About Me

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Nancy Simpson's LIVING ABOVE THE FROST LINE, New and Selected Poems was published by Carolina Wren Press (N.C. Laureate Series, 2010.) She is the author of ACROSS WATER and NIGHT STUDENT, State Street Press, still available on WWW at Alibris and Books Again. Her poems have been published in Southern Poetry Review, Prairie Schooner, The Georgia Review and other literary magazines. "Carolina Bluebirds" was published in THE POETS GUIDE TO THE BIRDS, Anhinga Press). "Grass" was reprinted in the 50th Anniversary Issue of Southern Poetry Review: DON'T LEAVE HUNGRY ( U.of Arkansas Press.) Seven poems were reprinted in the textbook, SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN POETRY,(McFarland.) Two poems were published in SOLO CAFE, Two more poems were published in SOLO NOVO."In the Nantahala Gorge" was published in Pisgah Review. "Studying Winter" was reprinted in Pirene's Fountain Anthology and "The Collection" in Collecting Life Anthology. Most recently, Southern Poetry Review Edited by James Smith, published "Our Great Depression," and The Southern Poetry Anthology Vol. VII: NORTH CAROLINA,Edited by William Wright, reprinted "Leaving in the Dead of Winter."

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

LINDA M. SMITH AND CAROLE RICHARD THOMPSON WILL READ POEMS AND STORIES


POETS AND WRITERS READING POEMS AND STORIES CO SPONSORED BY 


NC WRITERS NETWORK WEST and JOHN CAMPBELL FOLK SCHOOL
              On Thursday, February 20, 2014, John Campbell Folk School and N.C. Writers Network West are sponsoring a reading of poetry. The reading is free of charge and open to the public.  Poets Linda Smith and Carole Richard Thompson will be the featured readers. 


Linda Smith, poet and writer, from Hayesville, NC is a long time member of NCWN West. She writes poetry inspired by the mountains that surround this area and from memories of things past.  She also writes essays and fiction. Linda is nearing completion of a mystery novel.  Her poetry has appeared in numerous anthologies such as Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, anthologies of NetWest, Mountain Time, Sand, Sea and Sail, the Freeing Jonah series, Night Whispers, Looking Back. and Future Cycle 2012.




Carole Richard Thompson
Carole Richard Thompson and her husband moved to Blairsville, in the North Georgia mountains, 21 years ago.  After being a portrait artist for many years, she began to study writing, and joined the North Carolina Writer’s Network. She credits her love for writing to her friend and mentor, Nancy Simpson, whose classes in creative writing and poetry have been her greatest source of inspiration.  Her first short story, “A Bag of Sugar for Paula,” was published in The Liquorian Magazine, and also the anthology, Christmas Presence, published by Catawba Press.  Her story, “The Uniform” appeared in the anthology, Clotheslines, published by Catawba Press.
          
Carole’s poem, “The House of Cards” appeared in A Sense of Place, an anthology published by Southeast Writers Assoc.  “The Party’s Over”  and “36 Hours” were published in Wild Goose Review ;  “Returning” appeared in the anthology  Echoes Across the Blue Ridge by Winding Path Publishing; “Tar Foot Morning” was recently published Women’s Spaces, Women’s Places,by Stone Ivy Press;  and “Season Change” was published in the  FutureCycle 2011 Flash Fiction Poetry anthology.  Carole’s first chapbook,  Enough,  appeared in February 2013, published by Future Cycle Press.  Carole is also a member of the Georgia Poetry Society

POETS AND WRITERS READING POEMS AND STORIES
co sponsored by NCWN West and John C Campbell Folk School

Contact:  Lucy Cole Gratton,  Cherokee Representative –NCWN West
828-494-2914

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Karen Paul Holmes will Teach a Poetry Class



WRITERS CIRCLE Studio IN HAYESVILLE, NC 










Hello, Poets and Writers,

Writers Circle studio in Hayesville holds the first class of the season on Saturday afternoon, March 22, 1 - 4 p.m.
Poet Karen Paul Holmes, Georgia Representative for Netwest and facilitator for Writers' Night Out, has prepared a workshop on a subject that is imperative for good poetry.


.
Express Yourself Through Poetry
Some of us are better than others when it comes to expressing emotion.
Yet the feeling in the poem is what connects it to the reader. In this class we'll explore how to free ourselves in third person or through a persona.
We'll look at examples of heartfelt poems that do not cross the dangerous bridge of sentimentality.
 
We'll also learn how humor can help communicate serious emotions -- like anger, grief, regret -- in poems that are both salty and sweet, that touch readers' emotional cores while also making them smile.
 
Class will include an optional prompt ahead of time, so you can bring a poem of your own to share.
We will begin taking registrations for this class on March 1. Space is limited.
 
Send a check for $35 to Writers Circle. Mail to 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904
 
 
 
Glenda C. Beall

Writers Circle

Friday, February 7, 2014

In Memory of Maxine Kumin - 1925- 2014



U S Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Poet Maxine Kumin died Yesterday,  Feb. 6, 2014.



"Our Ground Time Here Will Be Brief"










"Our Ground Time Here Will Be Brief"

by Maxine Kumin

Blue landing lights make
nail holes in the dark.
A fine snow falls. We sit
on the tarmac taking on
the mail, quick freight,
trays of laboratory mice,
coffee and Danish for
the passengers.

Wherever we're going
is Monday morning.
Wherever we're coming from
is Mother's lap.
On the cloud-pack above, strewn
as loosely as parsnip
or celery seeds, lie
the souls of the unborn:

my children's children's
children and their father.
We gather speed for the last run
and lift off into the weather.

"Our Ground Time Here Will Be Brief" by Maxine Kumin from Our Ground Time Here Will Be Brief. © Penguin, 1989