Thursday, June 1, 2023

Lorraine Bennett Book Signing is June 3 at Clay County Progress

Lorraine Bennett
           Lorraine Bennett’s first novel, a psychological thriller titled "Cat on a Black Moon," has been published by Austin Macauley (London, Cambridge, New York) and is available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kindle.  She will be selling and signing copies of her book in Hayesville at the Clay County Progress from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday, June 3.

          The 236-page novel revolves around protagonist Garner Olsen, Atlanta’s number one television anchorwoman who becomes the target of brilliant and deranged ex-flower child Darla Dare when the anchorwoman’s husband, a federal prosecutor, prepares to take Darla’s lover to trial for drug trafficking.

           When the anchorwoman’s life is upended by vandalism, stalking, kidnapping and murder, she vows to track down the responsible party.

            Bennett drew on her years in television to create protagonist Garner Olsen.  Her time as a print reporter was helpful in the development of antagonist Darla Dare. Also useful was the time she resided in Atlanta during the early years of the counter-culture takeover of parts of Peachtree Street.

        The genesis of the story is a piece of jewelry Bennett purchased at an auction house in Atlanta. In the book, the jewelry plays a major role.

  


Farewell to Writers’ Night Out Features Georgia Poets

Writers' Night Out will bid farewell to its followers Friday, June 9, at 7 pm.  WNO has been a well-attended event since 2010, but is ending its run, a victim in part of the pandemic.  For the last three years it has continued virtually, which enabled it to draw a broader range of featured readers and audiences but at the cost of the personal interactions between audience and writer.

The event will feature poets Michael Diebert and Michael Walls who will read from their works followed by an open mic session for anyone wishing to read from their own works or simply bid the popular program goodbye.

        The final WNO, fittingly perhaps, will be a Zoom meeting.  Anyone wishing to join should contact Glenda Beall at glendabeall@msn.com.

Michael Diebert

Its organizers will continue to support other in-person and virtual writing events in Western North Carolina and the Georgia mountain counties of Union and Towns.

        All that being said, the featured writers for the final event are excellent examples of the talent the program was able to attract to this area.

Michael Diebert is the author of the collections “Thrash” (Brick Road, 2022) and “Life Outside the Set” (Sweatshoppe, 2013).  He has served as poetry editor for “The Chattahoochee Review,” led workshops for the Chattahoochee Valley Writers' Conference and the Blue Ridge Writers' Conference, and served as president of the Georgia Poetry Society.

Michael Walls

Diebert teaches writing and literature at Perimeter College, Georgia State University.  Recent poems have appeared in “EcoTheo Collective,” “Book of Matches,” “Anti-Heroin Chic,” and “River Teeth.”  A two-time cancer survivor, he lives in Avondale Estates, Georgia, with his wife and dogs.

Michael Walls is a retired labor lawyer who lives in Atlanta.  He represented workers and labor unions for over 40 years.  He has also been a lifetime activist and sometime voluntary attorney for peace, justice and environmental organizations.  His new book is “Climbing an Unnamed Mountain” (Kelsay Books).

        His poems have appeared in a variety of literary journals and magazines including “The South Carolina Review,” “The Midwest Quarterly,” “Poet Lore,” “Poetry East,” “San Pedro River Review,” “ISLE (Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and Environment),” “South Florida Poetry Journal,” and “Atlanta Review.”  His chapbook “The Blues Singer” was published by The Frank Cat Press in 2003, and his first full-length collection “Stacking Winter Wood” was published by Kelsay Books/Aldrich Press in 2017.

In addition to poetry, Wall's published work includes articles in law reviews and bar publications.  Four years ago, he was diagnosed with Erythromelalgia, a rare neuro-vascular condition characterized by chronic pain and loss of mobility that has no known cure.  He is starting to write about the ways the illness and the host of autoimmune conditions that travel with it have changed and continue to change his life.

In addition to the speakers, the event will close with an open mic session during which anyone wishing to will have 3 to 4 minutes to read their own poetry or prose.  Persons attending the event can sign up for open mic by emailing glendabeall@msn.com with a sentence she can use to introduce them.

Writers’ Night Out is a North Carolina Writers' Network-West event.


Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Poet Scott Owens to Teach Workshop at Moss Memorial Library June 16

We are fortunate to have Scott Owens teach a workshop for us at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC, Friday, June 16, 2:00-4:45 PM.

Scott Owens writes poetry as if he were a painter. Painters see more than other people see. They look beyond the obvious. Scott sees and invites the reader to visualize images, actions, beliefs, purposes, motives, and results of what he has gleaned from his life as a child, a husband, a father, a teacher, a human being who took notice.

Workshop Title: Inspiration Surrounds Us: How to Have Enough to Write About for at Least 4 Lifetimes.

Fee: $45.00 A portion of the fee goes to NCWN-West.

Send a check before June 10, made to Glenda Beall, and mail to 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904

Scott Owens
Scott is the author of 19 collections of poetry, and more than 1200 published poems. He has received awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Pushcart Prize Anthology, the NC Writers' Network, the NC Poetry Society, the Poetry Society of SC, and many others.

His poems have been featured on "The Writers' Almanac" 7 times, "Poetry in Plain Sight" 4 times, and "Your Daily Poem" 13 times.

He is Professor of Poetry at Lenoir Rhyne University and has taught creative writing for more than 20 years, including in excess of 40 community or conference workshops.

His books cover a wide range of topics including a love of nature, surviving an abusive childhood, growing up on a farm, writing, religion, dreams and nightmares, parenting, politics, philosophy, existentialism, and of course, love.

He has collaborated with poet, Pris Campbell, on two novels in poetry; with artist, Missy Cleveland, on an illustrated collection of poems for children; and with photographer, Clayton Joe Young, on two collections featuring images of the North Carolina Piedmont. 

In his spare time, Scott owns and operates a successful coffee shop in downtown Hickory. He serves as President of the Hickory Downtown Development Association. He has hosted Poetry Hickory at his coffee shop for 17 years. Several of our NCWN-West poets have read there.

Scott has always loved the NC mountains. In his younger days he was an avid hiker, who spent one summer hiking the mountains to more than 100 waterfalls. He is also an avid birdwatcher, and on a recent weeklong visit to the Smokies, saw 23 bald eagles.

Born and raised on farms and in mill villages in and around Greenwood, SC, he now lives on an acre near downtown Hickory where he constantly weeds his garden, prunes his trees, and tends his flock of 8 egg-producing chickens.

He says you can take the boy off the farm, but you can never take the farm out of the boy.


Bill Lightle is Featured Speaker at May 25 Mountain Wordsmiths

             Writer Bill Lightle will be the featured reader for the May gathering of Mountain Wordsmiths. The group will meet Thursday morning, May 25, at 10:30 via Zoom. Lightle is the author of "Race & Politics in the American South: A Personal History."

Bill Lightle
              Lightle lives and writes, both nonfiction and fiction, in Georgia. One reviewer said this of Lightle’s Southern fiction: “Readers everywhere will be captured by his new mystery series.” Another reviewer said his stories are “told with grace and understanding.” 

             In 1966, when he was nine, his family moved from Gas City, Indiana, to Albany, Georgia, where his father had accepted a job building aircraft. Lightle came of age reading newspapers and hearing stories, including those of The Great Depression and World War II, from his father and his friends. It was through these stories that he developed an appreciation for history and politics. 

             After graduating from Georgia Southwestern College in Americus in 1980 with a degree in political science, Lightle was hired as a general assignment reporter for the Albany Herald and went on to write for three other newspapers in the southeast in the 1980s, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He began a 29-year teaching career in the late 1980s and retired in 2017. But throughout that time, he continued to write for newspapers and publish books.

             For most of his adult life, he has been a political activist, which he chronicles in his latest book, "Race &Politics in the American South: A Personal History." 

             Lightle lives in the country in south Fayette County, Georgia, with his wife Phyllis, their two dogs, Mercy and Levi, and their cat Nigel. His wife has published a book of poetry, "Chasing Hemingway."
 


Thursday, May 11, 2023

CarolLynn Jones and Mary Ricketson Reading at Literary Hour

  Local writers CarolLynn Jones and Mary Ricketson will read from their work at the Literary Hour Thursday, May 18, at 7 pm in the Keith House Living Room of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.  The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.

CarolLynn Jones
CarolLynn Jones is the author of “Danya,” a historical novel.  It is a fictionalized account, based on memoirs by survivors of the Russian communist revolution, which follows the lives of two families struggling in a world going mad with sweeping cultural, religious, and political upheaval.  The novel is available on Amazon.  Jones studied art and illustration at Syracuse University and started a greeting card business which supplied cards to stores throughout the country.  She has traveled in Russia and spent two weeks living with a Russian family.  She will be reading from a true story of hope and redemption.

Mary Ricketson

Mary Ricketson is an award-winning poet, mental health counselor, and blueberry farmer who lives in Murphy.  Her published collections are “I Hear the River Call My Name,” “Hanging Dog Creek,” “Shade and Shelter,” “Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian,” “Keeping in Place,” and “Lira, Poems of a Woodland Woman,” and “Precious the Mule.”  Ricketson won first place in the 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest 75th anniversary national poetry contest.  Inspired by nature and her role as a mental health counselor, her poems reflect the healing powers of nature, a path she follows from Appalachian tradition, with the surrounding mountains as midwife for her words.  She is also known for her monthly column, “Woman to Woman,” which runs in “The Cherokee Scout.”

Writer and poet Glenda Beall, coordinator for NCWN-West, will host the
event.  The Literary Hour at the folk school started in 1995 and is offered every third Thursday of the month through November.  “Our goals for the Literary Hour at the folk school are to bring local writers and any member of NCWN who is in the area to the campus to share their work,” Beall said.

The John C. Campbell Folk School offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling.  For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.  Students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.


Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Netwest Writers Win Medals in the 2023 Silver Arts Literary Contest


 North Carolina Writers Netwest Writers won medals in the 2023 Cherokee/Clay Senior Games Silver Arts Literary Contest.

Back row:  Raven Chiong, Sandy Benson, Lorraine Bennett, and front row, Brenda Kay Ledford

Raven Chiong won the Silver Medal for her Essay, "After the Storm-The Great Blizzard of 1960"
She also received a Gold Medal for her Life Experiences:  "One Teacher's Legacy of Love"

Sandy Benson won the Gold Medal for her Short Story, "Crawford's Ghost"

Lorraine Bennett won the Silver Medal for her Life Experiences:  "Unanswered Prayers"

Brenda Kay Ledford won the Gold Medal for her Essay:  "Art Therapy"
She also received the Silver Medal for her poem, "Homeplace"
She got a Bonze Medal for her Short Story, "The Case of the Missing Purse"





Monday, May 1, 2023

Poet and Writer Kory Wells Featured at Writers' Night Out May 12

    Kory Wells will be the featured reader at Writers' Night Out on Friday, May 12, at 7 p.m. EST.  This is a Zoom meeting.

Kory Wells

    Wells is a poet and writer, storyteller, and arts advocate from Tennessee. She is the author of two poetry collections, most recently Sugar Fix from Terrapin Books. Her writing has been featured on The Slowdown podcast from American Public Media and appears in The Strategic Poet, Christian Science Monitor, and many other publications.

    In 2017 Kory was selected the inaugural Poet Laureate of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where she nurtures creative community through arts and literature initiatives. She also mentors poets from across the nation through MTSU Write, a from-home creative writing program. Find her online at https://korywells.com.

    Her reading will be followed by an Open Mic session during which anyone joining the Zoom meeting may have 3 to 4 minutes to read poetry or prose (2 poems only, please).

    To sign up for Open Mic, please send Glenda Beall an email (with a sentence she can use to introduce you) by clicking here: glendabeall@msn.com.

Saturday, April 22, 2023

Brenda Kay Ledford Published in Ink Babies Literary Magazine


 Brenda Kay Ledford's poetry, "Ambidextrous," "Discards," "Broken," "The Rock," and  "Snowstorm," appeared in "Ink Babies Literary Magazine," issue 3.

www.inkbabies.com

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Mary Ricketson and Brenda Kay Ledford Will Read at Corner Coffee and Wine Shop


                                                        Mary Ricketson, author

                                                        "Precious, the Mule"


                                                              Brenda Kay Ledford, author

                                                    "Leatherwood Falls, Blue Ridge Mountain Poems"

                                                                     

Mary Ricketson and Brenda Kay Ledford will be reading from their new books at the Corner Coffee and Wine Shop, Friday, April 21, 2023; 6:00-7:30 PM. They will also have books available for sale.

This event is sponsored by the Mountain Area Storytellers.  Additionally, Ricketson and Ledford will be joined during the Open Mic Night by writers, storytellers, and music makers who will take stage.

Stories on the Square - Hayesville, North Carolina

Friday, April 21, 2023

6:00-7:30 PM EDT

Corner Coffee and Wine Shop

Free Event with an Open Mic Night

Friday, April 14, 2023

Author Sandy Benson and Poet Richard Cary to Read at Campbell School

Author Sandy Benson and Poet Richard Montfort Cary will read from their work at the Literary Hour Thursday, April 20, at 7 pm in the Keith House Living Room of the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC.  The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and is free and open to everyone.

Benson will read selections from her first book, “My Mother’s Keeper: One Family’s Journey Through Dementia,” and the book she is currently working on, “Girls Can’t Do That,” a collection of

Sandy Benson

mostly humorous short stories about her life as one of America’s first female foresters.  Cary will read selections from his forthcoming chronological autobiography of his poetry.

Benson is a soon-to-be-retired professional forester with a background in journalism.  She has worked as a forester in Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and Nebraska, while moonlighting as a reporter, editor, publisher, and freelance non-fiction writer.  Numerous newspapers and magazines have published her articles, and she received several awards from the Nebraska Press Women’s organization.

She has lived with her husband, Barry, in Warne, NC, since 2018 and enjoys sharing tales at local storyteller gatherings and writing publicity releases for the Peacock Performing Arts Center in Hayesville.

Cary began writing poetry in high school and continues to this day.  He graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1964 with a BFA in Theatre Arts, and spent six years in regional theatres, before moving year-round to Nantucket Island, MA, where he became a designer and builder of custom

Richard Cary

homes.  In 1985, he founded Actors Theatre of Nantucket, the island’s professional theatre company, and served as Artistic Director for twenty years.

His claim to local fame is that his great aunt, Olive Dame Campbell, founded the Campbell Folk School.  In April 2022, he wrote and directed “The Birth Of The John C Campbell Folk School” which received generous praise when it was performed at the Peacock.  The theatre hosted an encore production this year.  He and his wife Cheryl moved to Hayesville NC in 2017.

Local poet and author Joan Howard will host the event.

The John C. Campbell Folk School offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling.  For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.  Students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.


Poet Jill Jennings to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

By Carroll S. Taylor

Jill Jennings
       Poet Jill Jennings will be the featured reader for April’s gathering of Mountain Wordsmiths. The group will meet Thursday morning, April 27, at 10:30 via Zoom. One of the benefits of meeting online is the ability to host writers from all areas of the country. 

       Jennings, a retired teacher, linguist and journalist, is the author of three full-length poetry books, The Poetry Alarm Clock (2008); Dead Man’s Flower (2012); and Pineapple Wine: Poems of Maui (2019). Her poems have been published in in The Atlanta Review,  Oberon Poetry Magazine, Calamaro, Reach of Song (Georgia Poetry Society); Encore (The National Federation of State Poetry Societies);  Cadence  (Anthology of the Florida State Poets Association); Poetry of the Golden Generation (Kennesaw State University), and is a frequent contributor to Please See Me Literary Journal.

       Her work has been featured on Kinver Radio in the U.K.  In 2013, Jennings was awarded a U.S. Congressional Commendation for her career as an author and teacher of  Latin and English. She has served as Vice President, and Secretary of the Georgia Poetry Society and as Co-Coordinator of the Johns Creek Poetry Group.  She received her B.A. in Classics in 1969, followed by an M.A. in Classics in 1975, both from the University of Georgia. Since retiring she has kept busy teaching writing classes and setting up poetry slams for high school students. Originally from Georgia, she now lives with her husband in Fort Myers, Florida.  Follow her at www.jilljennings.org.

        NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. Many writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because of the ability to join our gatherings from other locations across America.       

        Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Our group is informal, and we welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as we share our thoughts about writing.

                                         


Friday, March 31, 2023

Writers Night Out Resumes April 14 with poet, teacher, cancer survivor Michael Diebert

Michael Diebert

      Update: Please note that due to technical difficulties with Zoom on April 14, Michael Diebert has been rescheduled for June 9. Details will be posted at at a later date. We apologize to those who tried to tune in for the April event. 

Writers Night Out via Zoom resumes Friday, April 14, at 7 pm featuring poet, editor, teacher, and cancer survivor Michael Diebert.  The reading and discussion will be followed by an open mic session.  Writers Night Out is a North Carolina Writers' Network-West event.

    Michael Diebert, a native of Kingsport, Tennessee, is the author of the collections Thrash (Brick Road, 2022) and Life Outside the Set (Sweatshoppe, 2013). He has served as poetry editor for The Chattahoochee Review, led workshops for the Chattahoochee Valley Writers' Conference and the Blue Ridge Writers' Conference, and served as president of Georgia Poetry Society. 

    Micheal teaches writing and literature at Perimeter College, Georgia State University. Recent poems have appeared in EcoTheo CollectiveBook of MatchesAnti-Heroin Chic, and River Teeth. A two-time cancer survivor, Michael lives in Avondale Estates, Georgia with his wife and dogs.

    An Open Mic session will follow Diebert's reading, offering anyone joining over Zoom an opportunity to read their own works.  Please plan for a 3-4 minute maximum time for poetry or prose and limit reading to two poems only, please.

    To sign up for Open Mic, please send Glenda an email (with a sentence she can use to introduce you) by clicking here: glendabeall@msn.com.  To get the Zoom link email Glenda. 



Tuesday, March 21, 2023

Brenda Kay Ledford's New Book Released


 Brenda Kay Ledford's new book, "Leatherwood Falls, Blue Ridge Mountain Poems," has been published by Kelsay Books.

According to Glenda C. Beall, North Carolina Writer's Network-West Program Coordinator, "Brenda Kay Ledford takes the reader on a mountain hike where she names the wildflowers, birds, through the eyes of her  beloved brother.  She takes us to childhood days and as he left for Vietnam.  We see an ordinary man who is not ordinary  in the eyes of his sister.  Ledford writes in various poetic forms staying true to her task of honoring her brother.  Like most mountain families, they are close and death will never end the love they share."

You may purchase Ledford's book at:  www.amazon.com  or www.Kelsaybooks.com

Monday, March 20, 2023

Poet and Writer Abbie Taylor to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

By Carroll S. Taylor
Guest Writer

 

Abbie Taylor
Abbie Taylor
            Wyoming writer and poet Abbie Johnson Taylor will be the featured reader for this month’s gathering of Mountain Wordsmiths. The group will meet Thursday, March 23, at 10:30 a.m. via Zoom. One of the benefits of meeting online is the ability to host writers from all areas of the country. Taylor attends our gathering each month despite the early time difference between North Carolina and her home in Wyoming.
            She is the author of three novels, two poetry collections, and a memoir. She is currently working on a short story collection she hopes to publish this year. Her work has appeared in The Weekly Avocet, Magnets and Ladders, and other publications.
            Taylor is visually impaired and lives in Sheridan, WY, where for six years, she cared for her late husband who was totally blind and partially paralyzed by two strokes soon after they were married. With a BA in music, she worked as a registered music therapist with nursing home residents for 15 years before getting married and writing full-time. She also taught Braille, facilitated a support group for blind and visually impaired adults, and served on the advisory board to a trust fund that provides adaptive equipment and services to blind and visually impaired children and adults. To learn more about her, visit her website at: https://www.abbiejohnsontaylor.com
            NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We continue to offer writing events and writing classes both online and in person. Many writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because of the ability to join our gatherings from other locations.
           Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Our group is informal, and we welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing. All who attend are encouraged to enjoy their morning cup of coffee or tea as we share our thoughts about writing.

                                         


Sunday, March 5, 2023

2023 Blue Ridge Writers Conference keynote speaker is Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle, author

We are very fortunate that the Blue Ridge Writers Conference is held in Blue Ridge, Georgia every spring. It is one of the best small conferences you will find anywhere. This year the keynote speaker will be Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle. She lives in western North Carolina and is a member of the NCWN-West. She is also president of the NC Writers' Network Board of Trustees. 

https://www.blueridgewritersconference.com/about-our-speakers.html 

Carol Crawford and the staff at the Blue Ridge Arts Association have gathered an elite faculty and will cover all facets of writing. If you have not attended before, mark your calendar now and go to the website to register. If you plan to spend the weekend there, better get those hotel reservations now as they fill up quickly. 

You will find Dana Wildsmith and Jessica Handler on the speakers' list. Many locals are familiar with Dana who teaches at the John C. Campbell Folk School yearly. Jessica has often been on the speakers' list for the Blue Ridge Conference. 

I look forward to attending this year since I missed the last couple of years. 

Carol Crawford who lives in Fannin County, Georgia was an active member of Netwest when I first moved to Hayesville, NC. In those days there were very few writing events in our area other than the monthly Thursday evening meetings at Tri-County Community College led by our NCWN-West members. Carol led our poetry group at that time. Thanks to Carol and others with the Blue Ridge Arts Association this is the twenty-sixth Blue Ridge Writers conference.

Not only do we have the opportunity to meet and learn from knowledgeable instructors, but it's also like a reunion for so many of us who have enjoyed it all these years. The speakers are available to those who want to speak to them or ask questions. I hope to see you there.



Saturday, March 4, 2023

Brenda Kay Ledford Featured on WKRK Radio Station


 Brenda Kay Ledford was interviewed by Laura Kleiss Hoeft, executive director of the Clay County Chamber of Commerce, March 3, 2023 on the "Clay County NC Chamber of Commerce Show."

Ledford's book, Leatherwood Falls, Blue Ridge Poems, was released this week by Kelsay Books.  She read from her collection on WKRK Radio Station in Murphy, NC.

You may view the show at:  WKRK/Murphy, NC-Facebook

                                            Click on Videos

                                            Scroll down to :  Clay County, NC Chamber of Commerce Show,

                                                                           March 3, 2023


During the show, Ledford gave details about North Carolina Writers' Network West and the groups that meet under the umbrella of NCWN.

Ledford's new book:  Leatherwood Falls, Blue Ridge Poems, is a collection in memory of her brother.  It will be posted on Amazon.com in three weeks to purchase, or you may order at KelsayBooks.com.

 

Tuesday, February 14, 2023

Many thanks to Mary Fonda, and Moss Library

We wish good health and happiness to Mary Fonda our long-time librarian for the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC as she retires this year. We are grateful for Mary and the library which has always been supporters of our writers and NCWN-West. In my travels around western NC and visits to libraries far and wide, I hear nothing but praise and compliments for Moss Library. 

Of course, Mary's library assistant, Deborah Kenyon, is always there to make sure everything works like a well-oiled clock. She does her very best to help us schedule meetings for NCWN-West events at the library. It is perfect for us because it is handicap accessible and all local writers can attend.

We look forward to working with the new Branch Manager, Griffin Anderson. We hear good things about him. 

We are delighted that Deborah continues as Library Assistant. She sent the following information about the library and you might want to copy and keep this handy.

The hours for the Moss Memorial Library (except for holidays and inclement weather) are:

  •  Tuesdays from 9 AM to 8 PM
  •  Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 9 AM to 5 PM

Moss Memorial Library Phone Number:  828-389-8401

 Please send emails concerning the Moss Memorial Library to our respective Nantahala Library emails:

This would allow the Moss Memorial Library to respond sooner to scheduling requests.


 Of course, Coffee with the Poets and Writers is on schedule to resume its monthly meetings beginning Wednesday, March 8, 2023, in the library's meeting room.

 

Monday, February 13, 2023

Poet Mary Ricketson to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

By Carroll S. Taylor

Mary Ricketson
             Mountain Wordsmiths will have as our featured reader distinguished poet Mary Ricketson on Thursday morning, February 23, at 10:30 via Zoom. Our monthly gathering, sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West, will continue its online presence because local writers as well as writers from other states and cities are now joining us each month on Zoom.
            Ricketson will be sharing her latest poetry collection, "Precious the Mule." The poems weave a story of humanity, compassion, and kindness. Ricketson says, “My neighbor’s mule got badly injured, frightening all of us who live in this cove. Mingled with the natural beauty of winter and springtime at my home in the Appalachian Mountains, this is the story of a relationship I developed with my neighbor the mule, a story that joins sorrow and suffering with joy and hope.”
            Ricketson, who lives in Murphy, NC, is a Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor in private practice in Murphy, NC, and an organic blueberry farmer. She has been writing poetry for over twenty-five years. Her poems often reflect the healing power of nature, a path she follows from Appalachian tradition, with surrounding mountains serving as midwife for her words.
            Her published collections are "I Hear the River Call My Name," "Hanging Dog Creek," "Shade and Shelter," "Mississippi: The Story of Luke and Marian," "Keeping in Place," and "Lira, Poems of a Woodland Woman," and "Precious the Mule." 

More information about her may be found at www.maryricketson.com

NCWN-West is continuing to stay in touch by using technology to share our writing. We will offer writing events and writing classes online until we can safely meet face-to-face again. Many writers are enjoying the convenience and flexibility of Zoom meetings because of the ability to join our gatherings from other locations.

Those wishing to attend Mountain Wordsmiths may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. We welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing.


Thursday, February 9, 2023

Literary Hour Returns to J.C. Campbell School

  The Literary Hour returns to the J.C. Campbell Folk School March 16 at 7 p.m. with readings by popular local poet and storyteller Brenda Kay Ledford and local novelist David Plunkett.  The Literary Hour will continue every third Thursday of the month through September and is free and open to everyone.
Ledford, a Clay County, NC, native, will read from her poetry which draws on her love for the beauty, heritage, and history of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina.  Her poetry collection, “Blanche, Poems of a Blue Ridge Woman,” published by Redhawk Publishing, won the Paul Green Multimedia Award from the North Carolina Society of Historians in 2022.
In addition to her award-winning poetry, she is the recipient of the Children’s Book Award for her picture book “The Singing Convention” and writes the Blue Ridge Poet blog which is dedicated to preserving the culture of Southern Appalachia through poetry, storytelling and writing.
Plunkett, who lives in Young Harris, GA, is the author of the espionage thrillers “Chessboard” and “Poisoned Pawn” published by Kindle Direct Publishing.  Readers have called “Chessboard” “intriguing and captivating,” and a well-researched book about “the shadow workings of our government.”  He will read selections from both novels and talk about his process for writing them.
The Literary Hour is sponsored by the North Carolina Writers’ Network-West and will continue every third Thursday of the month through November 16 at 7 p.m.
        The March meeting will be hosted by Murphy, NC, poet Mary Ricketson, who is president of the Ridgeline Literary Alliance and the 2011 winner of the Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest national poetry contest.
Ledford, Plunkett and Ricketson are members of the North Carolina Writer's Network-West.  The Literary Hour meets in the Living Room of the Keith House on the J.C. Campbell Folk School campus.  For more information you can contact Glenda Beall at glendabeall@msn.com.
The J.C. Campbell Folk School is located in Brasstown, NC, and offers classes in folk arts and crafts and storytelling.  For information about the school, you can find its webpage and contact information at https://www.folkschool.org/.  Students and faculty of the school are welcome to attend the readings.



Friday, January 20, 2023

Poet Louise Runyon to be Featured Reader for Mountain Wordsmiths

 By Carroll S. Taylor

Louise Runyon

 January 2023 begins a new year for Mountain Wordsmiths, an online writers’ gathering sponsored by North Carolina Writers’ Network-West. Our first gathering will meet on Thursday morning, January 26, at 10:30 a.m. on Zoom, and our featured speaker will be poet Louise Runyon, who will be sharing poetry from her fifth and most recent book of poems, Where Is Our Prague Spring?

 Her book examines Runyon's deep love for the mountains of Western North Carolina, her childhood experience of love here, and her attempts to reconcile this love with the hatred and division found in the present.  A great-niece of Lucy Morgan, founder of the renowned Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, Runyon honors her visionary and activist family in these poems.

 A resident of Sylva, NC , Runyon was born and raised in New York City but grew up at Penland School in the summertime.  She lived most of her adult life in Atlanta before coming back to western North Carolina in 2019. A dancer and choreographer as well as a poet, she is Artistic Director of Louise Runyon Performance Company. The publication of her new book is supported by the Jackson County Arts Council.

 Poet Catherine Carter of Western Carolina University says, “…Runyon interrogates the place and her family’s long history there to illuminate a complicated tradition of Appalachian progressivism dating both back to and forward from the Trail of Tears.  These thoughtful poems evoke an Appalachia that few outsiders know: simultaneously progressive and conservative, woven into the wider world in unexpected ways, and rooted deeply in the labor and vision of women.” 

 NC Writers’ Network-West is continuing to take precautions as we stay in touch and use technology to share our writing. We will offer writing events and writing classes online with some writers’ groups now meeting in person with careful safety guidelines.

 

Mountain Wordsmiths will meet via Zoom on the fourth Thursday of each month Those wishing to attend our gatherings may contact Carroll Taylor at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. Also, those who wish to participate in Open Mic may sign up upon entering the meeting. We welcome those who would simply like to listen to the beauty of wordsmithing.