POETRY WORKSHOP AT WESTERN CAROLINA UNIVERSITY

Dear Poets,

This is a special, intimate workshop--perfect for those of you who would especially like to write and share in a small group. It will be limited to thirteen participants and although we'll focus on poetry, it will be an inspiring gathering for all writers who want to pay close attention to language.

The Blue Mountains are a stunningly beautiful location--an ideal environment for inspiration and creativity.

If this sounds like the time and space for writing that you need, please join us!

Ellen BASS

THE WORLD SPLIT OPEN

A Writing New Poems Workshop

July 5-10, 2015

Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, NC

 

In 1968 the great poet Muriel Rukeyser wrote, “What would happen if one woman told the truth about her life?/ The world would split open.” This week all of us—men and women—will journey into that world of truth-telling.

But it isn't so easy to tell the truth. Not only do we need courage, but we need craft. As another great writer, Willa Cather said, "Only the artist . . . knows how difficult it is." And so we will study the craft together, reading model poems by contemporary poets and discussing central topics, such as the concept of discovery, image and metaphor, sentiment and sentimentality, and the power of sensory detail. We will engage our greatest resources—attention, precision, imagination—to bring our own new poems into being. We’ll strive for language that is accurate, fresh, and alive and we’ll learn strategies to help us write poems whose form, music, rhythm, diction, and meaning work together as a powerful whole.

With the inspiration of this gathering, expect to surprise yourself in making poems that are more vivid, more true, more beautiful and complex than you’ve ever written before. Both experienced and beginning poets are welcome, as are teachers of poetry. And because rich, textured, evocative language is the province of all writers, this workshop will be applicable to writers of fiction and memoir as well.

Levels: All
Class Size Limit: 13
Tuition: $795

For more information, email Norma Hendrix at norma@cullowheemountainarts.org.

Registration is now open for this workshop.

Click here to learn more and register

Please Note: Because The World Split Open workshop is limited in size, the registration, cancellation, and refund policies are different from other workshops at Cullowhee Mountain Arts. Registration must be accompanied by a 50% deposit when you register. Your full balance is due April 1, 2015. Registrations made after April 1, 2015 must be accompanied by payment in full. If you cancel before April 1, 2015 your payment will be refunded, minus your deposit. If you need to cancel for any reason after April 1, your payment will be refunded only if we can fill your space with someone from the wait list. Please let us know as soon as possible if you can’t come so we have the best chance of filling your space with another poet who would like to attend.

www.cullowheemountainarts.org

Cullowhee Mountain ARTS Office: 598 W. Main, Sylva, NC 28734 828.342.6913

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STORYTELLING AT YOUNG HARRIS COLLEGE

Becoming Part of the Story of Appalachia

A special announcement from Young Harris College:

Many people do not realize that Georgia has wild, beautiful mountains that are home to a rich legacy of Appalachian culture.  Young Harris College will celebrate Appalachian culture, particularly the spoken word tradition, during the first annual Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival to be held on the college campus April 10-11, 2015.  

The Festival will feature some of the brightest stars in storytelling, including Lloyd Arneach, Lyn Ford, Hannah Harvey, Andy Offutt Irwin, Bil Lepp, Minton Sparks, Cayce Terrell, Tom Lawrence, Jr., and Sweet Sunny South. Listeners of all ages will learn about the fascinating cultural history of Appalachia through storytelling and have the opportunity to become part of its preservation. Performances by  featured tellers will enrich and educate listeners.  Workshops taught by the tellers will enable festival-goers to claim their own voices and become storytellers themselves. The Festival will bring all of us a little closer together by showing that, as individuals and families, we share many of the same dreams, the same aspirations, the same stories.

To learn more about the event, purchase tickets, or make an online donation, go to http://gmsf.eventbrite.com

You can also find us under Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival on Facebook. Feel free to contact us at storytelling@yhc.edu or 706-379-5115. 

WRITING CLASS OFFERED IN HAYESVILLE, NC

Getting Back to the Basics of English Grammar 

 Paula Canup, writer, journalist and former English teacher, will present a workshop on

Saturday, March 7, 2015, at Writers’ Circle. 

Fee: $25

Phone: 828-389-4441

To register, mail check to:

 Writers Circle

581 Chatuge Lane

Hayesville, NC 28904 

Deadline for registration: March 3

Did you sleep through grammar class? Or was it so long ago you’ve forgotten most of what you learned?

This class is for all writers who want to submit polished work for consideration by agents, editors and publishers. It would also be good for those who find they need to brush up on writing skills for their job. We all make errors in grammar, punctuation and word usage. For some, writing dialogue is especially tricky.  Where do we place quotation marks? Does a question mark go inside or outside the quotation marks? These and many other questions about basic grammar will be addressed in this class.

Paula Canup is a former middle school English teacher who has also worked as a tutor in English grammar. 

After retiring from teaching, Paula wrote articles for a regional magazine, Southern Distinction. She later wrote regular columns for two local newspapers, The Leader in Oconee County, GA, and, locally, The Sentinel.  She worked for a year as a staff writer for the Clay County Progress. 

Paula still enjoys writing non-fiction and memoirs, though she currently focuses on painting as her means of artistic expression.  She and her husband moved to Hayesville, NC from Athens, GA, in 2008, and now live on the side of a mountain where they enjoy the natural beauty of “God’s Country.”

Glenda Council Beall

glendabeall@msn.com

HOW TO BE A SUCCESSFUL AUTHOR by Glenda Beall

http://glendacouncilbeall.blogspot.com/ click here if you want to know how to be a successful author. Also learn about writing workshops in the western NC and north Georgia mountains.   

WHERE ARE OUR YOUNG WRITERS STUDYING THESE DAYS?

Where are our young poets, fiction writers and creative nonfiction writers studying these days? Some are enrolled at Young Harris College in Young Harris, Georgia near the state line between Georgia and North Carolina, at the former 2 year college that for over 100 years was often number one in the nation and in recent years became a four year college with a strong English Department. 

The big news is these young students are competing among other young writers, three of them having just been named finalist in the 2015 Agnes Scott Creative Competition. 

Three YHC Students Become Finalists in Prestigious Writing Competition

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

Three Young Harris College Students Become Finalists in Prestigious Writing Competition

Three Young Harris College students are achieving success in YHC’s blossoming creative writing program. English majors Alison Missler, a senior from Maysville, Emma Jones, a junior from East Ellijay, and Sarah Boudreau, a sophomore from Cumming, were recently selected as nonfiction finalists in the 44th Annual Agnes Scott Writer’s Festival Contest. Representing three out of only five finalists, YHC’s showing in the contest is nothing short of impressive.

“It’s extremely difficult to become a finalist in the Agnes Scott Writers’ Festival Contest,” said Director of the Creative Writing Program and Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing Chelsea Rathburn. “The competition is open to graduate and undergraduate students across the state of Georgia, and Alison, Emma, and Sarah’s work was read alongside that of writers in Ph.D. programs. This is a huge accomplishment.”

YHC creative writing students are encouraged to submit their best work to various publications and contests throughout the year. The Agnes Scott Writers’ Festival Contest is a statewide writing competition for colleges and universities in poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. The finalists’ works are published in the festival’s magazine, and prestigious visiting writers select the prizewinners in each genre.

“YHC has given me many opportunities to have my work published both locally and statewide including the College’s Corn Creek Review and the Agnes Scott Writing Festival Contest,” said Jones. “The creative writing program’s workshops give me a chance to get feedback which is very helpful if you are aiming to have your work published.”

Beginning with an introductory course that covers multiple genres of writing in their sophomore year, creative writing students participate in writing workshops in their areas of interest. By their senior year, students will have honed in on a specific type of writing or genre.

“The workshop is at the heart of any creative writing program,” said Rathburn. “What sets YHC apart, though, is our small class sizes which allow for one-on-one mentoring from faculty. Our curriculum has been carefully designed to offer students both rigor and the flexibility to pursue their passions.”

The program has gracefully completed the transition from a track-based appendage of the English major to becoming its own fully fledged major at YHC. While current senior English majors could not enjoy all four years of the new program, many can attest to the impact these courses have had on their education.

“I look back at my poems from two years ago and I feel like I was a completely different writer,” said Missler, who is also a finalist in the fiction genre category of the Agnes Scott Writers’ Festival Contest. “The English department is continually growing stronger. It’s a wonderful feeling to be a senior and recognize how I’ve grown over the past four years and still see so much potential for the future.”

The major has expanded the number of creative writing classes at YHC while continuing to offer students a strong foundation in literature. Students study the form and theory of poetry or narrative, participate in advanced workshops, and complete an extended creative project their senior year.

“My classes have been fantastic and my professors have helped me engage with and think critically about the material,” said Boudreau. “I’m taking some really interesting courses this semester that make me excited to get up and go to class every day.”

According to Rathburn, the goal of YHC’s creative writing program is to provide an ideal curriculum that prepares students for writing, publishing and various other career opportunities following graduation. Having spent a number of years in the marketing and communications field, Rathburn anticipates a growing demand for quality writers.

“Many of my clients were thrilled to know that I had a strong background in creative writing,” said Rathburn. “From writing for websites, press releases, advertising, and editing magazines or books to attending graduate school or writing the next ‘Great American Novel,’ our creative writing majors can pursue many career opportunities.”

Prizewinners of each category will be announced during the Agnes Scott Writer’s Festival Contest and receive $500 dollars. Finalists will be given the opportunity to read their pieces during the Festival, which takes place in March.

“I can’t say enough how proud I am of Sarah, Emma and Alison,” said Rathburn. “They are all incredible writers and very deserving of this honor.” 

YHC English majors Sarah Boudreau, Emma Jones and Alison Missler were selected as finalists in the Agnes Scott Writer's Festival Contest. They are seen here with Assistant Professor of English and Creative Writing Chelsea Rathburn.

CELEBRATING THE POEMS OF KIT BORDEN

FOUR POEMS BY KIT BORDEN

Wild Things

Yellow-headed step-children, 

Persistent and wild, taking,

Taking orders from no one, uninvited

Each year appearing in the garden,

Blooming and sending out

Fluffy and white balls of seed

My children will wish on.

Each year more numerous

Than the year before,

Bringing friends with you,

Filling the garden of neat green

With dots of yellow.

Our ancestors did not call you weeds.

You gave them wine, coffee, and greens

And they called you dandelions. 

Beginnings

How does a sea creature know how?

    Who teaches a scallop to furl?

    Why does a sand dollar grow flat,

And conchs grow their homes in tight whirls?

     Oysters and clams have dull colors

    And coquinas grow rainbow arrays.

     Wondrous things along the seashore

   Never cease to amaze.

When we go looking for seashells,

    do we wonder where it all began?

Creatures so different and intricate,

    All taken for granted by man.

And She Laughed

"Caretakers of the world,

    unite, revolt," I said.

She laughed, my mother,

    Caretaker of my years.

She was dying, and she laughed.

    "You need to put the tablemats

Away at night," she had said.

  She couldn't control the cancer,

So she worried about small things.

    And she laughed.

Orange and Purple Sunset

How does God find the time each day

To paint the sky in bright array?

I'm traveling early morning roads

When the palette in the sky explodes.

It never ceases to amaze

To watch the sky become ablaze
As sunrise lifts o'er mountain haze

And colors come in streaks and rays.

It's times like these--cool, crisp, and clear--

I see his work, and God is near. 

The poems above by Kit Borden were first published in Out of Our Hearts and Minds, Poetry and Prose by the Transylvania Writers' Alliance (2006).

About the Poet:
Catherine (Kit) Townsend Borden was born in Charleston, South Carolina, but now lives with her husband David in Transylvania County with magnificent views of the mountains. However, Charleston and the sea still hold a special place in her heart, as do the beauty and friendships she finds while traveling in Mexico. She has taught all ages from preschoolers to adults, but children are her favorites, and she has written a number of stories for them. Kit also participates in fundraisers to raise funds for multiple sclerosis research, riding along on her scooter for fifty mile walks. She also used sales from the Transylvania Writers' Alliance's 2006 anthology to add additional moneys to that research. 

    

Our Fellow NC Writers' Netwest Writer Barbara Steelman Groce has Died

Sad as my heart is tonight hearing the news of Barbara's passing, I find I can only face this loss as she would want me to --by celebrating her life and more than that, by celebrating her gift for poetry. 

I first met Barbara Groce at Coffee With the Poets in Hayesville,  NC. One  week later she took my poetry writing class at John C. Campbell Folk School. I will always remember how she breezed in each day, dressed as if at a special event, always with a smile, always writing poems from the heart. In the photo below, I remember I asked her if she planned her outfit to match the silk flowers on our table. I was impressed with Barbara's poems and celebrated her poems and featured her on my poetry blog three different times. In March 2013 she was featured as Poet of the Month. (To read three posts about Barbara and her poems, click on the http addresses below.) 

 Barbara Groce at another  poetry class at John C. Campbell Folk School.

To read more about Barbara Steelman Groce and her Poetry, see posts from Nancy Simpson's LIVING ABOVE THE FROST LINE BLOG BELOW. 

CELEBRATING POET OF THE MONTH BARBARA GROCE MARCH 7, 2013
http://nancysimpson.blogspot.com/2013/07/celebrating-poet-of-month-barbara-groce.html

LET US CELEBRATE POEMS BY BARBARA GROCE MARCH-7-2013

http://nancysimpson.blogspot.com/2013/07/let-us-celebrate-poems-by-barbara-groce.html

Four Poems Meet Appalachian Poet May 2010

http://nancysimpson.blogspot.com/2010/05/four-poems-meet-appalachian-born-
poet.html


Below, written by her family.

Barbara Groce, 82, passed away in her home, February 2, 2015, 2015 following a brief illness.  She is survived by her husband Bill, three children, Hal of Charlotte, NC, Marti and Clark of Woodstock, GA, along with six grandchildren, Hal and Sherri’s children Erin and Zachary of Charlotte, Clark and Stacy’s children, Megan, Claire, Caroline of Asheville and Woodstock and Marti’s daughter Gabbi of Woodstock.  She is also survived by sister, Susan Webb, Stantonsburg, NC, and two brothers, Robert of Danville, PA and Harold of Holly Springs, NC. 

Born in St. Charles, a small coal mining community in western Virginia, Barbara moved to Kinston, North Carolina at age nine.   She graduated from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro and earned a Master’s in Education from Eastern Carolina University.  Barbara taught in the North Carolina Public School System.  She met her husband Bill in Charlotte, NC where their three children were born.  Barbara retired from teaching with the birth of their first child.  Barbara held a lifelong love of art, particularly hand crafted items.   She built a successful business making wooden ornaments when they moved to Asheville, NC.  She and friends started a successful handcraft business and opened a cross stitch shop in Charlotte.  Upon moving to Atlanta in 1983, Barbara turned her energy to North Fulton Community Charities where she was a regular, working in the intake section.

Upon moving to the North Georgia Mountains in 2007, she turned to poetry as an outlet for the childhood and lifetime memories pressing for release.  Although she had never written, she poured her energy into learning.  She attended a number of classes and workshops, including the annual Writer’s Conference sponsored by the Blue Ridge Arts Center.  Numerous area, regional and national poets shared generously to mentor her. Barbara is a member of the Georgia Poetry Society, North Carolina Writers Network, the Kentucky State Poetry Society, the Shallow Enders and her local church poetry group.  

Barbara’s poems have been published in Pegasus, journal of the Kentucky State Poetry Society, Reach of Song, 2011, annual publication of the Georgia Poetry Society, Wild Goose Poetry Review, Spring 2011 and local newspapers.  She has won awards from the Kentucky State Poetry Society (2009, 2010, 2011) and the Illinois State Poetry Society (2010).  She published two Chapbooks, Appalachian Girl and Christmas Legends and in 2012 Cardinal House Publishing released a comprehensive collection of her poems entitled the Dancing Years.

Despite success building handcraft businesses and a late life poetry career, Barbara’s priority was her family, particularly her grandchildren.  She has left a strong legacy.  Her poetry reflects her character and values and will reinforce her influence through generations.   

In lieu of flowers, the family encourages contributions to the Blue Ridge Mountains Art Association, Writers Conference.  Checks should be made to BRMAA with Barbara Groce on the memo line.  The Art Center will know to direct the funds to benefit the Writer’s Conference.  The mailing address is 420 W. Main St., Blue Ridge, GA 30513.

Please leave a comment. Comments will be shared with Barbara's family.

SHELBY DEAN STEPHENSON INDUCTED AS N. C. POET LAUREATE

photo by Sylvia Freeman

ON  FEB 2, 2015, poet Shelby Dean Stephenson, born June 14, 1938, was honored and inducted as  North Carolina's new Poet Laureate by Governor Pat McCrory at the NC State Capitol Building in Raleigh with a huge crowd looking on.  

Former Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti said "Stephenson was born to be NC Poet Laureate. He truly is the voice of North Carolina."

"There could be no one more representative of North Carolina , no one more open hearted or more lyrical than Shelby Stephenson" said UNC Chapel Hill Professor and poet Paul Jones.  "Who else could charm both governors and poets alike?"

SHELBY DEAN STEPHENSON

Born: June 14, 1938, in Johnston County near the town of Benson

Family: Married Linda Letchworth Wilson in 1966 and they have two children

Education: B.A., UNC-Chapel Hill, 1960; M.A., University of Pittsburgh, 1967; Ph.D, University of Wisconsin, 1974

Career: English department chair at Campbell College, 1974-1978; English professor at UNC-Pembroke and editor of Pembroke magazine, 1978 until his retirement in 2010

Awards include: 2001 North Carolina Award for Literature, 2004-2005 North Carolina Poetry Society Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet, 2014 induction into NC Literary Hall of Fame

Published works include: “Plankhouse” (1993), “Possum” (2004), “Finch’s Mask” (1990) and “The Persimmon Tree Carol” (2002), as well as four albums of music.

WOMAN IN THE MIRROR, poem by Glenda Beall

Here is a poem for women, spoken by a woman. Click to read it. 
Click to readhttp://avagabonde.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-intermission-no-14-entracte-woman.html

Glenda Beall, author of NOW MIGHT AS WELL BE THEN.

FINISHING LINE PRESS