Poets Joan M. Howard and Rosemary R. Royston to read at the John C. Campbell Folk School Literary Hour, Brasstown, NC, Wed., May 17, 2017 at 7:00 PM

 On Wednesday, May, 17, 2017, 7:00 PM, two local poets will read at the John C. Campbell Folk School's, "The Literary Hour", at Brasstown, NC. Poets Joan M. Howard, and Rosemary Rhodes Royston will be reading selections of their poetry, and the public is invited.

Joan M. Howard’s poetry has been published in The Lyric, The Road Not Taken: The Journal of Formal Poetry, Lucid Rhythms, Victorian Violet, Our Pipe Dreams, Aurorean, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Miller's Pond, the 2012 Georgia Poetry Society's anthology Reach of Song, POEM, Wayfarer, and others.

Howard recently published a book of poetry, Death and Empathy: My Sister Web, a tribute to her sister Webster, and to Howard's husband, Jack. The book focuses on Howard’s grief and the gift of life itself, through nature, animals, travel and love. 

 She is a former teacher, member of North Carolina Writers' Network West, has studied German and English literature. Howard goes birding and spends time in Athens, GA, and on the beautiful waters of Lake Chatuge, in Hiawassee, Georgia.

Rosemary Rhodes Royston holds an MFA in Writing from Spalding University, is a lecturer at Young Harris College, Georgia, and is a Rep for North Georgia for the NCWN-West. Royston’s poetry has been published in journals such as The Southern Poetry Review, The Comstock Review, Main Street Rag, Coal Hill Review, FutureCycle, STILL, New Southerner, and Alehouse. Her essays on writing poetry are included in Women and Poetry: Tips on Writing, Teaching and Publishing by Successful Women Poets, McFarland. 

Royston’s poetry has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and she was the recipient of the 2010 Literal Latte Food Verse Award. Her chapbook, Splitting the Soil, is available at Finishing Line Press. 

Most recently, she received Honorable Mention in the George Scarbrough Poetry Contest, Mountain Heritage Literary Festival, along with her short fiction being selected as Honorable Mention in the Porter Fleming Literary Awards, 2012. Royston blogs at The Luxury of Trees.

The Literary Hour at JCCFS is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers' Network-West.

Local Author Bob Grove to read at Coffee with the Poets and Writers, Wednesday, May 17, 2017, at 10:30 AM, at the Moss Memorial Library, Hayesville, NC

Coffee with the Poets and Writers, a monthly meeting at the Moss Memorial Library, 26 Anderson Street, Hayesville, NC, will feature Bob Grove on Wednesday, May 17, 2017, at 10:30 AM. Grove is a well-published author, and a member of NCWN-West. He facilitates the Netwest Prose Critique Group each month at Tri-County Community College.

Grove has been an ABC-TV public affairs director, an on-air personality, and the founder and publisher of Monitoring Times Magazine. He is an officer with the Ridgeline Literary Alliance, and he has published seventeen books and hundreds of articles in sixteen national magazines.

Bob Grove was born in Cleveland, OH. He earned his Bachelor of Arts at Kent State University and his Master of Science at Florida Atlantic University. His diversified curriculum enabled him to teach courses in English, journalism, creative writing, physics, chemistry, biology and psychology.

Now retired after 35 years as founder of Grove Enterprises, Grove has more time to write. Most recently, he published a mystery novella, Secrets of Magnolia Manor, his memoir, Misadventures of an Only Child, a collection of children’s stories Adventures of Kaylie and Jimmy, and has written several flash fiction stories.

He has been awarded gold, silver, and bronze medals in the Silver Arts Competition in the Cherokee County, NC senior games, in their literature competition.

Bob’s public readings are popular as a performance art form, typified by his annual December reading, in costume and dialect, of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol at the John C. Campbell Folk School. All his publications are available on Amazon Kindle, and he can be found online at www.bobgrove.org . Bob's readings entertain and his audience laughs with delight at his humor.

Coffee with the Poets and Writers is sponsored by the NC Writers Network-West, a program of the NC Writers’ Network, the largest literary organization in the state. The community is invited to attend and take part in the Open Mic reading, so bring a couple of poems or a short prose piece.

The group often goes to lunch at Angelo’s restaurant on the square in Hayesville after the reading and guests are invited to join them.

Contact Glenda Beall at: 828-389-4441

Writers Circle Around the Table

glendabeall@msn.com

www.glendacouncilbeall.com

It was a great "Day for Writers", a NCWN-West event, at Sylva, NC, May 6, 2017

North Carolina Writers' Network-West's "Day for Writers", at the Jackson County Library, Sylva, NC, on May 6, 2017, proved to be a success. The conference was well attended, and many members and non-members of NCWN-West enjoyed the professional writing workshops.

Program Coordinator Glenda Beall

NCWN-West's Program Coordinator Glenda Council Beall, and professor/writer/and NCWN-West's representative for Jackson County, Catherine Carter kicked off the event. There were seven workshops offered at this conference. Presenters included, Katherine Stripling Byer, Terry Kay, Catherine Carter, Tara Lynne Groth, Deanna Klingel, and Gary Carden.

Katherine Stripling Byer

Katherine Stripling Byer's workshop was entitled, "Lifelines: letting another poet's work help revitalize ours". In this workshop, participants brought a copy of a poem by a poet whose work they admired and went to time and time again, and held clues for that person, Students then used these clues to modify a poem of theirs that needed to be energized, and re-evaluated in terms of its poetic elements.

Terry Kay

Terry Kay's workshops were: “The Things Dr. Epps Didn’t Teach Me”, which addressed basic writing techniques Kay described as the DNA of writing and, "Questions and Considerations, Issues that Writers might have that go beyond the typing of words".  Kay discussed the practical application of writing, such as the value of rhythm, the imperative power of verbs, the sense of voice, and some smoke and mirror tricks that work.

Catherine Carter

Catherine Carter's workshop was:  “ Free Verse Isn’t’: Sound and Structure in Free Forms”,  as in writing free verse, writers still have to make choices, as there are decisions to make regarding structure. Carter and her classroom participants explored some tightly crafted free verse poems, then wrote and shared some of their own, using devices that were discussed in this workshop.

Tara Lynne Groth

Tara Lynne Groth's topic was: "Why Authors need bylines in magazines and how to make that happen". This workshop focused on how an author's bylines in magazines and newspapers could help attract literary agents, grow their writer platform, aid in book marketing, craft a perfect query letter, build authority, and produce income. 

Deanna Klingel

Deanna Klingel's workshop was: "The Merry Go Round of Children's Literature". Klingel discussed how to recognize the types of children's literature, the myths about writing for children, and the writing process for Child Lit and how it differed for each kind of Child Lit. She also went over questions to ask your publisher before signing a contract and addressed how to market Child Lit.

Gary Carden

Gary Carden's topic was "Folk Drama", its origin at Chapel Hill, NC. and his exposure to folk drama at Western Carolina Teacher's College classes. He ended his presentation with a discussion of how his work defines the purpose of folk drama as exemplified by Paul Green and Fred Koch. 

Tom Davis

There was a Marketing and Publishing panel, at the end of the day at the conference. Participants were: Tom Davis, publisher (Old Mountain Press), Deanna Klingel, author, Tara Lynne Groth, marketing expert, and Glenda Beall, author and teacher.  The panel was moderated by Staci Lynn Bell, poet and former radio personality.




This event was planned by Glenda Council Beall, program coordinator for NCWN-West, with the help of several volunteers. The volunteers were: Marcia Barnes, Catherine Carter, Merry Elrick, Joan Howard, Kathleen Knapp, and Joan Ellen Gage. A special thanks goes out to Newton Smith, NCWN-West's treasurer for managing the business end of the conference.

Karen Paul Holmes, Deanna Klingel, and Janice Moore were influential with marketing this conference.

Jessica

We want to express our appreciation  to the Jackson County Library staff for all of their wonderful help in planning, setting up and tearing down.If we had need of anything, they were right there with it.

Thanks, Jessica!







Here are some photographs of the volunteers, our marketing team, and our treasurer:

Kathleen Knapp and Joan M. Howard

Glenda Council Beall and Marcia Barnes

Staci Lynn Bell (right) with Tara Lynne Groth

Merry Elrick

Catherine Carter

Janice Townley Moore

Deanna Klingel

Karen Paul Holmes

Newton Smith

Photos by Joan Ellen Gage.

Writers' Night Out, Blairsville, 2017 Schedule

Here's the revised schedule of distinguished readers. There's always an open mic too. 

The View Grill is open for dinner or refreshment -- arrive by 6 p.m. to be served.  

Students of Clay County, NC, receive awards for Poetry and Songwriting Lyrics April 25, 2017, co-sponsored by NCWN-West and the Clay Co. Historical and Arts Council

Winners of the Clay County Middle & High School Poetry & Songwriting Lyric Contest, 2017

 

On Tuesday, April 25, 2017, Hayesville Middle and High Schools received awards for their entries in the Poetry and Songwriting Lyric Contests. The Clay County Historical and Arts Council, and the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West gave awards. The Copper Door Restaurant, Brothers Willow Ranch Restaurant, Rib Country in Hayesville, Rib Country in Hiawassee, Mary’s Southern Grill, and Chevelle’s in Hayesville donated NCWN-West’s awards.

Reba Beck from the Clay County Historical and Arts Council and Joan Ellen Gage, from the North Carolina Writers' Network-West, initiated and co-sponsored the contest, which will become an annual event in Clay County Schools.

Rosemary Rhodes Royston

Winners of the Middle School Contest for Poetry were: 1st place, Brodi Carter, 2nd place, Annessca Guyette, and 3rd place Whitley Sumpter. There were no entries for Songwriting Lyrics for the Middle school.

Winners of the High School Contest for Poetry were: 1st place, Dawson Mitchell, 2nd place, Abigail Combs, and 3rd place Montana Walker. Honorable mention was awarded to Sage Cook, and Austin Hobbs.

Winners of the High School Contest for Songwriting Lyrics were: 1st place,
 Jade Welch, 2nd placeHaley Odom, and 3rd place Victoria Beck. Judges for the contests included author Rosemary Rhodes Royston, poet, author, and NCWN-West representative, and songwriters Rob Tiger, Wyatt Espalin, and Brian Kruger. Program Coordinator for NCWN-West, Glenda Council Beall, read in place of Rosemary Rhodes Royston, from the book, “Splitting the Soil”, by Royston.

Local Poet Mary Ricketson has poem published in Whispers in the Wind, an international online journal

Mary Ricketson

Mary Ricketson's poem, "Morsels", was published in Whispers in the Wind, an international online journal.  Here is the link to the poem:

http://whispersinthewind333.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2017-04-20T19:32:00-07:00&max-results=30

Whispers is an international blog by Karen O'Leary that emphasizes poets being in community with each other.  Comments are invited.  Submission is easy, see guidelines on their website. 

Mary Ricketson, Murphy NC, has been writing poetry 20 years.  She is inspired by nature and her work as a mental health counselor.  Her poetry has been published in Wild Goose Poetry Review, Future Cycle Press, Journal of Kentucky Studies, Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Red Fox Run, It’s All Relative, Old Mountain Press, Whispers. Additionally, Ricketson has a chapbook I Hear the River Call my Name, and a full length collection of poetry, Hanging Dog Creek, published by Future Cycle Press. 

Currently Mary is using her own poetry to present empowerment workshops, combining roles as writer and her helping role as a therapist. Mary Ricketson’s poems and activities relate with nature, facilitate talk about a personal path and focus on growth in ordinary and unusual times.

Ricketson is the Cherokee County representative to North Carolina Writers Network-West, and president of Ridgeline Literary Alliance. She won first place in the 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest 75th anniversary national poetry contest, and writes a monthly column, "Women to Women", for The Cherokee Scout.  

Ricketson is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor and an organic blueberry farmer.

Writers' Night May 12: Viva México and more...

"Diana's poems leap with the color and music of Mexico, where she spent most of her life."

A former resident of Mexico—Diana Anhalt’s parents moved there from New York in 1950 in order to escape possible persecution during the McCarthy era­—she now lives in Atlanta. 
 
Her poetry books are Because There is No Return (Passager), Second Skin (Future Cycle), and Lives of Straw (Finishing Line). Her work's been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has appeared in Nimrod,  The Comstock Review, Atlanta Review, and many other literary journals. She's also the author of the non-fiction book, A Gathering of Fugitives: American Political Expatriates in Mexico 1948-1965 (Archer Books), as well as essays and book reviews published in both English and Spanish. She says, "I'm waiting for my writing to acquire a southern accent." 

Why Should You Attend?

Why should I attend

A Day for Writers at the Jackson County Library, May 6?

• To learn more about my craft from experienced and highly rated authors
• To meet and talk with other writers in my field and increase my community of writer friends
• To sell and sign my books with City Lights Books
• To learn of other opportunities for me as an author
• To enhance my brand as a writer and author
• To learn more about publishing and marketing my books, my articles, my personal essays, my short stories and poetry
• To meet leaders and members of NCWN-West from all over the southwest mountain region
• To get answers to any questions I have about writing, publishing and marketing
• To enjoy a day with like-minded people in a beautiful venue near my home
• To attend, near me, a writing conference with unusually low fees provided by NCWN-West through hard work by volunteers who care about the literary community in the mountain area
• To get inspired to go home and write more

We write alone, but need a community and NCWN-West is providing that for writers and poets in the far western part of North Carolina, North Georgia and western South Carolina. Because of the cost and time it takes to travel long distances for writing conferences in large cities, our goal is to bring in highly qualified authors and writers who can share their experiences and knowledge with us.

Such writing events are necessary to all writers who want their names, their books, to be recognized. Introduce yourself to the presenters, write them a note when you get home and let them know what you liked about their sessions. You will be building a community of people who will recognize you and your work. As writers we need to help each other in any way we can.