Saturday, December 26, 2009
SC state parks Artist-in-Residence Program
The South Carolina State Parks system notified me earlier this week that I've been selected for their 2010 Artist-in-Residence program. Very exciting news! My week-long residency will be at Oconee State Park, Mountain Rest, the third week in May. After living in a cabin there for the week--exploring the park and spending time writing about its flora and fauna--I'll turn in a framed poem to be hung somewhere in one of the cabins or other facility on their grounds. I was told that only one poet was selected for 2010, and I'm honored to be that poet.
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Pushcart Prize nomination
The editors of Cave Wall, a literary journal of poetry and art, notified me this week that they have nominated my poem "Landmark Inn" for a Pushcart Prize. I am truly honored and grateful. The poem appeared in the fifth issue of the journal, along with poems by Christopher Buckley, J. P. Dancing Bear, Kathryn Kirkpatrick, and other poets I'm proud to be published with. Here is the table of contents of that issue, with a link to my poem:
Cave Wall, issue 5
Cave Wall, issue 5
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
2010 Litchfield (SC) Tea & Poetry Series
2010 Litchfield Tea & Poetry Series
Cosponsors:
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Coastal Carolina University
&
The Poetry Society of South Carolina
______________________________________
Please join us for these five free events, our fourth year
featuring a whole slate of talented poets.
Litchfield Tea & Poetry Series
First Thursday, Jan. - May
3 - 4 p.m.
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Wilbrook Boulevard
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
Book signing after the reading
Refreshments: homemade confections by Deloris Roberts
Free & open to the public
843-349-4032
____________
Jan. 7: Kurtis Lamkin – Kickoff reading with music
Kurtis Lamkin—a poet who plays the Kora, a beautiful 21-string West African instrument—has performed internationally at festivals, concerts halls, prisons, and universities. He has also performed on many radio and television shows and was one of the featured poets on Bill Moyers’ Fooling with Words television special, as well as the children‘s show, Deputy Billy. His animated poem “The Foxes Manifesto” aired for two years on PBS. His poems have been published in numerous anthologies, such as Elements of Literature, The Paterson Review, and New City Voices. He is currently touring with his latest CD, “Magic Yams.” We feel very lucky to have Kurtis with us to kick off our 2010 series!
____________
Feb. 4: Barbara G. S. Hagerty, Ray McManus
Barbara G.S. Hagerty is author of The Guest House (Finishing Line Press, 2009). Her poems, essays, and columns have appeared in a wide variety of national and regional publications. A member of Richard Garcia's Long Table Poets workshop in Charleston, she holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from The Johns Hopkins University.
Ray McManus is the author of two collections of poetry: Left Behind (Stepping Stones Press) and Driving through the country before you are born (USC Press, 2007), winner of the SC Poetry Book Prize. His poetry has appeared in many journals throughout the United Sates and Canada. He is an Assistant Professor of English at USC Sumter.
____________
Mar. 4: Libby Bernardin & Local Poets
Libby Bernardin conducts four poetry workshops a year for OLLI. She is the author of The Book of Myth (Stepping Stones Press, 2009), and her work appears in Notre Dame Review, Kakalak, and other journals. She is retired from teaching English at the University of South Carolina and serves on the board of the South Carolina Academy of Authors. Reading with her are colleagues and members of the OLLI poetry workshops: Nancy Jean Hill, Susan Scheno, George Sharwell, Bob Jones, Charlotte Hedler, Michelle Ott, Susan Clancy, and Anne Pott.
____________
Apr. 1: Pat Riviere-Seel, Al Maginnes
Pat Riviere-Seel is the author of The Serial Killer’s Daughter (Main Street Rag Publishing, 2009), which won the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry, and No Turning Back Now (Finishing Line Press, 2004). A former political reporter for The Fayetteville Observer, she received her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. She and her husband live in Asheville, NC.
Al Maginnes is the author of six poetry collections, most recently Ghost Alphabet, which won the 2007 White Pine Poetry Prize; Dry Glass Blues (Pudding House, 2007); and Film History (Word Tech Editions, 2005). His poems have also appeared in many national and regional journals. He lives in Raleigh, NC, where he teaches at Wake Technical Community College.
___________
May 6: Sheridan Hough, Daniel Nathan Terry
Sheridan Hough is the author of The Hide (Inleaf Press, 2007). Her poetry has also appeared in Kakalak 2009: Anthology of Carolina Poets and many literary magazines. In 1983 she won a poetry scholarship from the National Society of Arts and Letters. She is Professor of Philosophy at the College of Charleston.
Daniel Nathan Terry is the author of Capturing the Dead (NFSPS Press, 2008), winner of the Stevens Poetry Prize. His poetry has appeared, or is forthcoming, in The MacGuffin, Weber: The Contemporary West, The Adirondack Review, Kakalak, and Oberon. He is enrolled in the MFA in Creative Writing at UNC-Wilmington, where he also teaches.
____________________________________________
For further info about the featured poets,
contact Susan Meyers, BardOwl2@aol.com
Check out the Tea & Poetry Series group on Facebook.
Cosponsors:
Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Coastal Carolina University
&
The Poetry Society of South Carolina
______________________________________
Please join us for these five free events, our fourth year
featuring a whole slate of talented poets.
Litchfield Tea & Poetry Series
First Thursday, Jan. - May
3 - 4 p.m.
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Wilbrook Boulevard
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
Book signing after the reading
Refreshments: homemade confections by Deloris Roberts
Free & open to the public
843-349-4032
____________
Jan. 7: Kurtis Lamkin – Kickoff reading with music
Kurtis Lamkin—a poet who plays the Kora, a beautiful 21-string West African instrument—has performed internationally at festivals, concerts halls, prisons, and universities. He has also performed on many radio and television shows and was one of the featured poets on Bill Moyers’ Fooling with Words television special, as well as the children‘s show, Deputy Billy. His animated poem “The Foxes Manifesto” aired for two years on PBS. His poems have been published in numerous anthologies, such as Elements of Literature, The Paterson Review, and New City Voices. He is currently touring with his latest CD, “Magic Yams.” We feel very lucky to have Kurtis with us to kick off our 2010 series!
____________
Feb. 4: Barbara G. S. Hagerty, Ray McManus
Barbara G.S. Hagerty is author of The Guest House (Finishing Line Press, 2009). Her poems, essays, and columns have appeared in a wide variety of national and regional publications. A member of Richard Garcia's Long Table Poets workshop in Charleston, she holds an M.A. in Creative Writing from The Johns Hopkins University.
Ray McManus is the author of two collections of poetry: Left Behind (Stepping Stones Press) and Driving through the country before you are born (USC Press, 2007), winner of the SC Poetry Book Prize. His poetry has appeared in many journals throughout the United Sates and Canada. He is an Assistant Professor of English at USC Sumter.
____________
Mar. 4: Libby Bernardin & Local Poets
Libby Bernardin conducts four poetry workshops a year for OLLI. She is the author of The Book of Myth (Stepping Stones Press, 2009), and her work appears in Notre Dame Review, Kakalak, and other journals. She is retired from teaching English at the University of South Carolina and serves on the board of the South Carolina Academy of Authors. Reading with her are colleagues and members of the OLLI poetry workshops: Nancy Jean Hill, Susan Scheno, George Sharwell, Bob Jones, Charlotte Hedler, Michelle Ott, Susan Clancy, and Anne Pott.
____________
Apr. 1: Pat Riviere-Seel, Al Maginnes
Pat Riviere-Seel is the author of The Serial Killer’s Daughter (Main Street Rag Publishing, 2009), which won the Roanoke-Chowan Award for Poetry, and No Turning Back Now (Finishing Line Press, 2004). A former political reporter for The Fayetteville Observer, she received her MFA from Queens University of Charlotte. She and her husband live in Asheville, NC.
Al Maginnes is the author of six poetry collections, most recently Ghost Alphabet, which won the 2007 White Pine Poetry Prize; Dry Glass Blues (Pudding House, 2007); and Film History (Word Tech Editions, 2005). His poems have also appeared in many national and regional journals. He lives in Raleigh, NC, where he teaches at Wake Technical Community College.
___________
May 6: Sheridan Hough, Daniel Nathan Terry
Sheridan Hough is the author of The Hide (Inleaf Press, 2007). Her poetry has also appeared in Kakalak 2009: Anthology of Carolina Poets and many literary magazines. In 1983 she won a poetry scholarship from the National Society of Arts and Letters. She is Professor of Philosophy at the College of Charleston.
Daniel Nathan Terry is the author of Capturing the Dead (NFSPS Press, 2008), winner of the Stevens Poetry Prize. His poetry has appeared, or is forthcoming, in The MacGuffin, Weber: The Contemporary West, The Adirondack Review, Kakalak, and Oberon. He is enrolled in the MFA in Creative Writing at UNC-Wilmington, where he also teaches.
____________________________________________
For further info about the featured poets,
contact Susan Meyers, BardOwl2@aol.com
Check out the Tea & Poetry Series group on Facebook.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Yesterday's poetry workshop
Thanks to those who attended yesterday's workshop at the CCU Waccamaw Center on "Writing toward a Poem's Mystery." Our discussion and close reading of the poems in the class packet has left me with much to think about, and I hope it has for the others in the class, too. Plus, I enjoyed hearing everyone read the new poems started in class yesterday--not to mention the pleasure that our group poem brought us all.
The workshop I'll be teaching in the spring semester will be "The Usefulness of Silence," which will include some of these considerations: A poem’s silences fulfill a purpose just as the words do. Thus, poets need to know how to use white space, punctuation, elliptical syntax, the unspoken—and the many other ways to be silent in a poem. We’ll read sample published poems, discuss how they manage their silences, and write poems of our own.
I'm already looking forward to it.
The workshop I'll be teaching in the spring semester will be "The Usefulness of Silence," which will include some of these considerations: A poem’s silences fulfill a purpose just as the words do. Thus, poets need to know how to use white space, punctuation, elliptical syntax, the unspoken—and the many other ways to be silent in a poem. We’ll read sample published poems, discuss how they manage their silences, and write poems of our own.
I'm already looking forward to it.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009 -- Workshop: Writing toward a Poem's Mystery
Workshop: Writing toward a Poem's Mystery
Saturday, Oct. 24, 2009
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Wilbrook Boulevard
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
OLLI at Coastal Carolina University
Instructor, Susan Meyers
Some of the most enduring poems, those that bear repeated readings, can claim both clarity and mystery. A poem’s mystery is partly what accounts for its leaps, when some of the work of connecting—of getting from here to there—is left to the reader. The class will include writing activities and a resource packet.
Lunch can be purchased at a nearby deli, or bring your own.
Registration, $30: Coastal Carolina University Lifelong Learning, 843-349-4032 or www.coastal.edu/outreach.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Aug. 18-25, 2009: Poem featured at Linebreak
I love having a poem on Linebreak, partly because each week the online journal offers an audio of the featured poem. This week I'm happy that my poem "Dear Happenstance" is featured there, read by Josh Brown.
This poem is included in my book manuscript "My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass," now being circulated.
This poem is included in my book manuscript "My Dear, Dear Stagger Grass," now being circulated.
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Jul. 31-Aug. 1, 2009: NC Writers Conference
July 31 - August 1, 2009
North Carolina Writers Conference
Little River Golf & Resort
Carthage / Pinehurst, NC
"Our 60th Splendid Summer"
Ruth Moose, Honoree
What a pleasure it was for Sally Logan, Pat Riviere-Seel, and me to plan this year's NC Writers Conference honoring Ruth Moose, of Pittsboro. Each year at the end of July, Conference members and their guests meet at a different location across North Carolina to hold programs and honor a North Carolina writer or literary leader at the Saturday night banquet.
Ruth Moose—highly regarded writer, editor, critic, and teacher—was chosen for her talents as a writer and long-time teacher and leader in the literary community. She is the author of numerous books of fiction and poetry. Her short story collections include Rules and Secrets (Pure Heart Press, Main Street Rag Publisher), a reissue of stories from the earlier books The Wreath Ribbon Quilt and Other Stories and Dreaming in Color. Her poetry collections include Making the Bed (Sandstone Publishing), Smith Grove (Sow’s Ear Press), Finding Things in the Dark (Briarpatch Press), To Survive (Book Mark Press, Univ. of Missouri), as well as her just-released collection The Librarian and Other Poems (Main Street Rag Publishing).
Ruth is on the Creative Writing Faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill, a position she has held since 1996. Her work has been published in Atlantic Monthly, New Delta Review, Yankee, The Nation, Christian Century, Southern Poetry Review, and numerous other magazines and literary journals. It has also frequently been anthologized and taught in classes. Her honors include several PEN Awards for Syndicated Fiction, a Robert Ruark Award for Short Story, North Carolina Writers Fellowship, MacDowell Fellowship, and Oscar Arnold Young Book Award for Poetry.
Friday night's Conference program offered an abbreviated performance of "A Thousand Things Time Will Never Let Us Say: The Correspondence of James & Katharine Boyd and Friends," a readers' theater performance based on years of research done by author Stephen Smith. It was performed by Stephen Smith, Shelby Stephenson, Marsha Warren, and friends. Afterward Ruth read from The Librarian. Mostly she chose humorous poems for her reading--and kept the audience bent double with laughter.
Saturday's program, planned by Sally Logan, consisted of two morning panels. The first was "On Readings, Reviews, and Interviews," by Kay Grismer, The Country Bookshop; Faye Dasen, Features Editor, The Pilot; and D. G. Martin, host of NC Bookwatch. The second panel on "Writing for Children and Young Adults" was offered by authors Eleanora E. Tate, Lisa Williams Kline, and Joyce Moyer Hostetter.
The Saturday afternoon program, presented by Georgann Eubanks, was a virtual literary tour of the Piedmont region of North Carolina, focusing on writers' houses. Her program was based on the second volume of her three-part series, North Carolina Literary Trails. Each volume features numerous trails mapped out for either the mountains, Piedmont, or coast.
At the Saturday night banquet--emceed by Joy Acey--Sally Buckner, Bland Simpson, John York, and Valerie Yow paid tribute to Ruth. Also, letters of tribute from Mignon Ballard, Joseph Bathanti, Doris Betts, Marianne Gingher, Johnsie Markham, Dannye Romine Powell, and Dartha Whitis were read.
The NCWC, begun in 1950, celebrated its theme of “Our 60th Splendid Summer” this year. Chairing this event was a huge task, but it brought me great satisfaction to see about a hundred members and guests coming together to enjoy the programs, visit with fellow authors and friends, honor Ruth Moose, and look back with fondness at the organization's past. Next year's Conference, chaired by Sally Logan, will honor author and musician Bland Simpson.
North Carolina Writers Conference
Little River Golf & Resort
Carthage / Pinehurst, NC
"Our 60th Splendid Summer"
Ruth Moose, Honoree
What a pleasure it was for Sally Logan, Pat Riviere-Seel, and me to plan this year's NC Writers Conference honoring Ruth Moose, of Pittsboro. Each year at the end of July, Conference members and their guests meet at a different location across North Carolina to hold programs and honor a North Carolina writer or literary leader at the Saturday night banquet.
Ruth Moose—highly regarded writer, editor, critic, and teacher—was chosen for her talents as a writer and long-time teacher and leader in the literary community. She is the author of numerous books of fiction and poetry. Her short story collections include Rules and Secrets (Pure Heart Press, Main Street Rag Publisher), a reissue of stories from the earlier books The Wreath Ribbon Quilt and Other Stories and Dreaming in Color. Her poetry collections include Making the Bed (Sandstone Publishing), Smith Grove (Sow’s Ear Press), Finding Things in the Dark (Briarpatch Press), To Survive (Book Mark Press, Univ. of Missouri), as well as her just-released collection The Librarian and Other Poems (Main Street Rag Publishing).
Ruth is on the Creative Writing Faculty at UNC-Chapel Hill, a position she has held since 1996. Her work has been published in Atlantic Monthly, New Delta Review, Yankee, The Nation, Christian Century, Southern Poetry Review, and numerous other magazines and literary journals. It has also frequently been anthologized and taught in classes. Her honors include several PEN Awards for Syndicated Fiction, a Robert Ruark Award for Short Story, North Carolina Writers Fellowship, MacDowell Fellowship, and Oscar Arnold Young Book Award for Poetry.
Friday night's Conference program offered an abbreviated performance of "A Thousand Things Time Will Never Let Us Say: The Correspondence of James & Katharine Boyd and Friends," a readers' theater performance based on years of research done by author Stephen Smith. It was performed by Stephen Smith, Shelby Stephenson, Marsha Warren, and friends. Afterward Ruth read from The Librarian. Mostly she chose humorous poems for her reading--and kept the audience bent double with laughter.
Saturday's program, planned by Sally Logan, consisted of two morning panels. The first was "On Readings, Reviews, and Interviews," by Kay Grismer, The Country Bookshop; Faye Dasen, Features Editor, The Pilot; and D. G. Martin, host of NC Bookwatch. The second panel on "Writing for Children and Young Adults" was offered by authors Eleanora E. Tate, Lisa Williams Kline, and Joyce Moyer Hostetter.
The Saturday afternoon program, presented by Georgann Eubanks, was a virtual literary tour of the Piedmont region of North Carolina, focusing on writers' houses. Her program was based on the second volume of her three-part series, North Carolina Literary Trails. Each volume features numerous trails mapped out for either the mountains, Piedmont, or coast.
At the Saturday night banquet--emceed by Joy Acey--Sally Buckner, Bland Simpson, John York, and Valerie Yow paid tribute to Ruth. Also, letters of tribute from Mignon Ballard, Joseph Bathanti, Doris Betts, Marianne Gingher, Johnsie Markham, Dannye Romine Powell, and Dartha Whitis were read.
The NCWC, begun in 1950, celebrated its theme of “Our 60th Splendid Summer” this year. Chairing this event was a huge task, but it brought me great satisfaction to see about a hundred members and guests coming together to enjoy the programs, visit with fellow authors and friends, honor Ruth Moose, and look back with fondness at the organization's past. Next year's Conference, chaired by Sally Logan, will honor author and musician Bland Simpson.
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Thur., July 23: Reading at McIntyre's Fine Books
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Reading with Linda Annas Ferguson
7 p.m.
McIntyre's Fine Books
2000 Fearrington Village Center
Pittsboro, NC 27312
(off 15/501 just south of Chapel Hill and north of Pittsboro)
(919) 542-3030
Sponsored by the NC Poetry Society
Book signing to follow the reading.
Linda Annas Ferguson and I are happy to be included in the first year of the North Carolina Poetry Society Reading Series at McIntyre's. It's a monthly event, and our reading is coming up later this month. McIntyre's is a lovely independent bookstore that celebrated its 20th anniversary this past April. Please come to our reading if you're in the area.
Here are the details about our reading and the series:
___________________________________________________
Linda Annas Ferguson is the author of five collections of poetry: Dirt Sandwich, (forthcoming Press 53, September, 2009); Bird Missing from One Shoulder, Stepping on Cracks in the Sidewalk, Last Chance to Be Lost, and It’s Hard to Hate a Broken Thing. She was the 2005 Poetry Fellow for the South Carolina Arts Commission and served as the 2003-04 Poet-in-Residence for the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, S.C. A recipient of the Poetry Fellowship of the South Carolina Academy of Authors, she is a member of the Academy’s Board of Governors and was a featured poet for the Library of Congress Poetry at Noon Series.
Susan Meyers is a past president of the North Carolina Poetry Society and the Poetry Society of South Carolina. Her most recent book of poetry, Keep and Give Away, was the winner of the Brockman Campbell Book Award, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Book Award for Poetry, and was selected by Terrence Hayes for the SC Poetry Book award.
The reading series, featuring poets from the North Carolina Poetry Society, is presented monthly at McIntyre’s Fine Books in Fearrington Village. The event is ongoing, the 4th Thursday of every month except for November and December. Be sure to make a note to attend all of these great events:
July 23- Linda Annas Ferguson & Susan Meyers
August 27- Gail Peck & Barbara Presnell
September 24- Terri Erickson & Scott Owens
October 22- Grey Brown & Rhett Trull
Reading with Linda Annas Ferguson
7 p.m.
McIntyre's Fine Books
2000 Fearrington Village Center
Pittsboro, NC 27312
(off 15/501 just south of Chapel Hill and north of Pittsboro)
(919) 542-3030
Sponsored by the NC Poetry Society
Book signing to follow the reading.
Linda Annas Ferguson and I are happy to be included in the first year of the North Carolina Poetry Society Reading Series at McIntyre's. It's a monthly event, and our reading is coming up later this month. McIntyre's is a lovely independent bookstore that celebrated its 20th anniversary this past April. Please come to our reading if you're in the area.
Here are the details about our reading and the series:
___________________________________________________
Linda Annas Ferguson is the author of five collections of poetry: Dirt Sandwich, (forthcoming Press 53, September, 2009); Bird Missing from One Shoulder, Stepping on Cracks in the Sidewalk, Last Chance to Be Lost, and It’s Hard to Hate a Broken Thing. She was the 2005 Poetry Fellow for the South Carolina Arts Commission and served as the 2003-04 Poet-in-Residence for the Gibbes Museum of Art in Charleston, S.C. A recipient of the Poetry Fellowship of the South Carolina Academy of Authors, she is a member of the Academy’s Board of Governors and was a featured poet for the Library of Congress Poetry at Noon Series.
Susan Meyers is a past president of the North Carolina Poetry Society and the Poetry Society of South Carolina. Her most recent book of poetry, Keep and Give Away, was the winner of the Brockman Campbell Book Award, the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance Book Award for Poetry, and was selected by Terrence Hayes for the SC Poetry Book award.
The reading series, featuring poets from the North Carolina Poetry Society, is presented monthly at McIntyre’s Fine Books in Fearrington Village. The event is ongoing, the 4th Thursday of every month except for November and December. Be sure to make a note to attend all of these great events:
July 23- Linda Annas Ferguson & Susan Meyers
August 27- Gail Peck & Barbara Presnell
September 24- Terri Erickson & Scott Owens
October 22- Grey Brown & Rhett Trull
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Kakalak anthology is available
The fourth annual edition of Kakalak: Anthology of Carolina Poets has recently been released. Edited by Beth Cagle Burt, Richard Allen Taylor, and Lisa Zerkle, the anthology features poets and artists from North and South Carolina. Congratulations to this year's prize winners. Here's a partial listing:
Poetry Prize Winners
1st: "not the matter" by Heather Dearmon, Pelion, SC
2nd: "Scar" by Kimberly Glanzman, Charlotte, NC
3rd: "The Butcher's Dream" by Paul Fisher, Nags Head, NC
Visual Art Prize Winners
1st: "Country Kitchen" by Susan Fecho, Tarboro, NC
2nd: "Dreaming of Leo" by Karon Luddy, Charlotte, NC
3rd: "Runs in the Family" by Patz Fowle, Hartsville, SC
In addition, there were 16 Honorable Mentions in poetry:
Claire Armstrong, Michael Colonnese, Genie Cotner, Phebe Davidson, Allison Elrod, Alex Grant, Teresa Haskew, Alice Owens Johnson, Steve Lautermilch, Kit Loney, David T. Manning, Jeff Miles, Sally B. Miller, Leslie M. Rupracht, Brian Slusher, Eric A. Weil.
After four years of editing Kakalak, the editors have decided to take a hiatus for a year to rethink the project. I admire all the work they've done and continue to do! This year's anthology contains work by about a hundred or so poets and artists. There will be readings throughout the Carolinas once again this year to give folks a chance to hear the poets and see the art. I was pleased once again to have a poem included (below--the layout is not exactly accurate as posted here). Thanks for all your hard work as editors, Beth, Richard, and Lisa--enjoy your 2010 break!
Morning after the Hailstorm
On the porch floor the scattered green stars
that fell from the sweet gums.
Some torn & misshapen
as if to say the wish
will never come true. Pine scent
in the air,
the gravel drive littered
with pitched needles & limbs.
In the garden the beans
beaten down,
the herbs (peppers too) and, oh, the tattered
umbrellas of squash leaves.
It was a wild night of lashing,
a veil of steam rising. All the pummeling
& shredding.
All the loose bright green
flung
to the ground, soon to turn brown.
For a few early hours the tender
pretense (forget
the havoc) that the heart is cheerful
as birdsong. Till the sun, searing
a different truth, climbs higher.
Poetry Prize Winners
1st: "not the matter" by Heather Dearmon, Pelion, SC
2nd: "Scar" by Kimberly Glanzman, Charlotte, NC
3rd: "The Butcher's Dream" by Paul Fisher, Nags Head, NC
Visual Art Prize Winners
1st: "Country Kitchen" by Susan Fecho, Tarboro, NC
2nd: "Dreaming of Leo" by Karon Luddy, Charlotte, NC
3rd: "Runs in the Family" by Patz Fowle, Hartsville, SC
In addition, there were 16 Honorable Mentions in poetry:
Claire Armstrong, Michael Colonnese, Genie Cotner, Phebe Davidson, Allison Elrod, Alex Grant, Teresa Haskew, Alice Owens Johnson, Steve Lautermilch, Kit Loney, David T. Manning, Jeff Miles, Sally B. Miller, Leslie M. Rupracht, Brian Slusher, Eric A. Weil.
After four years of editing Kakalak, the editors have decided to take a hiatus for a year to rethink the project. I admire all the work they've done and continue to do! This year's anthology contains work by about a hundred or so poets and artists. There will be readings throughout the Carolinas once again this year to give folks a chance to hear the poets and see the art. I was pleased once again to have a poem included (below--the layout is not exactly accurate as posted here). Thanks for all your hard work as editors, Beth, Richard, and Lisa--enjoy your 2010 break!
Morning after the Hailstorm
On the porch floor the scattered green stars
that fell from the sweet gums.
Some torn & misshapen
as if to say the wish
will never come true. Pine scent
in the air,
the gravel drive littered
with pitched needles & limbs.
In the garden the beans
beaten down,
the herbs (peppers too) and, oh, the tattered
umbrellas of squash leaves.
It was a wild night of lashing,
a veil of steam rising. All the pummeling
& shredding.
All the loose bright green
flung
to the ground, soon to turn brown.
For a few early hours the tender
pretense (forget
the havoc) that the heart is cheerful
as birdsong. Till the sun, searing
a different truth, climbs higher.
New website for the SC Poetry Initiative
The South Carolina Poetry Initiative--a statewide organization offering services to poets, schools, and communities--will soon have a new website. There you'll find information about its poetry contests, programs, publications, and various projects. Directed by Kwame Dawes and Charlene Spearen, the Poetry Initiative is an organization with a truly inpired vision. Check back soon for a link to the new web address.
Friday, June 05, 2009
Sunday, Jun. 7: Art of the Farm Closing Celebration
Art of the Farm Closing Celebration
Sunday, June 7, 2009
6:00pm - 8:00pm
Riverbanks Zoo Botanical Garden Hosted by The SC Poetry Initiative, USC Arts Institute, and the USC Department of Art and Department of English
Phone: 8037775492
Email: youngce@Mailbox.sc.edu
I'll be reading poems at this event on Sunday evening. Here's the Poetry Initiative's description of the celebration:
This catered event is free and open to the public. The evening will include a poetry reading, a photography exhibit celebrating local farms, and a special guest speaker who will talk about the pleasures and rewards of sustainable farming and gardening in South Carolina. The University of South Carolina Greed Quad, the Agriculture Commission, and several local grocery stores will also have informative displays on this subject. As a part of the closing celebration, poets who participated in the April 7th children's workshop and the June 4th adult workshop will get to see select poems from that workshop published in a commemorative chapbook.
This event is sponsored by the University of South Carolina Arts Institute, the South Carolina Poetry Initiative, and the University of South Carolina's Department of Art and Department of English.
Don't miss this enriching and entertaining evening!
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Thursday, April 23: High school class
Thur., Apr. 23
"Writing Letters from Within" poetry workshop
Richland Northeast High
Columbia, SC
On April 23 I enjoyed teaching a poetry workshop for Barbara Thomson's students at Richland Northeast High School. Barbara, the director of PCA Literary Arts, combined three classes of students for our two-and-a-half hour-workshop. I chose "Writing Letters from Within" for our subject, giving us two group assignments and one individual assignment. What an impressive, talented group of student poets!
"Writing Letters from Within" poetry workshop
Richland Northeast High
Columbia, SC
On April 23 I enjoyed teaching a poetry workshop for Barbara Thomson's students at Richland Northeast High School. Barbara, the director of PCA Literary Arts, combined three classes of students for our two-and-a-half hour-workshop. I chose "Writing Letters from Within" for our subject, giving us two group assignments and one individual assignment. What an impressive, talented group of student poets!
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Post and Courier: The Writer's Corner
The Charleston Post and Courier has begun running interviews with local poets and writers in its Preview section. Here are some of the recent interviews, by reporter Katrina Robinson:
Susan Meyers, March 19
Sean Scapellato, March 12
Barbara Hagerty, February 12
Thanks to Katrina and to Marcus Amaker, editor of Preview, for all they do for the arts.
Susan Meyers, March 19
Sean Scapellato, March 12
Barbara Hagerty, February 12
Thanks to Katrina and to Marcus Amaker, editor of Preview, for all they do for the arts.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Apr. 18: Poetry@Paperwhites reading, Edgefield, SC
Poetry @ Paperwhites
Readings by Ray McManus & Susan Meyers
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Paperwhites, 102 Courthouse SquareEdgefield, South Carolina
2 p.m.
Book signing & reception of tea & cakes after the reading
Books available through Happy Bookday at Paperwhites
$5 admission (see below)
This year Edgefield, SC, is home to the inaugural spring poetry reading series Poetry @ Paperwhites, organized by poet Laurel Blossom. The readings, sponsored by Paperwhites and Edgefield Regional Arts, are open to the public. Paperwhites is in the old Mukashy Building, on the north side of the square.
There is a $5 admission for each reading to benefit the Edgefield Regional Arts & Cultural Center (ERA). ERA has obtained an option to purchase the old Edgefield Advertiser Building across the square from Paperwhites. Once acquired, the building will be converted into a theater and arts and cultural center, serving all of Edgefield County and beyond with live theater, movies, dance recitals, choral contests, music programs, school plays, graduations, and many other community activities. Laurel Blossom says, "We are excited about the prospects of the Arts and Cultural Center to continue the vibrant growth and development of Edgefield and our surrounding community."
Last month Poetry @ Paperwhites began its season by featuring poets Quitman Marshall and Carol Peters. On May 16 Linda Lee Harper and Ed Madden will read. I'm pleased to be a part of the series and to read on April 18 with Ray McManus, who won the 2006 SC Poetry Book Prize for Driving through the country before you are born. Please come if you're in the area. I've never been to Edgefield, so I'm looking forward to my first visit there.
Readings by Ray McManus & Susan Meyers
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Paperwhites, 102 Courthouse SquareEdgefield, South Carolina
2 p.m.
Book signing & reception of tea & cakes after the reading
Books available through Happy Bookday at Paperwhites
$5 admission (see below)
This year Edgefield, SC, is home to the inaugural spring poetry reading series Poetry @ Paperwhites, organized by poet Laurel Blossom. The readings, sponsored by Paperwhites and Edgefield Regional Arts, are open to the public. Paperwhites is in the old Mukashy Building, on the north side of the square.
There is a $5 admission for each reading to benefit the Edgefield Regional Arts & Cultural Center (ERA). ERA has obtained an option to purchase the old Edgefield Advertiser Building across the square from Paperwhites. Once acquired, the building will be converted into a theater and arts and cultural center, serving all of Edgefield County and beyond with live theater, movies, dance recitals, choral contests, music programs, school plays, graduations, and many other community activities. Laurel Blossom says, "We are excited about the prospects of the Arts and Cultural Center to continue the vibrant growth and development of Edgefield and our surrounding community."
Last month Poetry @ Paperwhites began its season by featuring poets Quitman Marshall and Carol Peters. On May 16 Linda Lee Harper and Ed Madden will read. I'm pleased to be a part of the series and to read on April 18 with Ray McManus, who won the 2006 SC Poetry Book Prize for Driving through the country before you are born. Please come if you're in the area. I've never been to Edgefield, so I'm looking forward to my first visit there.
Thur., Apr. 2: Two NC poets reading for Litchfield Tea & Poetry Series
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Litchfield Tea & Poetry
Barbara Conrad & Barbara Presnell
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Wilbrook Blvd.
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
3 p.m.
Book signing & reception to follow
Homemade cookies & confections by Delores Roberts
843-349-4032
Free & open to the public
Cosponsored by Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Coastal Carolina University
and The Poetry Society of South Carolina.
The final reading by featured guest poets for this year's Litchfield TEA & POETRY SERIES is tomorrow, and it's going to be another wonderful program. We've got extremely gifted North Carolina poets coming to read for us: Barbara Conrad, of Charlotte, and Barbara Presnell, of Lexington. I've known both poets for years, and I asked them to participate because I knew that those of you in the area will enjoy getting to know them and their fine poems.
Also, I've asked Barbara Conrad to demonstrate West African drumming for us, since she has been playing the drums for a number of years. Let's hope to hear a sample. A perfect pairing with poetry!
____________
Barbara Conrad, of Charlotte, NC, is author of The Gravity of Color and editor of Waiting for Soup, an anthology from Charlotte's homeless population. Her poems have been published in Tar River Poetry, Main Street Rag, Icarus, and Kakalak: Anthology of Carolina Poets. She works with the homeless, plays West African drums, and enjoys time with her two grown daughters.
North Carolina poet Barbara Presnell’s collection, Piece Work, won the 2006 Cleveland State University Poetry Center’s First Book Prize and was published by CSU in 2007. Her poems and short stories have been published in many journals, and she’s a recent recipient of the NC Arts Council Fellowship in Writing. Piece Work is the focus of an NC Touring Ensemble program to be performed across North Carolina later this year.
_____________
This is our third year of the series, thanks to Linda Ketron of Coastal Carolina University, who initiated it and directs it. If you're in the area, please come to hear the poems of some of the best poets in the region. And please help us to get the word out.
It has been my pleasure to have the lovely duty of lining up the roster for Litchfield Tea & Poetry for the past three years. We'll be back next January with the 2010 Tea & Poetry Series.
Litchfield Tea & Poetry
Barbara Conrad & Barbara Presnell
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Wilbrook Blvd.
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
3 p.m.
Book signing & reception to follow
Homemade cookies & confections by Delores Roberts
843-349-4032
Free & open to the public
Cosponsored by Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Coastal Carolina University
and The Poetry Society of South Carolina.
The final reading by featured guest poets for this year's Litchfield TEA & POETRY SERIES is tomorrow, and it's going to be another wonderful program. We've got extremely gifted North Carolina poets coming to read for us: Barbara Conrad, of Charlotte, and Barbara Presnell, of Lexington. I've known both poets for years, and I asked them to participate because I knew that those of you in the area will enjoy getting to know them and their fine poems.
Also, I've asked Barbara Conrad to demonstrate West African drumming for us, since she has been playing the drums for a number of years. Let's hope to hear a sample. A perfect pairing with poetry!
____________
Barbara Conrad, of Charlotte, NC, is author of The Gravity of Color and editor of Waiting for Soup, an anthology from Charlotte's homeless population. Her poems have been published in Tar River Poetry, Main Street Rag, Icarus, and Kakalak: Anthology of Carolina Poets. She works with the homeless, plays West African drums, and enjoys time with her two grown daughters.
North Carolina poet Barbara Presnell’s collection, Piece Work, won the 2006 Cleveland State University Poetry Center’s First Book Prize and was published by CSU in 2007. Her poems and short stories have been published in many journals, and she’s a recent recipient of the NC Arts Council Fellowship in Writing. Piece Work is the focus of an NC Touring Ensemble program to be performed across North Carolina later this year.
_____________
This is our third year of the series, thanks to Linda Ketron of Coastal Carolina University, who initiated it and directs it. If you're in the area, please come to hear the poems of some of the best poets in the region. And please help us to get the word out.
It has been my pleasure to have the lovely duty of lining up the roster for Litchfield Tea & Poetry for the past three years. We'll be back next January with the 2010 Tea & Poetry Series.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Monday, Mar. 23: Poetry class at Charleston Southern University
On Monday, March 23, I had the pleasure of being the guest instructor for a poetry class at Charleston Southern University of Charleston, SC. Ellen Hyatt, on the faculty in the Department of English there, invited me to come teach the day's class for her poetry-writing course. There are eight students in the course, a perfect size for a workshop.
For the day's session I chose the topic "Writing Letters from Within," on writing epistolary poems. Mainly we read a selection of poems from the class packet I had prepared, wrote a group poem, and then each wrote a postcard poem. I was impressed with the students' talents, interest, and participation. It was a rewarding experience for me.
For the day's session I chose the topic "Writing Letters from Within," on writing epistolary poems. Mainly we read a selection of poems from the class packet I had prepared, wrote a group poem, and then each wrote a postcard poem. I was impressed with the students' talents, interest, and participation. It was a rewarding experience for me.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Feb. 27 - Mar. 1: SC Book Festival
Books
from the panels
& readings
I'm working with
at the
SC Book Festival.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Feb. 27 - Mar. 1: South Carolina Book Festival
February 27 - March 1, 2009
South Carolina Book Festival
Convention Center
Columbia, SC
The South Carolina Book Festival is a much-anticipated event each year--a whole weekend of panels, readings, workshops, and presentations at the Convention Center in Columbia, SC.
I'm looking forward to being on a panel about the anthology After Shocks: The Poetry of Recovery for Life-Shattering Events, published by Sante Lucia Press. Tom Lombardo is the editor, and he'll be moderating the panel. Other participants are Laurel Blossom, Clinton Campbell, Ed Madden, and Marjory Wentworth. The panel is at 12:20 p.m. on Saturday, February 28.
Later that day, at 4:30 p.m., five of us are reading our poetry: Laurel Blossom, Tom Lombardo, Ray McManus, Marjory Wentworth, and I.
On Sunday at 11:30 a.m. I'm moderating a panel called "Poetry: Taking Risks," with panelists Dan Albergotti, Paul Allen, Linda Lee Harper, and Ed Madden. All four are SC teaching poets with new books. Dan's book is The Boatloads (BOA Editions); Paul's is Ground Forces (Salmon); Linda Lee's is Kiss, Kiss (Cleveland Poetry Center); and Ed's is Signals (Univ. of SC Press).
At 4:15 p.m. on Sunday I'll be introducing writers Ken Burger, Clinton Campbell, Lane Filler, and Linda Lee Harper, who will be reading from their latest books.
Check the South Carolina Book Festival website for further information.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Poem featured in Linebreak
My poem "Dear Atamasco Lily" is featured this week at the online journal Linebreak. Every week the site publishes a poem and provides a recording of it, as well as a brief bio of the poet. The poems are then archived at the site.
My thanks to the Linebreak editors for showcasing my work.
My thanks to the Linebreak editors for showcasing my work.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009: Poetry Writing Workshop--Word by Word
Poetry Writing Workshop: Word by Word
Sat., Feb. 7, 2009
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Willbrook Blvd.
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
OLLI at CCU class
Instructor, Susan Meyers
What could matter more to a poem than the poet’s choice of words? The aim is what critic Helen Vendler calls “arresting linguistic vitality.” This class will explore how a poem’s diction affects its texture, tone, energy—its every aspect, really. Includes writing activities and a resource packet.
Lunch can be purchased at a nearby deli, or bring your own.
Registration, $30: Coastal Carolina University Lifelong Learning,
843-349-4032 or www.coastal.edu/outreach.
Sat., Feb. 7, 2009
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Willbrook Blvd.
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
OLLI at CCU class
Instructor, Susan Meyers
What could matter more to a poem than the poet’s choice of words? The aim is what critic Helen Vendler calls “arresting linguistic vitality.” This class will explore how a poem’s diction affects its texture, tone, energy—its every aspect, really. Includes writing activities and a resource packet.
Lunch can be purchased at a nearby deli, or bring your own.
Registration, $30: Coastal Carolina University Lifelong Learning,
843-349-4032 or www.coastal.edu/outreach.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Alumni magazine for Queens University of Charlotte
I was pleased to be asked by Queens, the alumni magazine of Queens University of Charlotte, to write a brief piece on why I became a poet. My essay was part of an article about the Low-Residency MFA Program in Creative Writing offered at Queens. Check out the Winter 2009 issue of Queens (below), which includes the article, "The Write Stuff." The cover photo is of Michael Kobre, Queens professor and campus director of the MFA in Creative Writing Program, who wrote "The Write Stuff." Other alumni who contributed to it include Karon Luddy, Ron Stodghill, Peter Reinhart, and Jessica Handler.
Queens alumni magazine
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