A quote from Alice Munro

I like and agree with this quote:

Short-story writer Alice Munro (books by this author), born in Wingham, Ontario (1931). 

Alice Munro said,  "It's not possible to advise a young writer because every young writer is so different. You might say, 'Read,' but a writer can read too much and be paralyzed. Or, 'Don't read, don't think, just write,' and the result could be a mountain of drivel. If you're going to be a writer you'll probably take a lot of wrong turns and then one day just end up writing something you have to write, then getting it better and better just because you want it to be better, and even when you get old and think 'There must be something else people do,' you won't quite be able to quit."

Memories, from the corners of my mind

A Poem to celebrate an anniversary. On July 4th, 1963, I met the man I would marry.

The Walker Beach House

The house leans slightly toward the sea,

weathered silver by wind, rain and molten

streams of sunlight. The front porch stretching

north to south is furnished with a creaking

glider and two chairs that huddle and sag

like an old couple waiting for their sunset.

On the clothesline, two red towels flap

in a giddy summer folk dance. Precious

sea oats nod atop the tallest dunes.

I make my way along the narrow path between them

to the Atlantic lapping in eternal rhythm.

My artist mind brushes clouds on the horizon,

blending sky with the water's line.

I find you there sprawled on a blanket

smelling of coconut, defying the Big C

as you bake brown. My sandy foot nudges

yours and rasps you awake. We trudge

the path and shower by the porch.

After lunch we sleep together in Walker's bed. 

---Glenda Council Beall, from Now Might as Well Be Then, published by Finishing Line Press

Woman in the Mirror

In July 2011 one of my poems, Woman in the Mirror, was merged with lovely paintings to make a post that will always be special to me. 

I had lost the link to Avagabond's blog, but she was kind enough to find the post and send it to me. I never met her, but this woman is one of the most interesting people I have read about online.

She writes about her life, her travels, France and she shares great photography. I feel like I'm there with her. I think some of my present readers came into my life through this site and this post.

Click on this link to see her post using my poem. You might have to copy the link and paste it into the search line.

http://avagabonde.blogspot.com/2011/07/blog-intermission-no-14-entracte-woman.html

Author Events - What Do We Want?

Have you published a novel or memoir or non-fiction book?

Do you want to promote your book to the public? 

This article on NCWN blog is excellent concerning author presentations whether in book stores or other venues.

http://www.ncwriters.org/whitecross/2013/06/27/the-vagaries-of-author-events/

My favorite is the author talks where there is interchange between the writer and the audience, similar to what Deanna Klingel did at John Campbell folk school Thursday night.

Read the above article and go on to read the original post (follow the link at the end of the article) and tell us what you think?

What do you want when you go to hear and see an author? 

WHITE AFTER MEMORIAL DAY

Karen Paul Holmes will teach a class at Writers Circle on July 20. I am sharing one of her poems with my readers because I know you will love her work and will enjoy her class. Karen has studied with some of the great poets of today, She is sharing what she learned about editing your own work from poet, Thomas Lux.  I am looking forward to having Karen here and I know all of you will like this fun class.

White After Memorial Day

by Karen Paul Holmes

It’s only April 10th, yet I’ve shimmied

into optic white jeans, rejoicing

that they fit from last summer; white

doesn’t forgive. Boiling

for broth on the stove: the chaff

of last night’s chicken

thyme rubbed into its olive-oiled skin

for my dinner party

where a true Belle told me, In the South, you go

by temperature not date.

In michigan this wouldn’t happen

and even here, I don’t wear white shoes

until June first. I just won’t.

An Augusta gentleman, 82, with young man’s glasses

asks me to coffee. He has heard of my divorce.

I refuse, politely. His wife died three years ago.

Twin Cadillacs, circa 1980, sit in his carport

side by side, limo-long and white.

This poem was published in Southern Women's Review. Click on link to read great stories, essays and poetry.

http://www.southernwomensreview.com/issues/SWRIssue6Final.pdf

Critics Abound - But do they matter?

Do what you feel in your heart to be right - for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
                                    Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 - 1962)

I understand what Eleanor Roosevelt meant in this quote about criticism. We are all criticised at one time or another, and it can be painful. Unwarranted criticism makes us question ourselves. But if we do what we feel in our heart is right, and we know that we don't deserve what the critics say about us, it is somewhat easier to take. 

Recently I read a post by a well-liked poet who writes the best blog on poetry and was shocked to find that since his new poetry book came out, critics have crawled from under the rocks to defame him. These critics, of course, have the power of the Internet, the anonymity of Facebook and Twitter as a forum to spew hurtful comments upon this fine young man.

We have always had mean-spirited people in the world and the Internet has provided them a platform to vent their anger and jealousy. Jealousy is a major reason that unqualified critics take potshots at others. 

Often we have no idea that others are jealous of us. When we hear their hateful remarks or when they whisper gossip they know will upset us, we are dumbfounded at first. Later as it all sinks in, we have to talk to ourselves and realize that this is just a part of life.

We want to believe in people, we want to think that our friends are happy for our success, not resentful. This reminds me of another quote I have found to be so, so true.

In prosperity our friends know us; in adversity we know our friends.    John Churton Collins

Have you ever been hurt by criticism? How did you respond?

Read the call to action on NCWN blog

Because I care about funding for arts in North Carolina, I suggest that my NC readers go to this site: http://www.ncwriters.org/whitecross/

See how you can help. The NC Arts Council funds NCWN which funds NCWN West (Netwest). 

We need to urge our state senators to meet the budget proposed by the House.

All the information needed is on this site:

http://www.ncwriters.org/whitecross/

Thank you.

We have Carol Crawford to help us with our memoir, essay, short story

Carol Crawford, writer and poet, mother and wife,
Director of the Blue Ridge Writers Conference, will teach at Writers Circle on July 9, 2:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.

I hope all of you within driving distance of Writers Circle in Hayesville, NC will take the opportunity to be with us when Carol Crawford teaches a class for prose writers, fiction and non-fiction, that will help us prepare our manuscript for submitting to a journal or anthology, and that will give our work the best chance to be selected for publication.

Big Picture Revision

Never mind the commas – there are often bigger things to think about when you finish a first draft and begin the work of revision.  
In this workshop we will take a piece you have written and look at it with fresh eyes, finding its natural trajectory and structure.  We will clarify what’s confusing and emphasize what’s strong, so that you can write the story you want to write. 
"Please bring a short (1000 word) essay, story or excerpt for us to work on during the class."

 Carol's essays, fiction and poetry have been published in the Concho River Review, the Chattahoochee Review, the Southern Humanities Review, the Journal of Appalachian Studies, and others.  She is director of FLAG Adult Education and volunteer coordinator for the annual Blue Ridge Writers' Conference.  Carol is a graduate of Baylor University, and a native of Texas, but she lives in the north Georgia mountains now.

This is our first time to have Carol teach at Writers Circle, but I hope it won't be the last. While we seem to have a large number of poets as instructors, we want to also hold classes for non-poets or those, like me, who write both poetry and prose.

Register by calling 828-389-4441 to reserve your place, or mail your check for $30.00 to Writers Circle 581 Chatuge Lane, Hayesville, NC 28904