Writers Circle Around the Table again

I am excited because I have decided to start my writing classes again. I am looking at September and trying to decide whether to go virtual or teach in a classroom. 

I have heard from several writers who would like to teach for Writers Circle Around the Table again. Although I have only taught memoir writing for the past few years, I might think about doing a poetry workshop. 

I began learning to write poetry with a terrific teacher, the late poet, Nancy Simpson, and all of us who took her classes learned so very much from her. You can hear us talk about that in this video made when we honored her after her death. 

She taught us what makes a poem. She taught us how sound is so important in a poem, and that is something that you will find in my poetry. Also, metaphors are a part of poetry that many don't use enough. I have every handout she gave us and the lesson that went with it. 

I always loved poetry, but it was Nancy who taught me why.

Thanks to Raven Chiong, we have this photo of the poetry critique group she leads each month at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC.

Netwest Bee City Poets facilitated by Raven Chiong - standing, far right first row

This group meets at the Moss Memorial Library in Hayesville, NC on the first Thursday. All who write poetry are welcome.  

If you are just beginning to write poetry and want some good feedback on your work, this group has many experienced poets, published and knowledgeable. The first row in this photo includes Brenda Kay Ledford, Glenda Barrett, Mary Ricketson and Joan Howard who all have published poetry books and their poems have graced the pages of many journals and reviews. 

I am proud and I know Nancy would be proud of so many of her students who became outstanding members of NCWN-West and whose books now live in homes not only in the mountains but all over the country. 

Yes, I am getting the itch to work with writers, especially those who are just putting their toes in the water and who need to know more about their opportunities. 

I will be getting out the word when I schedule my class in September. Meanwhile, if you live in Hayesville, Murphy, or Hiawassee, GA let me know if you prefer to meet in a room or online.  gcbmountaingirl@gmail.com 

Here is a prompt if you need something to get you writing:  Begin by writing, I will never forget the time when ...

What Makes us Happy?

As I sit here on this beautiful Sunday afternoon, thoughts run through my mind and concerns slide in where they are unwanted. 

First, I think about my friend, Raven, and the book signing last Saturday. Several of us gave her a book party for her first published book, "Ode to the Still Small Voice, A Memoir of Listening."   This collection pays tribute to the still, small voice crying out to be heard and heeded. Raven's poems will inspire us to stop and listen.

Raven and her cake

It is said that people are happier in their sixties and above than at any other time in their lives.

I was in my fifties when Barry and I moved to North Carolina. The first year was exciting in many ways. I began taking writing classes with Nancy Simpson, but I was homesick for my home on the farm. My parents had died and leaving the home I had always known made me sad. But the fifteen years we spent here in the mountains were the happiest times of our lives together. Barry retired shortly after we settled in so we had lots of time to explore. We had a worn and rustic Jeep Wrangler and we often packed snacks and drinks and loaded Kodi, our Samoyed, on board and drove up as many roads as we liked exploring our new territory. We bought a pontoon boat and from a quiet cove, we watched sunsets over Lake Chatuge in spring, summer, and fall. 

We should all be happy that we have lived to be old enough to be retired, free of the responsibilities we had when we were younger. Once we accept that we have run our race and have no more mountains to climb, we can relax and do things we never had time to do when we were younger. Studies show that people in their forties are the most unhappy. That is when parents are sending their children to college or worrying about teenagers getting in trouble, wondering if they have done a good job with their own lives. 

It seems to me that stress is what makes people unhappy, the stress that keeps us up at night. But if your health begins to fail about the time you are ready to say goodbye to the nine-to-five schedule, another kind of stress hits. I remember how my brother, Ray, looked forward to finally having time to play golf, play tennis, and travel with his wife to faraway places. He planned to take long vacations and see the world. He had earned that pleasure, but too soon he was diagnosed with cancer. He was told he might have three years to live. He packed as much into those three years as he possibly could. 

I like to see men and women smell the roses while they still have a job or retire early if they can so they are young enough and healthy enough to relax and just enjoy their freedom and the fruits of their labor. 

One of my nephews is selling his house in the city and is buying a house with a pool a few blocks from the beach. He is still working but is not waiting for retirement. With his children grown and on their own, he and his wife can finally have time as Barry and I did to spend time together just having fun. 

When you are in your twenties, you feel like you have forever, but the years begin to fly by, and soon you can't believe you have your fortieth birthday. In our youth worshiping culture, we hate getting older as if it is the worst thing possible, but I look at some people in their seventies, eighties, and even nineties and see how content they are just being themselves. No need to try to be the prettiest girl at the party. It ain't going to happen at that age, but if you have a nice smile and share it, learn to listen to others and be truly interested in them, try to have meaningful conversations on subjects other than politics and religion, and laugh as much as you can, I think you can find that aging is not so bad after all. I find my happiness swells from having a good conversation with a good friend or my sister. 

Have a great week, my friends. Do something you enjoy every day. Laugh as often as you can. Remember those of us who socialize and spend time with others live longer. 

Write to me and tell me your thoughts on aging. 

Ode to the Still Small Voice, A Memoir of Listening  - order from Barnes and Noble