Fly With Me from Old Mountain Press is filled with good writing

​Fly With Me  is the latest title from Old Mountain Press. Tom Davis has been publishing these anthologies for a number of years. I am impressed with the poetry in this issue dedicated to Kathryn Stripling Byer, 1944 – 2017.

FLY WITH ME, a poetry and prose anthology

The first poem is by Shelby Stephenson, Poet Laureate of North Carolina.  We know Celia Miles and Nancy Dillingham as writers and editors of several anthologies filled with women writers. In this anthology, both have written poems, The Great Blue Heron by Miles and Dillingham’s Gnat Smoke. These poems are filled with great imagery.

The theme of this anthology is nature and Brenda Kay Ledford’s poem, Tiger Lilies, fits the bill. In her poem, How to Rest in the Afternoon, Mary Ricketson helps us slip away from life’s struggles while we lie in a hammock and view the world from a different perspective..

A touching and beautiful poem by Staci Lynn Bell, August 24, Summers End 1994, is one of my favorites. Marcie Behm-Bultz , in her poem, Drive South, takes us on a ride through the backroads of Edisto in South Carolina. “The backroads of Edisto are lined with summer’s cotton fields.” I can almost feel the heat and smell the air on that drive.

Marian Gowan wrote a simple flash fiction piece about a strapping Paul Bunyan type fellow who stops his work high in a tree he was in process of removing. He asks for paper towels but it was not for a cut or wound. He needs it to save a bird’s nest with babies in it.

The last short piece in Fly with Me is by Gene Vickers who was one of my students. The title is Hit and Run and ends with a twist that catches the reader off guard.

The poets and authors in this book have been published in other journals or anthologies.  Some are regularly found in Old Mountain Press publications.

You can purchase  a copy at http://www.oldmp.com/anthology/flywithme.htm or on Kindle. 

Old Mountain Press Anthologies are open to previous contributors or someone recommended by a previous contributor. Previous contributors may recommend up to two people per anthology.

re-blogged from Writers Circle 

Upcoming classes at Alarka Institute, Cowee, North Carolina

Upcoming Courses with Alarka Institute

October 7th (Saturday) - Expressing the Power of Place

This all day workshop (9 to 5) is for beginning and experienced writers who are committed to communicating the importance of place - where you live, where you hike, where your drinking water comes from – and what matters about its present and future state.  Participants will spend their time engaged in both dialogue and writing exercises at the new Alarka Institute Studio space in Cowee Valley. The class is limited to 10 people and the cost is $65. Materials and lunch included. 

October 21th (Saturday) - Fall art and phenology workshop at Alarka Institute 

Participants will explore nature journaling utilizing a variety of art genres, and will gain an understanding of basic phenology (record keeping on a daily basis of environmental phenomena).  A short hike of about 2 miles is part of the day's exercises, and lunch is included. Limit: 10. $65

ABOUT Alarka InsTITUTE

Alarka Expeditions/Institute is a Cowee, North Carolina based business owned by Brent and Angela Faye Martin.  Brent and Angela are both artists and writers, having led courses and outings for over twenty years in the southern Appalachian mountains, with expertise in birds, plants, trees, as well as cultural and natural history.  We can provide you with a range of outdoor experiences, and can work with you to fit your interests and skill levels. Custom designed hikes, along with basic birding, botany, forests, and Little Tennessee river trips are a few areas of our expertise, and we also offer group courses on winter tree identification, nature journaling, phenology, and cultural/natural history.  We are based next to the Nantahala National Forest and the Cowee National Historic District, the largest National Historic District in western North Carolina. The area’s natural beauty led the 18th century botanist and artist William Bartram to describe it as “one of the most charming mountain landscapes perhaps anywhere to be seen.”  

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Brent Martin is a lifelong conservationist and educator, having recently worked over a decade as Southern Appalachian Regional Director for The Wilderness Society, and prior to that serving as Executive Director for Georgia Forestwatch and Associate Director for the Land Trust for the Little Tennessee.  He is the author of three chapbook collections of poetry - Poems from Snow Hill Road (New Native Press, 2007), A Shout in the Woods (Flutter Press, 2010), and Staring the Red Earth Down (Red Bird Press, 2014), and is a co-author of Every Breath Sings Mountains (Voices from the American Land, 2011) with authors Barbara Duncan and Thomas Rain Crowe   He is also the author of Hunting for Camellias at Horseshoe Bend,  a non-fiction chapbook published by Red Bird Press in 2015.   His poetry and essays have been published in the North Carolina Literary Review, Pisgah Review, Tar River Poetry, Chattahoochee Review, Eno Journal, New Southerner, Kudzu Literary Journal, Smoky Mountain News, and elsewhere.   He recently completed a two year term as the North Carolina Poetry Society's Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet for the West.  He has led Power of Place workshops for the Carolina Mountains Literary Festival, Jackson County Arts Council, The Wilderness Society, and elsewhere. 

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Angela Faye Martin is a singer-songwriter, artist, and naturalist, and has worked for The Wilderness Society, Georgia Forestwatch, Armuchee Alliance, and the Pacific Rivers Council.  She has written and produced three albums - One Dark Vine, Anniversary, and Pictures from Home,  which was produced by Mark Linkous of Sparklehorse fame.  She recently wrote and narrated the critically acclaimed documentary, The Sad and Beautiful World of Sparklehorse, which is currently screening internationally at various film festivals and in the US. 

For more information contact Brent and Angela Martin at:

828 524 7400

alarkaexpeditions@gmail.com

www.alarkaexpeditions.com

Meet Bob Grove, local writer and interesting person

Recently Bob Grove, prose critique facilitator for NCWN-West, told us that he had published three more books. Bob has published 18 books already, but he has not stopped writing or publishing. I asked Bob to write something for our blog about him and his writing. This is what he said:

I suspect the fact that I bounced through five different colleges and universities before I settled down on a major could account for the diversions of my life—at least partially. I was on a first-name basis with the university registrar who patiently processed me through about a dozen different changes.

Although I've written and published 18 books, the most recent three were spawned by vastly separate circumstances.

I have a large extended family—sixteen grandchildren (last count) and a half-dozen great-grandchildren. They like to hear amusing stories about my life, and I enjoy telling them. Thus, was born Misadventures of an Only Child.

My autobiography continues to serve well for public readings; the revelations are usually followed up by one typical question from the audience: “Did you really do that?”  Yes, I did.

One of my fifty or so professions, occupations, and odd jobs included (and still includes) auctioneering. A personal fascination, is the endless assortment of bogus medical contraptions that have been foisted on the vulnerable public for centuries. I began collecting some of them myself, and finally wrote a descriptive, illustrated collection of these devices, entitled Medical Quackery.

And thirdly, my fascination with the workings, and more specifically, misworkings of the human mind led me to teach adult education classes in the recognition of mental disorders (my wife says I’m ADHD/OCD). I soon realized that there weren’t many easy-to-read volumes available on the subject, propelling me to publish my own textbook for classroom instruction, Abnormal Psychology.

Bob earned his bachelor’s degree from Kent State University and his master’s degree from Florida Atlantic University. He and his wife Judy live in Brasstown, NC.

You will find Bob’s books on Amazon.com, Kindle and on Create Space:

https://www.createspace.com/4669441      Misadventures of an Only child

https://www.createspace.com/7300982      Medical Quackery

https://www.createspace.com/7267696       Abnormal Psychology

Interview by Glenda Council Beall

The Writers' Workshop, Asheville, NC, hosts Autumn writing workshops, contests and a retreat

THE WRITERS' WORKSHOP 387 Beaucatcher Road Asheville, NC 28805     AUTUMN WORKSHOPS, CONTESTS & RETREAT     The Writers' Workshop is offering classes and contests for beginning and experienced writers. Each class meets on Saturdays, 10-4 pm, at 387 Beaucatcher Rd., Asheville. Registration is in advance only, at www.twwoa.org.     Classes are $75 each, or $70 for Workshop members. Financial assistance is available for low-income writers in exchange for volunteering.  For more info, contact writersw@gmail.com or call 828-254-8111.  * * * * * * *  AUG. 30  FICTION CONTEST DEADLINE!! (Postmarked or emailed)  (for guidelines, see twwoa.org)  * * * * * * * Sept. 5 Deadline to RSVP:  WRITERS'  RETREAT at FOLLY BEACH, SC  OCT. 5-8 (For details, see twwoa.org. Please RSVP by Sept. 5! )    * * * * * * * ASHEVILLE WORKSHOPS These one-day intensive workshops meet on Saturdays, 10-4 pm, at 387 Beaucatcher Rd., Asheville. Registration is in advance only, at twwoa.org. Financial assistance is available for low-income writers. For more info, contact  writersw@gmail.com or call 828-254-8111.   SEPT. 16:  FICTION WORKSHOP with MILDRED BARYA   Participants will learn new techniques for writing fiction, focusing on the craft of the narrative structure. Discussion will include characterization, point of view, setting, plot, and dialogue. Imagery, irony and other aspects of the craft will also be explored. Students will engage in writing exercises, and may bring 3 pages and/or a synopsis to the class. Barya teaches Creative Writing and Literature at UNC-Asheville. Her stories and poems have been published in anthologies and journals such as Tin House, Prairie Schooner, Poetry Quarterly, Per Contra and Northeast Review.  She holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Denver. Meets Saturday, 10-4 pm. $75/70 members. OCT. 7:  PUBLISHING OPTIONS with RICHARD KRAWIEK The opportunities for writers to publish can be very confusing. Self-publishing, vanity press, co-operative publishing, traditional publishing - what are the options and choices?  And how will the choice you make affect your own writing career? In this workshop we'll look at the various publishing models, their pros and cons, and determine which ones would suit the needs of each student in the class.  Krawiek has been involved in the publishing scene since the 1970s.  He is founder of Jacar Press, which has published established writers such as Kathryn Stripling Byer and Dorianne Laux, as well as first timers. Jacar's anthology, Resisting Arrest Poems to Stretch the Sky was named one of the year's best by review journals in Canada and the U.S.  His own work appears in the U.S., Europe and South America. Meets Saturday, 10-4 pm. $75/70 members.             OCT. 21:  WRITING FROM the TOP of YOUR HEAD with NINA HART  Writers will learn innovate ways to generate fresh material, avoid writer's block and tap into their creative side. The class will be guided towards accessing the inner voice through KaizenMuse Creativity methods, evocative "timed writes", and lively class readings and discussions. Hart is a writer and creativity coach trained in the Kaizen Muse method. She is also certified by the Gateless Method - "a method of teaching the art and craft of writing using creative brain science, allowing writers to access the creative genius inside". Her first collection of short stories, Somewhere in a Town You Never Knew Existed, was a finalist in Foreword Review Book of the Year Award. Meets Saturday, 10-4 pm. $75/70 members. NOV. 4:  WRITING YOUR MEMOIRS with KAREN ACKERSON  Participants will learn how to turn personal and family experiences into a compelling memoir for family and friends, or for publication. In-class writing exercises will help to identify life-changing events, to be used as the backbone of a memoir. Discussion will include creating a sense of place, dialogue, and enhancing one's writing style. Writers may bring up to five pages (double-spaced) to the class for review. Ackerson, a biographer and Senior Editor at The Renbourne Editorial Agency, has taught workshops throughout the Southeast for over twenty years. Meets Saturday, 10-4 pm. $75/70 members. NOV. 18:  POETRY and TENSION with ERIC NELSON  Conflict-or tension-is indispensable to successful poetry, providing the driving force of the poem as well as its depth and complexity. Writers of all levels will explore different kinds of poetic tension, from the most subtle, such as haiku, to the most obvious (such as epics) through reading and discussion of examples, and by creating tension in our own poems through prompts and exercises. Nelson's six books include the award winning collections Some Wonder (Gival Press Poetry Award); Terrestrials (Texas Review Poetry Award); and The Interpretation of Waking Life (U. of Arkansas Poetry Award). He has taught poetry at GA Southern University for 26 years. Meets Saturday, 10-4 pm. $75/70 members.  * * * * * * *  MEMOIRS CONTEST Deadline: Postmarked by Nov. 30, 2017. AWARDS: 1st Place: Choice of a 2 night stay at our Mountain Muse B&B, 3 free workshops, or 50 pages line-edited and revised by our editorial staff 2nd Place: Two free workshops, or 35 pages line-edited 3rd Place: Choice of 1 free workshop, or 25 pages line-edited Up to 10 Honorable Mentions GUIDELINES: Submit a short story or chapter of a novel of 5,000 words or less.  Multiple entries are accepted.   Pages should be paper clipped, with your name, address, phone and title of work on a cover sheet. Double-space, and use 12 point font. The entry fee per submission is $25 ($20 for Workshop members), and is payable online. Enclose self-addressed stamped envelope for critique and list of winners, if sending by mail. Make check or money order payable to The Writers' Workshop, and mail to:  Memoirs Contest, 387 Beaucatcher Road, Asheville, NC  28805. Emailed submissions may be sent to writersw@gmail.com, with "Memoirs Contest" in the subject. Send in Word Document only.  Please put your contact info on the first page.  The entry fee is payable online at www.twwoa.org. * * * * * * *

Contact Information phone: 828-254-8111 email: writersw@gmail.com website: www.twwoa.org