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.

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.

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!

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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.

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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.