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| Carole Thompson, Robert S. King, Mary Ricketson, Scott Owens, Glenda Beall |
Scott Owens has the most marvelous new poetry book, published by FutureCycle Press. One Who Knows How to Own Land. Isn't that the best title?
Many of us know what a terrific poet Scott is, tonight we had a surprise when Ron Rash dropped in to tell us how much he admires Scott Owens' poetry. Ron Rash was at Western University this week talking about his newest book.
This is what he says on the back of One Who Knows How to Own Land,
“Landscape and memory are seamlessly merged in this excellent volume. Like all the best writers of place, Scott Owens finds the heart’s universal concerns in his vivid rendering of piedmont Carolina.” —Ron Rash, Parris Distinguished Professor in Appalachian Cultural Studies at Western Carolina University
I felt like I was in the room with royalty - at least the princes of poetry - Ron, Scott and Robert King. I was almost embarrassed to read my poems, but I had the satisfaction of knowing that Robert had chosen two of my poems for his FutureCycle 2011 Anthology and Scott has published a couple of my poems in Wild Goose Poetry Review.
Mary Ricketson is always a pleasure to listen to when she reads her thoughtful verses and Carole Thompson read both humorous and serious poetry. One of her poems won second place in a National DAR contest. We all had a good time tonight.
Glenda, thanks for this post. You needn't feel timid about reading in front of anyone. Your work is worthy and needs to be heard.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have been there to hear you all read poems and wish I could have read my poem in the anthology too. It has been family, family, family on Cherry Mountain for a solid week and some are still here. Wonderful! But I wish I could have been there at City Lights with you all.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations to all, you Glenda, Mary Ricketson and Carole Thompson too. Congratulations to the editor Robert King and to Scott Owens for the launch of his "newest" book.
Thank you, Robert. I keep revising old poems instead of writing new, but maybe one day I'll get them right.
ReplyDeleteNancy, I wish you had been there to read your poetry.
Next time, okay?
Speaking of writing your life story makes me wonder how to decide what to include. If it's yours, there's no way you can get it all in a space much smaller than the Encyclopedia Britannica. Should it be just the facts? Should it be the facts with the intimations you'd like the reader to notice and ponder? Should it be (since I'm old enough to do this, and so are others) from the perspective of what you know now that you didn't know then? should you aim for the light touch, the enlightenment objective, or the confessional?
ReplyDeleteIf only I were a little closer and didn't have a problem with being away from my animals for too long! I'd be on your deck with your other students in a heartbeat!
Oh, and one other thing--I keep t=revising old poems too, and once in a great while, one springs onto the keyboard or journal pages almost finished. And I still can't tell which are the best--only those that are disasters.
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