Poetry Event Calendar - 2004

2004 Calendar

PLEASE NOTE:  Links for specific events will be added when available.

Jan. 17   North Carolina Poetry Society — Winter Meeting
	  Featuring: Mark Smith-Soto, Gail Peck, Lynn Veach Sadler
	  Southern Pines, NC — Weymouth Center

Feb. 21   North Carolina Poetry Society — Poetry Workshop
	  Workshop Leader: Dannye Romine Powell
	  Charlotte, NC  — Charlotte Observer Building

March 13  NC Poetry Society & NC Humanities Council
	  Program: Presentation about George Moses Horton
	  Presenter: Marjorie Hudson
	  Asheboro, NC  — Randolph Public Library

March 18  Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series — Reading
	  Central Region, featuring: Larry Wayne Johns
	     Held as part of the St. Andrews' Writer's Forum
	  Laurinburg, NC — St. Andrews Presbyterian College 

March 27  North Carolina Poetry Society — Poetry Workshop
	  Workshop Leader: Josepth Bathanti
	  Boone, NC — Caldwell Community College, Watauga Campus 

April 3   Carl Sandburg Poetry Festival
	  Featured Poet & Workshop Leader: Keith Flynn
	  Flat Rock, NC — Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site

April 10  Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series — Reading
	  Eastern Region, featuring: Shelby Stephenson
	     Held as part of the Walking into April Poetry Day
	     which is also featuring: Jaki Shelton-Green
	  Wilson, NC — Barton College

April 24  Elon University Poetry Day — Workshop & Readings
	  Featured Poet & Workshop Leader: Kevin Boyle
	  Co-sponsored by Elon and the NC Poetry Society
	  Elon, NC — Elon University

April 24  North Carolina Haiku Society — Annual Haiku Holiday
	  Chapel Hill, NC — Bolin Brook Farm [near Chapel Hill] 

May 8     North Carolina Poetry Society — Poetry Workshop
	  Workshop Leader: Margaret Boothe Baddour
	  Chapel Hill, NC — Chapel Hill Public Library  

May 15    North Carolina Writers' Network — Spring Conference
	  Raleigh, NC — Peace College

May 22    North Carolina Poetry Society — Awards Day Meeting
	  Southern Pines, NC — Weymouth Center

June 19   North Carolina Poetry Society — Sam Ragan Poetry Festival
	  Southern Pines, NC — Weymouth Center

Sept. 18  North Carolina Poetry Society — Fall Meeting
	  Southern Pines, NC — Weymouth Center

Oct. 2    Poetry Council of North Carolina — Awards Day
	  Salisbury, NC — Catawba College

Oct. 16   North Carolina Poetry Society — Mountain Gathering
	  Mars Hill, NC — Mars Hill College

Oct. 23   North Carolina Poetry Society — Poetry Workshop
	  Workshop Leader: Dannye Romine Powell
	  Greensboro, NC — Greensboro Public Library

Oct. 29,  North Carolina Writers' Network — Fall Conference
     30,  Research Triangle Park, NC 
   & 31	  Sheraton Hotel and Convention Center 

Nov. 30   North Carolina Poetry Society — Reading & Workshop
	  Workshop Leader: Agnes McDonald
	  Goldsboro, NC — Wayne Community College

Poetry Event Details (when available)

Featured Poets
These poets will participate in a panel discussion following their individual presentations.
— Mark Smith-Soto:   "Poetry and Politics: Never Mix, Never Worry?"
— Gail Peck:   "Crafting the Poem of Grief"
— Lynn Veach Sadler:   "How Does a Poet Know What to Send Where?"

Event Schedule
09:15   Registration — order and pay for lunch
10:00   Business Meeting
10:15   Mark Smith-Soto
11:00   Break
11:15   Gail Peck
12:00   Box Lunch, or bring your own
01:15   Lynn Veach Sadler
02:00   Panel Discussion
02:30   Open Mike — one poem, one page
03:30   Approximate anticipated ending time

Mark Smith-Soto, Costa Rican-American poet, playwright, and professor of Spanish at UNCG, will speak on the relation of poetry and social and political concerns.
— Smith-Soto is the author of two books and many scholarly articles, and his poetry has appeared in numerous publications. His chapbook Green Mango Collage won the Persephone Press Book Award (now the Mary Belle Campbell Poetry Book Publication Award) in 2000, and he was the winner of Chiron Review’s Poetry Contest in 2000. Another collection, Shafts, won the NCWN 2001 Randall Jarrell/Harperprints Poetry Chapbook Competition. His first full-length collection of poetry, Our Lives Are Rivers, was recently published by Florida University Press. He has conducted poetry workshops and served as editor of International Poetry Review.

Gail Peck, of Charlotte, will speak about the transformation of emotion into something artful.
— Peck is a graduate of the MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College and has taught creative writing for the adult education degree program at Queens University of Charlotte. Her chapbook New River won the NCWN Harperprints Poetry Chapbook Competition; and her chapbook Foreshadow, published in 2003, was a finalist in Main Street Rag’s Contest. A full-length collection, Drop Zone, won the Texas Review's Breakthrough Contest. Peck's poetry has appeared in many magazines and anthologies, including Word and Witness: 100 Years of North Carolina Poetry. She has received grants from both the Vermont Studio Center and the Virginia Center for the Arts.

Lynn Veach Sadler, of Sanford, will speak on every poet’s marketing conundrum.
— Formerly a college president in Vermont, Sadler has won The Pittsburgh Quarterly’s 2001 Hay Prize; tied for first place in Kalliope’s 2002 Elkind Contest; was runner-up for the 2002 Spoon River Poetry Review Editor’s Prize; and won the Poetry Society of America’s 2003 Hemley Award and Asphodel’s 2003 Poetry Contest. Her chapbook Poet Geography won the Lee Witte Poetry Contest and was published in the Mount Olive College Poetry Series, 2003. Mothers of the Disappeared, a full-length collection, was a finalist for the 2000 Bakeless Prize of the Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference. Her short stories, plays, and unpublished novel have won numerous awards. She also has received an Extraordinary Undergraduate Teaching Award and Distinguished Women of North Carolina Award for education.

Workshop:   "Fresh Eyes on Old Poems"
Leader:   Dannye Romine Powell
— Powell has two poetry collections and has received both an NEA and a NC Artists Fellowship.
— She has published in Paris Review, The New Republic, Georgia Review, Poetry, and Ploughshares.
— She will be participating at Yaddo in winter 2004.
Time:   10:00 a.m. — 1:00 p.m.
Cost:   $15 Members,   $25 Nonmembers
— Bring 13 copies of one or two poems and a snack.
— In addition to working on your poems, Dannye will share tips
     and tricks for getting poems started and getting them published.

"George Moses Horton:   Uncovering and Celebrating Lost Black History"
— About every thirty years, some scholar "discovers" George Moses Horton, the first black man to publish a book while living as a slave. Usually the new fame is short-lived. Marjorie Hudson, whose farm is within five miles of Horton's dwelling place in Chatham County, has determined that his story is one which should not be forgotten.
— In this presentation, Hudson will talk about how she has used nonprofit coalitions, research, education, and faith to uncover and celebrate the fascinating life and poetry of this accomplished man.

Presenter:   Majorie Hudson
— Marjorie Hudson's fiction, poetry and essays have been published in Story, Yankee, Pembroke, and the North Carolina Literary Review. Her poems are anthologized in Poems from the Heron Clan. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Warren Wilson College, and a BS in Women's Studies and Interdisciplimary Studies from American University.
— Hudson has worked most recently with the Center for Documentary Studies and Duke University Continuing Education. In 2000, Hudson was named the Sarah Belk Gambrell Artist-Educator of the Year for using her writing to build community. She is the author of Searching for Virginia Dare: A Fool's Errand, a journey into American history, landscape and memory.

Time:   10:30 a.m. — 12:00 p.m.
— This event is free and open to the public.

This Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series reading will take place at St. Andrews Presbyterian College on March 18 at 8 p.m. in the main lounge of Pate Hall. The reading will feature the Distinguished Poet from the central region of the state, Larry Wayne Johns, along with three student poets (one from middle school, one from high school, and one from college) from the central region of North Carolina.

The students will be selected by application and/or nomination, and will work with Johns individually on their poems and reading skills. The mentoring process will culminate in the March 18 reading at St. Andrews. The event is free and open to the public and will be a part of the weekly Writer’s Forum on campus. The Writer’s Forum, in its 36th year, has hosted such notable readers as Robert Creeley, Carolyn Kizer, James Laughlin, Fred Chappell and Gozo Yoshimasu.

Distinguished Poet Larry Wayne Johns was selected by the St. Andrews’ Central Committee, composed of Ron Bayes, Pete Dulgar, Grace Gibson, and Ted Wojtasik. Nominations/applications for student poets may be sent to Ron Bayes, Department of English, St. Andrews Presbyterian College, Laurinburg, NC, 28352.

Larry Wayne Johns received his Ph.D. from Florida State University, where he was a Kingsbury Fellow. His awards include a Reader’s Choice Award from Prairie Schooner, an Editor’s Choice Award from Mid-American Review, and the first annual Frank O’Hara Award for his chapbook, An Invisible Veil Between Us. His manuscript Brutal Afterlife was a finalist for 2002 The National Poetry Series. Johns is currently Assistant Professor of Writing at St. Andrews.

For directions to St. Andrews College, contact the Humanities and Fine Arts Division at 910-277-5000.

Leader:   Joseph Bathanti
— Author and Professor at Appalachian State University.

Date & Time:
— March 27, 2004, 10:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.   Snacks will be provided.
Place:
— Boone, Watauga Campus of Caldwell Community College, Room 111.
Registration Cost:
— $15 NCPS Members, $25 Nonmembers.
— Make checks payable to the North Carolina Poetry Society.
Registration Deadline:
— March 19, 2004. Limit of 15 participants.

Workshop:   "Squeezing the Most out of Your First Draft"
— This workshop will focus on close workshop readings of first drafts. Discussion will center around finding the sometimes invisible seams that poems are cobbled together by.
— We'll explore in our discussions of participants' poems how these seams can sometimes be opened to reveal the heart of the poem, frequently invisible to its author in the first draft.

Event Schedule
11:15   Keith Flynn, featured poet, reads from his works
12:30   John Akers shares Sandburg's love of the Spanish guitar
01:45   Public Poetry Share
            (registration required by April 2)
02:30   Poetry Workshop with Keith Flynn
            (registration required by April 2, or until full; 25 slots)

Related Event
Winning Poets will be honored at a reception as part of the Artists of Tomorrow opening exhibit at the Arts Center of Henderson County from 6-8pm on Friday April 2 (judges invited to attend).

Event Description
Walking into April: Crooner and Conjure Woman is the second Eastern North Carolina Poetry Day sponsored by the Poetry Society at Barton College in the spirit of Sam Ragan. This year, it is our privilege to host the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet in harmony with our Walking into April event.

The poets for this year are two of North Carolina's finest, Shelby Stephenson and Jaki Shelton-Green. The event will be similar to last year’s, with the addition of the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet series. An open mike session will conclude the day, so bring a poem.

Stephenson and Shelton-Green will begin the day reading from their works and discussing their methods, literary influences, and the importance of carrying the message of literature. The student poets chosen to participate in the Distinguished Poet Series will read during the morning and also kick off the open mike event after lunch.

Event Schedule
09:00-09:30   Registration & Coffee
09:30-09:45   Welcome & Introduction
09:45-10:45   Shelby Stephenson
10:45-11:00   Student Poets
11:00-12:00   Jaki Shelton-Green
12:00-01:00   Lunch catered by Barton College
01:00-01:15   Student Poets
01:15-03:00   Open Mike
03:00             Closing Remarks

Shelby Stephenson is this year’s Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet representing Eastern North Carolina. Stephenson has published numerous books including Middle Creek Poems, Carolina Shout, The Persimmon Tree Carol, Finch’s Mash, FiddleDeeDee, Poor People, and Plankhouse. His poems have appeared in many journals. He is the editor of Pembroke Magazine and has been a stalwart in the literary scene.

Jaki Shelton-Greene is a dynamic poet/performer who has published several books: Dead on Arrival, Masks, Dead on Arrival and New Poems, and Conjure Blues. She has also published Blue Opal, a play. Conjure Blues, her latest book, was published in 1996. Her poems have appeared in Crucible, The African-American Review, Ms and Essence magazines, and Obsidian. She is currently compiling a collection of short stories and a poetry manuscript, as well as her first novel. She is an advocate for the voiceless and the arts.

Event Description
— An annual all-day celebration of poetry including a poetry workshop led by a guest poet, a buffet luncheon, readings by the guest poet and student winners published in Elon's literary journal Colonnades, and an open mike.
— This year's featured poet and workshop leader is Dr. Kevin Boyle, Associate Professor of English at Elon University and author of The Lullaby of History, winner of the Mary Belle Campbell Poetry Award.

Event Schedule
09:30-10:00   Registration (Free Coffee, Books for Sale)
10:00-11:00   Welcome and Readings
11:00-12:30   Critique Workshop
12:30-01:30   Lunch
01:30-02:00   Evaluation and Open Mike

Workshop:   "Using Dreams in Your Poetry"

Leader:   Margaret Boothe Baddour
— Poet Margaret Boothe Baddour teaches creative writing at Wayne Community College. Her publications include Easy Magic and A Murmuration of Purrs.
— Baddour is a past president of the North Carolina Poetry Society, a former winner of the NCPS's Poet Laureate Award, and one of the founders of the North Carolina Writers' Network.

Time:   10:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m.
— Bring a bag lunch. Drinks will be provided.

Cost:   $15 Members,   $25 Nonmembers
— For directions, click here:   Library Directions.

Event Overview
— This event features readings of poems by winners of the North Carolina Poetry Society's 2004 Poetry Contests in conjunction with the release of the 2004 edition of the NCPS's annual anthology of award-winning poems.
— The name of this anthology was changed last year from Award-Winning Poems to Pinesong. Each attendee whose NCPS membership is current may pick up one free copy. Copies will also be available for purchase.
— This event is free. Purchase of a box lunch is optional. All lovers of poetry are welcome to attend.

Event Schedule
09:15   Registration, and order lunch
10:00   Business meeting — installation of 2004 officers
10:15   Pinesong: Awards 2004 anthology dedication
10:30   Poet Laureate, McDill, and Student Contest winners read
12:00   Lunch break — catered box lunch, or bring your own
01:15   Adult Contest winners (except Poet Laureate and McDill) read
03:30   Approximate anticipated ending time

Overview
— Dust off your straw hats, polish up a favorite poem, and come prepared to celebrate with music, poetry, and kindred spirits. In the spirit of former North Carolina Poet Laureate (1982-1996) Sam Ragan, bowties and encouragement will be provided.
— Outgoing Poetry Society President Bill Blackley and outgoing First Vice-President Becky Mitchell have planned a full day of poetry and music with plenty of time for open mike readings woven throughout the day.

Schedule
9:15 Registration
— Annual dues payment welcome
— Purchase lunch tickets on the West Patio ($8.50 including tax)
— Coffee and tea on the West Patio
— Bowties by Beth Hoyt (in the manner of Sam Ragan)
10:00 Morning Program in the Great Room
— Brief business & announcements (Ann Garbett, President)
— Carolyn Norris to MC open mike (one poem/one page/per person, please)
interspersed with the following invited poets:
      * Jim Clark—Poetry and Music (introduction by Becky Mitchell)
      * Charles Blackburn—Tribute to Sam Ragan
12:00 Lunch on the grounds
— Emily Hancock and her band featuring David McDonald and Jim Pitt will play in the Great Room.
— Please present your lunch ticket. File through the dining room into the kitchen to pick up your box lunch. Eat anywhere on the ground level.
1:15 Afternoon Program
Joanna Catherine Scott to MC open mike (one poem/one page/per person, please)
interspersed with the following invited poets:
      * Emily Hancock, David McDonald and Jim Pitt—Music
      * Shelby Stephenson—Poetry and Music (introduction by Bill Blackley)
      * Ron Bayes—A Pound of Poetry
      * Grand Finale!

"Playing Doubles at the Fall Meeting" by Pat Riviere-Seel   [NCPS 1st V-P & Program Chair]

Come celebrate in September with double the pleasure, double the fun – and double the award-winning poets! The fall meeting on Saturday, September 18 at Weymouth Center in Southern Pines honors the winners of the NCWN-sponsored Mary Belle Campbell Book Award and the NCPS-sponsored Brockman-Campbell Poetry Book Publication Award.

The meeting has become a favorite in recent years since the North Carolina Writers’ Network joins the NCPS in honoring the two book winners. Tony Morris of Shelby, NC, winner of the Mary Belle Campbell prize for the best manuscript by a teaching poet in the region, will receive his award and read from his book, Fugue’s End. Julie Suk of Charlotte, winner of the Brockman-Campbell prize for The Dark Takes Aim, will also receive her award and read from her book. The Brockman-Campbell Prize is given for the best full-length poetry book published in the previous year by a North Carolina author.

Suk will also double as the guest speaker with a morning program on “The Surly Sestina.” The Brockman-Campbell nominees are kept secret until the winner is announced and Suk had agreed to be the featured speaker before she knew she was a winner. Lucky for us she’s willing to do double duty!

The afternoon features a reception and book signing for the two winners hosted by the North Carolina Writers' Network. Open mike readings will be interspersed through the day. All events are free and open to the public.

Schedule
09:15	Registration and pay for lunch 
	(coffee and tea on the patio)
10:00	Business meeting
10:15	Mary Belle Campbell Award Reading by Tony Morris
11:00 	Break
11:10	"The Surly Sestina" — presentation by Julie Suk
11:40	Open mike
12:00	Lunch ($8.50 - see options below) or bring your own
01:00	Brockman-Campbell Book Award Reading by Julie Suk
01:45	Reception and book signing
02:30	Open mike

Lunch Options 
195 will provide a box lunch for $8.50 (tax included):
— Choose chicken salad sandwich, or tuna salad sandwich,
  or vegetarian salad. Iced tea is included.
— Order and pay for lunch from 9:15 to 10:15. Make checks
  payable to "195" - you will receive a lunch ticket.
If you prefer, you may bring your own lunch.

Hotel Options
This Southern Pines / Weymouth area hotel information is provided 
solely for the convenience of NCPS meeting attendees. This list is 
not comprehensive, and it does not imply endorsements by the North 
Carolina Poetry Society. All prices were correct when last checked
but could change at any time and should be double-checked:
— Microtel       (910) 693-3737  $42 single, $47 double
— Springhill     (910) 695-0234  $82
— Hampton Inn    (910) 692-9266  $89
— The Residence  (910) 693-3400  $99

"Inventing the Fathers: Exploring the Father Archetype in Poetry"

The only thing finer than being in Western North Carolina in the fall is being surrounded by poets whose vibrancy rivals the foliage. Come prepared to explore your own creative process as poets Cathy Smith Bowers and John Lane lead a morning session on "Inventing the Fathers: Exploring the Father Archetype in Poetry." The two poets, who have each written extensively about fathers, promise plenty of audience participation during the second annual Mountain Gathering in Mars Hill. The day-long event is cosponsored by the NCPS and the English Department at Mars Hill College.

Cathy Smith-Bowers has published two books of poetry, The Love That Ended Yesterday in Texas and Traveling in the Time of Danger. Her third book is due out this summer. She is the writer in residence at Queens University of Charlotte and was named winner of the Fuqua Distinguished Educator award in 2003. She currently teaches in the MFA Program in Creative Writing at Queens University of Charlotte. Her poems have appeared widely in publications such as The Atlantic Monthly, The Georgia Review, Poetry, Shenandoah, The Southern Poetry Review, The Southern Review, and Kenyon Review.

John Lane is an associate professor of English and creative writing at Wofford College in Spartanburg, SC. His limited edition chapbook, The Dead Father Poems, is illustrated by Douglas Whittle. The book was designed by Dave Wofford of Horse & Buggy Press who also hand-made the cover paper. Lane is a North Carolina native and has lived on a wilderness island off the coast of Georgia, studied crocodiles in Central America, surveyed monkeys in the remote rain forest of Suriname, and traveled extensively in the wild places of the United States. Lane is a place-based educator whose outdoor adventure prose has appeared in numerous national publications. His first collection of personal essays, Weed Time: Essays from the Edge of a Country Yard, described his year living in a cabin near Great Smoky Mountains.

Both Smith-Bowers and Lane are inspiring teachers and poets who enjoy working together. They will present the morning program and after a break for lunch will read from their work. An open mike will follow.

All events are free, but pre-registration is requested. October is a popular month for tourists in the North Carolina mountains, so if you’re planning to stay overnight, make reservations as soon as possible. The Comfort Inn (828) 689-9000 is located in Mars Hill less than a mile from the campus, and several motels and B&Bs are nearby.

For more information and to pre-register, e-mail Pat Riviere-Seel at patriviereseel@yahoo.com or phone her at (828) 298-5413. See below for directions and lodging information.

Schedule 
09:30-10:00   Registration — purchase lunch ticket 
              (lunch is available in the adjoining cafeteria 
              for $4.50, or bring your own) 
10:00-10:15   Welcome and Introductions — Dr. Hal McDonald, 
              Chair, English Department, Mars Hill College 
10:15-12:00   "Inventing Fathers: Exploring the Father Archetype 
              in Poetry" — Cathy Smith Bowers and John Lane 
12:00-01:00   Lunch (bring your own or purchase in cafeteria) 
01:00-02:00   Readings — Cathy Smith Bowers and John Lane 
02:00-03:00   Open Mike (one poem/one page per person, please) 

Driving Directions (from Asheville, NC): 
1. From I-240 take exit 4A onto US-19/US-23 North. 
2. Drive approximately 17 miles on US-19/US-23 North. 
3. From US-19/US-23, take Exit 11 onto NC-213 West. 
4. Turn left at the end of the exit ramp and drive approximately 
   1 mile to Mars Hill College. 
5. The cafeteria will be on your left. Turn left at the library 
   and take the first left into a parking lot adjacent to the 
   cafeteria building. Enter the Redway room from the side.

Where to Stay:
The month of October is prime tourist season, so make reservations 
as soon as possible. Leaves usually reach their peak fall color in 
the mountains the 2nd or 3rd week in October. 
— In Mars Hill: Comfort Inn (800-228-5150; www.ChoiceHotels.com)
— In Weaverville (8 miles south on US-19/US-23, between Asheville 
  and Mars Hill):
  - 1904 Secret Garden Bed & Breakfast (800-797-8211; 
    www.SecretGardenNC.com)
  - Day Dreams Bed & Breakfast (828-568-8596)
  - Dry Ridge Inn (800-839-3899; www.DryRidgeInn.com)
  - Inn on Main Street (877-873-6074; www.InnonMain.com)
  - Ox-Ford Farm (828-658-2800)
  - Tuscan Hill Inn (828-658-1877; www.TuscanHillInn.com)
— Asheville (18 miles south of Mars Hill) has many different kinds 
  of accommodation, including luxury hotels, bed and breakfasts, 
  inexpensive chain motels, and long term cabin rentals. See the 
  accommodations list at Asheville.com for more information.  

Leader:   Dannye Romine Powell
— Powell has two poetry collections and has received both an NEA and a NC Artists Fellowship.
— She has published in Paris Review, The New Republic, Georgia Review, Poetry, and Ploughshares.
— She will be participating at Yaddo in winter 2004.

Date & Time:
— October 23, 2004, 1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.

Registration Cost:
— $15 NCPS Members, $25 Nonmembers.
— Make checks payable to the North Carolina Poetry Society.
— Send checks to:   Gail Williamson   118 Ford St.   Thomasville, NC 27360

Instructions:
— Participants should bring 12 copies of two of their own poems for use in the workshop.