So not only did you teach me about writing memoir, you also taught me about reading and thinking about how others write memoir. Thank you so much! Rebecca

Accepting what is to come

You can’t change the direction of the wind, but you can adjust your sails.

Monday, September 9, 2013

Michael Diebert, last class for the 2013 season at Writers Circle, October 12



Michael Diebert, poetry editor for the Chattahoochee Review
 - Saturday, October 12, 2013

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Writers Circle Studio

Michael Diebert is poetry editor for The Chattahoochee Review and teaches writing and literature at Georgia Perimeter College in Atlanta.  He is the author of Life Outside the Set, available from Sweatshoppe Publications through amazon.com.  Recent poems have appeared and/or are forthcoming in The Comstock Review,jmww, and The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature.

Looking at the Poetic Line
Just as the sentence is arguably the fundamental unit of prose, the line is arguably the fundamental unit of poetry.  More than image, metaphor, concision, or imagination—all of which are also crucial elements—the line gives a poem essential force and significance.  We’ll briefly examine some theory of line, look at several poems’ uses of line, and discuss how more conscientious attention to this oft-overlooked element can inform and enrich our own poems’ potential.

Participants may email one original poem to Michael for inclusion in the discussion—preferably 30 lines or fewer.  His email address is crazyquilt67@gmail.com.  Please send poems no later than Friday, Oct. 5.

Register by sending a $40 check made to Glenda Beall and mail to 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904 or email: nightwriter0302@yahoo.com

Saturday, September 7, 2013

Robert Lee Brewer taught three hour workshop at Writers Circle Today.

A big thank you to the poets who came to Writers circle today for a class with Robert Brewer. Thank you for leaving off the perfume and other fragrance. I was able to enjoy every minute with these intelligent writers and with a very interesting instructor.


Although Robert has an important job with F & W media which publishes the Writer's Market, Poet's Market and Writer's Digest magazine, he is humble and unassuming about himself and his poetry. He wants to help writers as I do, so we have the same goals. And he wants to communicate through his poetry. I also feel that my purpose in writing prose or poetry is to communicate.

Here are a few photos I made of our class today.
 Robert Lee Brewer gave tips on revision and a handout to guide us in that endeavor. He also read to us from his new collection,
Solving the World's Problems, and from Escape, a chapbook.


L-R: Maren Mitchell, Rosemary Royston, Joan Howard, Janice Moore, Estelle Rice, Brenda Kay Ledford, Linda Jones, Staci Lynn Bell.

L-R: Estelle Rice, Brenda Kay Ledford, Linda Jones, Staci Lynn Bell

If you haven't taken a class at Writers Circle Around the Table this year, be sure to sign up for our next workshop on October 12 with Michael Diebert, poetry editor of The Chattahoochee Review. Remember our space is limited so don't wait too late to register.
Click on the Schedule page on this blog to see fees and how to mail your registration.


Friday, August 30, 2013

NCWN West has a new website

The North Carolina Writers' Network - West has a new website set up by our new Program Coordinator, Ellen Schofield. It is still "in process" but the new website will link to our original blog, www.netwestwriters.blogspot.com 
Visit the new site by clicking on the link below.
www.ncwriters-west.org


Ellen is making herself available to members, visiting events in all the counties as much as she can, and has started her new job with enthusiasm and energy. 

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Dana Wildsmith at Writers Circle in 2014

NEWS

Dana Wildsmith, a writer and poet I admire, lives outside Atlanta on an old family farm. She has been teaching at John C. Campbell Folk School for years but I've not been able to catch one of her classes.

So I recently asked her to teach at Writers Circle next year, 2014.
She said she would love to. We have been working on a date for her class which is to be for non-poets, memoirists, novelists, etc. as Dana writes poetry and prose. 

Today, she sent me an email and I was delighted to see that my friends at FutureCycle Press are publishing her new poetry book,
Christmas in Bethlehem.


I think we will have to have Dana come back in the fall and teach a workshop on poetry, don't you?

Friday, August 23, 2013

Reflections of Billy the Elder

I received this from Bill Ramsey today:

"My new book of essays, "Now That I Think About It - (Reflections of Billy the Elder),"  is now available in print from Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.  It is also available on all E-reader devices like Kindle and Nook. 
Concise, original essays on a wide variety of themes are intended to stimulate reader thinking. We need to think critically and not allow others to do our thinking for us. Be assured, as you read them, that I do not seek to have you agree with me."


"I had the help of preview readers, an editor, a book and cover designer. Their names are in the acknowledgements.
I tried to price it right so the paperback is $12.95 and the e-book version is $4.99. If you search Amazon.com and do a site search, it will be there. You can use their "Look Inside" feature to see the table of contents and a sample of the essays.
Your consideration of my book would be appreciated.
All the best, Bill Ramsey"

Bill is affiliated with the Blue Ridge Bookfest in Hendersonville, NC. His first book was about his childhood in the fifties and based on the success of that book, he has written the second book of personal essays. 

Bill is a member and supporter of the North Carolina Writers' Network and Netwest. Congratulations, Bill. I look forward to reading this book soon.


Friday, August 16, 2013

Interview with Ellen Schofield published on Netwest Website

Recently the new program coordinator for our writing group, NCWN West, a chapter of the North Carolina Writers' Network, answered some questions for an interview published on our Netwest website. 

Ellen Schofield impressed me with her plans to serve our mountain group as our leader. I see good things ahead for our writers and poets in the far west portion of the state. 

Ellen is from Montana, originally, but has lived in our area since 2006. Her husband, Paul Schofield, is an author of a science fiction trilogy. 

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Call for Submissions - Poetry and Flash Fiction

My friends at FutureCycle Press are calling for poetry and flash fiction submissions now. Take this opportunity to send in your work Diane Kistner and Robert S. King put out good books. Check out their website below.


Call for Submissions

FutureCycle Press is now reading poetry and flash fiction written in the English language for books, chapbooks, and anthologies to be published globally in both print-on-demand and Kindle ebook formats. We read year-round, simultaneous submissions are okay, and we try to respond within three months or less. Detailed guidelines and to submit: www.futurecycle.submittable.com. Catalog: www.futurecycle.org. (Tip: Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature is a great free way to get a feel for what we like. Also see our Good Works and Archives tabs and Free Kindle Saturdays promotions.)

GOOD WORKS PROJECTS

In 2013, FutureCycle Press introduced its Good Works projects, thematic anthologies with all proceeds donated to a related worthy cause. Previously published work is considered if all English-language print and digital rights have reverted to the author and a credit to the original publisher is provided.
Malala: Poems for Malala Yousafzai.Poems in honor, and in the spirit, of the young Pakistani girl shot on October 9, 2012, by the Taliban for bravely advocating for the education of girls in her region. Malala was runner-up for Time’s 2012 Person of the Year and has been nominated for a Nobel prize. We will publish this anthology to commemorate Malala Day, November 10, as declared by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. Reading Fee: None. Deadline: August 1.
Homeland: Writings About Homelessness. Poetry and flash fiction on the theme of homelessness with an emphasis on understanding. Reading Fee: None. Deadline: None.
Our Place: Writings About the Earth. Poetry and flash fiction dealing with themes of the environment, climate change, humans in the context of our ecosystems, etc. Reading Fee: None. Deadline: None.
Metamorphosis: Writings About Aging. Poetry and flash fiction on aging: the good, the bad, the ugly, the transcendent. Reading Fee: None. Deadline: None.

BOOKS AND CHAPBOOKS

Our tastes in poetry are eclectic; we ask only that you send fresh, well-honed work that hangs together well as a book. Our flash fiction line presents quick reads that can be serious or light-hearted, irreverent or quirky, fantastic or futuristic, or just plain fun. Include an acknowledgments page and bio with your submission. Reading Fee: $15. Deadline: None.

SELECTED POEMS SERIES

Our Selected Poems series will feature contemporary poets with a substantial body of work to their credit. Reading Fee: $15. Deadline: None.