The goal of the NC Writers Network West is to have at least
one representative in each county of our region which includes nine counties
south and west of Asheville. That person is given free membership in NCWN as long
as they hold an event in their county – an open mic, critique, Writers Night
Out, or some kind of gathering for writers and poets that is open to the
public.
Janice Moore and I (Glenda Beall) are reps for Clay County.
Janice facilitates the monthly poetry critique group. I facilitate Coffee with
the Poets and Writers which meets once each month on Wednesday morning. We have
featured readers and open mic followed by a social time.
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| LUCY COLE GRATTON |
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| KAREN HOLMES |
Karen Holmes and Rosemary Royston are reps for the
Georgia counties that border North Carolina. Writers Night Out, a monthly reading, has been a successful venture for several years hosted by Karen Holmes.
Lucy Cole Gratton
and Mary Ricketson are
representatives for Cherokee County. Lucy does an excellent job of hosting
monthly readings at the John C. Campbell
Folk School. The monthly Netwest prose critique group is also held in
Cherokee County at the Tri-County Community College.
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| NEWT SMITH |
In Jackson County, Newt
Smith and Kathryn Byer share the
rep duties
and hold Coffee with a Poet each month at City Lights Book Store.
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| PATRICIA VESTAL |
Henderson County representatives, Lana Hendershott and Patricia
Vestal, hold a monthly open mic night that has become very popular with
writers there. Having two reps work together and share the responsibility of
the event eliminates pressure to always be present. Of course our members are
usually happy to be the emcee if the representatives cannot attend. Staci Lynn Bell has
volunteered to help with hosting Coffee with the Poets and Writers. She does a
great job.
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| STACI LYNN BELL |
It is not difficult to begin an open mic or other event for
writers in your area. Find a coffee shop, restaurant, book store, or any place
that will open their doors to the group for an hour. Send out word to all the
writers in your area either by contacting NCWN or other writers you know in
your county. Post a few flyers at the local library or other writerly places in
the area.
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| LANA HENDERSHOTT |
Those of us who have been doing this for many years will be
very happy to help you get the event off the ground and going strong. An NCWN
or Netwest sponsored group has the advantage of being a non-profit and that
often eliminates having to pay for a venue.
If a group meets in a coffee house or restaurant, they should
all purchase something to eat or drink. That is the courteous thing to do and
builds a good relationship with the owner of the shop. Also, tipping the
waitress goes a long way in making your group welcome at the restaurant.
We sit and write alone but we need community. We need to be
with like-minded people to talk about our craft, to discuss our work and learn
from each other. An open mic event might be the first time a budding writer gets
up enough nerve to read his/her work out loud to an audience.
There are rules for open mic events and for critique groups
that will ensure success. The representative in charge sets these rules and
makes them known to anyone who participates. A time limit or word limit has to
be set to give all those who sign up an opportunity to read.
A good critique group adheres to certain rules to keep
writers from becoming defensive or from being too critical and losing members.
We have a set of rules for critique that has worked for twenty years and has
enabled local poets to help each other and become published.
Our representatives have done a great job for years. We need
more people who will take a lead in their counties and promote the literary
arts with an event for poets or writers or both.
We invite our representatives to leave a comment here and
tell us what you do and why your events are successful.
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| KATHRYN BYER |
Email www.gcbmountaingirl@gmail.com if you are interested in becoming a rep
in a mountain county that doesn't presently have one. We will be happy to help you get
started.
