Recent events: August & September, 2007

The Book Stall signing & reading--Tuesday, Aug. 28, 2007,
12-2 signing; 6:30-8:30 reading & open mic.
413 Hayne Ave. SW, Aiken, SC

NC Poetry Society Brockman-Campbell Book Award reading--Saturday, Sept. 15, 2007, 10 a.m. Weymouth Center.
555 East Connecticut Ave., Southern Pines, NC

Emrys Reading Series--Monday, Sept. 24, 2007, 7 p.m.,
The Handlebar, Greenville, SC

A Cappella Books reading--Thursday, Sept. 27, 2007, 7 p.m.,
Moreland Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA

SIBA Book Awards lunch--Friday, Sept. 28, 2007, noon. Atlanta, GA.

Eastern North Carolina Literary Homecoming--Sept. 28-30, 2007. East Carolina University, Greenville, NC. On Saturday, Sept. 29, I'll be participating on a panel on the use of personal and community history in writing poetry.

2007 SIBA Book Award for Poetry

I'm grateful that Keep and Give Away has been selected for this year's SIBA Book Award for Poetry. This honor, presented by the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance, goes not only to my book but to its publisher, the University of South Carolina Press, as well. Much gratitude, too, to the South Carolina Poetry Initiative, which sponsors the book prize that enabled the book to be published.

Congratulations to the other category winners, whose company I'm honored to be in:

Fiction--Thirteen Moons, by Charles Frazier (Random House Trade)
Nonfiction--Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee, by Charles J. Shields (Henry Holt & Co.)
Children's--Alabama Moon, by Watt Key (Farrar Strauss Giroux)
Cookbook--I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence, by Amy Sedaris (Warner Books)

I'm looking forward to attending the Book Awards luncheon at the SIBA Trade Show in Atlanta on September 28.

Thank you to SIBA, USC Press, and the SC Poetry Initiative. Learn more about them at their sites:

SIBA
University of South Carolina Press
South Carolina Poetry Initiative

Tuesday, May 8: Sunset, Poemrise -- Reading by Published Members of the Poetry Society of SC

As a part of the 2007 North Charleston Arts Festival, several published poets of the Poetry Society of South Carolina will give a reading of their own work--plus memorable selections from poets Dana Levin, Yusef Komunyakaa, Eavan Boland, Lucille Clifton, Li-Young Lee, Nazim Hekmet, Miklos Radnoti, and others:

Tuesday, May 8
6:30 p.m.
Otranto Road Regional Library
2261 Otranto Road
North Charleston, SC
843-572-4094
Book signing
Free & open to the public


Poets reading:

Linda Annas Ferguson
Ed Madden
Susan Meyers
Dennis Ward Stiles
Marjory Wentworth, SC Poet Laureate
 
North Charleston Arts Festival events
 

Sunday, April 1: Reading at Malaprop's, Asheville, NC

I'm reading, with two other poets, in Asheville on April 1:

Malaprop's Bookstore/Cafe
55 Haywood Street
Asheville, NC
Poetrio: Susan Tichy; an Asheville poet (so far unnamed); me
SUNDAY, APRIL 1
3 p.m.
http://www.malaprops.com/NASApp/store/IndexJsp?s=storeevents

Thursday, March 29: Reading at Joseph-Beth, Charlotte, NC

Val Nieman and I are reading together in Charlotte:

Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Charlotte, NC
SouthPark Mall
THURSDAY, MARCH 29
7 p.m.
Valerie Nieman--Wake Wake Wake (Press 53, 2006)
Susan Meyers--Keep and Give Away (Univ. of SC Press, 2006)
http://www.josephbeth.com/Default.aspx?tabindex=2&tabid=3&storeId=10

Feb. 23-25: South Carolina Book Festival, Columbia, SC

SC Book Festival
Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center
1101 Lincoln St., Columbia, SC
Saturday, Feb. 24, 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 25, 11:30 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Panels, readings, book fair
Other special ticketed events, Friday through Sunday
www.scbookfestival.org

Saturday, 12:40 - 1:30 p.m. -- I'll be participating in a panel/reading session called "The Poet's Voice" with Richard Garcia, Mark Turcotte, and Ryan Van Cleave. Marjory Wentworth, poet laureate of SC, will be the moderator. We'll all be signing books afterward.

The University of South Carolina Press, publisher of my book Keep and Give Away, is an exhibitor at the festival's book fair.

Monday, Feb. 12: Tea & Poetry Series, Pawleys Island, SC

Monday, Feb. 12, 2007
3 p.m.
Tea & Poetry Series
Richard Garcia & Susan Meyers
Waccamaw Higher Education Center
160 Willbrook Boulevard, Pawleys Island, SC
Reading, book signing, reception
Free & open to the public


Join noted poets from the Coastal Carolina University faculty, Poetry Society of SC, and the region for afternoon readings and discussions, followed by tea and treats and the opportunity to acquire signed editions of poetry books. Free. Call for poet list & details, 843-349-4030.

Jan. 29 -- Paul Allen & Carol Ann Davis, both of the College of Charleston’s Creative Writing Program.

Feb. 12 -- Richard Garcia of the Antioch MFA program; & Susan Meyers, president of The Poetry Society of SC.

Feb. 26 -- Libby Bernardin, of Georgetown; & Diana Pinckney, of Charlotte--both with numerous publications.

Mar. 19 -- Linda Annas Ferguson, author of three chapbooks and a forthcoming full-length book; & Dennis Ward Stiles, author of five chapbooks.

Apr. 16 -- Lavonne Adams & Malena Morling of UNC Wilmington.

Saturday, Feb. 10: Poetry Writing Workshop--"Digging In"

Saturday, Feb. 10, 2007
10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Waccamaw Center for Higher Education
160 Willbrook Boulevard
Pawleys Island, SC 29585
Susan Meyers, instructor

I'll be teaching a workshop on generating new poems that explore a subject to its fullest. Just because you've written one poem about a subject doesn't mean it's time to move on to something else. Strategies for approaching the subject from numerous angles, digging deeper, moving beyond the obvious, yet retaining the poem’s mystery. Includes class packet of sample poems and resources. For all levels.

A sandwich can be purchased during class, or bring your own. Registration, $30: Coastal Carolina University Lifelong Learning, 843-349-4032 or www.coastal.edu/outreach.