robert Dana, Philip Deaver, Madeline DeFrees, Alison Hawthorne Deming, Wayne Dodd, Stephen Dunn, John Engels, David Allan Evans, Amy Fleury, Richard Foerster, Chris Forhan, Erica Funkhouser, Tess Gallagher, Brendan Galvin, George Garrett, Frank Gaspar, Dan Gerber, Nancy Geyer, Kevin Goodan, Sally Green, Samuel Green, Jonathan Greene, Eamon Grennan, Pamela Gross, John Haines, Barbara Hamby, Michael S. Harper, Jeffrey Harrison, Jim Harrison, Lola Haskins, Robert Hedin, William Heyen, Jane Hirshfield, Jonathan Holden, David Huddle, Holly Hughes, Harry Humes, M.J. Iuppa, Gray Jacobik, Eve Joseph, Julia Spicher Kasdorf, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Robert Kinsley, Patricia Kirkpatrick, William Kloefkorn, C.L. Knight, Ted Kooser, Stephen Kuusisto, Steve Lautermilch, Donna Long, Denise Low, Peter Makuck, Jeff Daniel Marion, Dionisio Martinez, Dan Masterson, Jo McDougall, James McKean, Molly McQuade, W.S. Merwin, Lawrence Millman, Judson Mitcham, Janice Townley Moore, Jim Moore, Robert Morgan, Leonard Nathan, Duane Niatum, Naomi Shihab Nye, Ed Ochester, Carole Oles, William Olsen, Eric Pankey, Linda Pastan, Ricardo Pau-Llosa, Jim Peterson, Carl Phillips, Stanley Plumly, John Poch, Joshua Poteat, Lawrence Raab, Keith Ratzlaff, James Richardson, Pattiann Rogers, Stan Sanvel Rubin, Marjorie Saiser, Peter Schmitt, Grace Schulman, Gary Short, Peggy Shumaker, Charles Simic, Nancy Simpson, R.T. Smith, William Jay Smith, Barry Spacks, Matthew J. Spireng, A.E. Stallings, Timothy Steele, Joseph Stroud, Julie Suk, Daniel Tobin, Natasha Trethewey, David Wagoner, Kathleen Wakefield, Ronald Wallace, Donovan L. Welch, William Wenthe, Tarn Wilson, Charles Wright, Robert Wrigley, Paul Zimmer, Lisa Zimmerman.

Publication date: January 2009 Price: $22.00 Early orders—25% discount ($16.50 each). Pre-order by December 1, 2008 for shipment before Christmas. Shipping fee: $4.00, plus $1.00 for each additional copy. Use Paypal option at http://www.anhinga.org/ordering.html or simply email your request to info@ahninga.org and you’ll receive an invoice. Or send orders to:Anhinga Press, P. O. Box 10595, Tallahassee, FL 32302.

This post was taken from Sheila Bender's blog:http://writingitreal.com/

Authors round the south and Rob Neufield

Please take a look at http://www.authorsroundthesouth.org/ and you will be pleased at all this site has to offer. Her ladyship does a grand job of keeping abreast of southern authors and books on the shelves in Independant book stores. Your local bookstore is likely to be listed. See if your book is mentioned.
Read and let me know here, under comments, what you think.


Rob Neufields's interactive site set up with Citizen-Times newspaper is interesting to read. Hopefully, those of us down in the southernmost part of NC will be able to participate and show that WNC is not limited to the Asheville area. Tipper, of Blind Pig and the Acorn, is a member as is Kathryn Stripling Byer. Get on and voice you views.