Apr. 21, 2011: Artist residency at Ridgeland Northeast High, Columbia, SC

Thursday, April 21, 2011
Ridgeland Northeast High School
7500 Brookfield Road
Columbia, SC
ARTIST RESIDENCY
Classes of Barbara Thomson

Barbara Thomson invited me for an artist residency in two of her poetry classes held this past Thursday, one a class of seniors and the other of first-year students. As I usually do in my workshops, we started out writing a group poem. That was followed by a writing assignment for which each of us wrote a poem. It was such a pleasure to hear the students read their poems. To help them prepare for their public reading, which is scheduled for next Thursday at 7 p.m., we worked with the theme that they have been studying recently in their classes: "My Story, Your Story, Our Story." What a focused and talented group of young poets!

VCCA Verna Ubben Fellowship

I am happy to announce that I have been awarded the VCCA Verna Ubben Fellowship, a two-week residency at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts (VCCA). The fellowship is sponsored by Don Ubben, in honor of his mother Verna Ubben, and The Poetry Society of South Carolina, in celebration of their 90th anniversary. Thank you to both! I plan to go to VCCA in August, and by then I hope to be working on a new book manuscript. Already I am preparing for the residency by writing, writing, writing.

Thur., Mar. 31: Edward Hirsch to read at Coastal Carolina University

I'm looking forward to hearing Edward Hirsch read his poetry at Coastal Carolina University on Thursday, Mar. 31, at 4:30 p.m. I'll be going with some poet friends from the Charleston area to that, as well as to his discussion on "My Pace Provokes My Thoughts: Poetry and Walking" at 2 p.m. on Friday.

A great opportunity for poets and friends of poetry: Edward Hirsch

Wed., Mar. 9 Poetry Reading -- Ant, Bear, Crow: The Poem Inhabited

Ant, Bear, Crow: The Poem Inhabited
A poetry reading by Barbara G.S. Hagerty and Susan Laughter Meyers
Wednesday, March 9, 7 p.m.
The Charleston Library Society, 164 King Street
Charleston, SC
Free & open to the public
Sponsored by The Sophia Institute

Enter the wild and peaceable kingdom of poetry to celebrate the animal spirit. A reading by Barbara G.S. Hagerty and Susan Laughter Meyers.


Barbara G.S. Hagerty is a native of Charleston, South Carolina. Her essays, columns, and poems have appeared in a wide variety of national and regional periodicals. She has written two books, plus a collection of poetry, The Guest House (Finishing Line Press, 2009). She currently holds the Fellowship in Poetry from the South Carolina Arts Commission. She has also worked as a photographer, curator, and teacher of poetry and creative nonfiction.

Susan Laughter Meyers, of Givhans, SC, is the author of Keep and Give Away (University of South Carolina Press) and the chapbook Lessons in Leaving (Persephone Press). Her poetry, which has appeared in a broad range of journals, has won numerous awards and has been nominated several times for a Pushcart Prize. A long-time writing instructor, Meyers has also served as president of the poetry societies of both North and South Carolina.

Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011 -- Workshop: The Poet as Seeker

Poetry Workshop: The Poet as Seeker
Saturday, Feb. 19, 2011
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Susan Meyers, instructor
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Willbrook Blvd.
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
Registration, $30
OLLI at Coastal Carolina University
Register at 843-234-3422 or www.coastal.edu/olli


All good poems are more than the result of mere writing exercise; they seek a truth. Poets, in turn, set out with yearning and questions, often ones that have no answers. “Teach yourself to work in uncertainty,” said author Bernard Malamud. We’ll do just that as we read sample poems in the class packet and generate new work of our own. Bring a poem draft that you’re working on in an attempt to reach a deeper level in some way. Lunch can be brought or bought nearby.

NOTE: As an added feature for this class, participants will have the option of having one class-related draft critiqued by the instructor through e-mail after the class.

Featured at r.kv.r.y. quarterly literary journal

r.kv.r.y. quarterly literary journal is a favorite of mine, and I'm happy to have been featured recently on their blog:

Feature

Pushcart nomination

Much gratitude to the online literary journal Prime Number for nominating my work for a 2011 Pushcart Prize. I'm humbled and honored.

Please visit their website to become acquainted with them and to read their offerings of poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, interviews, and reviews. The journal is published by Press 53:

To go to Prime Number, click here.

Fri., Dec. 3, 2010 -- Leading the literary life: women authors thrive in Lowcountry

Today the Post and Courier, of Charleston, SC, featured an article in its Moxie section that I was happy to be interviewed for, along with authors Mary Alice Monroe and Cleo Scott Brown. The article was written by staff reporter Kristen Hankla. It includes information about tomorrow's book signing by area women authors, a fundraiser for the Center for Women in Charleston. Check it out here:

Leading the literary life: women authors thrive in Lowcountry.