Balmy, Rainy Weather, Just like Home

Weather in western North Carolina has been unusual this winter. Warm temperatures, seventies, in December and January reminded me of winters in south Georgia where I lived most of my life. Barry played golf all winter and we played tennis winter and summer.

One of my nephews wears shorts all year around down in Albany, my home town. If it is a little cool, he puts on a light jacket. I have done that here this year. Jeans are too hot in the house, so I wear light weight capri pants, pajamas or long shorts. But when I go out I wear long pants. I laugh at many folks who wear winter coats and boots when the day is so warm flowers bloom. I guess they dress according to the calendar and not according to the outdoor temperatures.

A few years ago I wrote a poem I'll share here today. It was published by Scott Owens in his Wild Goose Poetry Review, spring issue 2013. 

Glenda Beall on the tennis court on the farm where the family often gathered on weekends

A BALMY DAY IN JANUARY

like none I’ve seen in years. In the park,
sunshine heals like days when I waited anxious
to be free of walls, to tear across the pasture
on my mare, rushing toward fulfilling childhood dreams.

I stroll with Rocky this winter day, warm enough
to over-heat his black fur, his weakened bones.
His unconditional love fills a tiny part of that left empty now.

Women in tennis attire stride toward the courts,
new bags on their shoulders, swinging rackets,
tossing hair, wearing trendy shoes. Love – one.
Love-two, their happy voices sing on brisk air.

Tennis was once our game, long ago,
when a simple quarrel over a match seemed
the end of our world; a gentle world we did not
properly nurture, because we didn’t know
what we didn’t know.

                                       ---Glenda C. Beall

Wild Goose Poetry Review is Archiving Summer Issue

Wild Goose Poetry Review is about to archive its Summer Issue.

I went back and read the poetry in this issue.

You might enjoy reading Netwest members' Maren Mitchell's poem about the huggable bear on her deck and Brenda Kay Ledford's poem on the mountains, but be sure to also read the work of Anthony Abbott, Debra Kaufman, Caren Masem and others.

Look for more Netwest poets in upcoming issue of Wild Goose Poetry Review by Scott Owens.

Summer 2010 Contents of Wild Goose Poetry Review



Debra Kaufman, On Learning His Diagnosis
Debra Kaufman, The Drought Speaks
Debra Kaufman, In the Euclid Library
Linda Parsons Marion, Huge
Linda Parsons Marion, Hunger
Maren Mitchell, Seldom Seen
Maren Mitchell, The Next Bus
Maren Mitchell, Sweet Basil,
Caren Masem, A Woman of Substance
Caren Masem, Hard Hiking
Clare L. Martin, Open Me with a Fire of Words
Anthony Abbott, At the Christmas Party
Anthony Abbott, This Is Not a Dream
Harry Calhoun, Emotional Wreck
Austin Rory Hackett, The Best Blues Are Written in the Fall
Austin Rory Hackett, Gravedigger Diction
Douglas Anne McHargue, The Power of the Moon
Douglas Anne McHargue, Dowager Queen
Douglas Anne McHargue, Blue Neon Bar
Bethea Buchanan, Albert Albert
Jean Rodenbough, At San Damiano
Ethan Sigmon, Languish
Harry Youtt, And What of the Dawn
Frank Finney, When
Lisa Brewer, Opportunity Knocked
Brenda Kay Ledford, Appalachian Mountains

Reviews


Steve Roberts, Another Word for Home

Rhett Iseman Trull, The Real Warnings

Richard Krawiec, Editor, The Sound of Poets Cooking

Ami Kaye, What Hands Can Hold

Richard Allen Taylor, Punching through the Egg of Space

David T. Manning, Continents of Light

Owens would nominate me for MVP??

Scott Owens, facilitator of Poetry Hickory and editor of Wild Goose Poetry Review as well as much more, wrote a profile article about me. He was most generous.  Below see the beginning of the article..

BEALL WORTHY OF MVP

If MVP meant “Most Valuable Poet” and some organization deemed to present such a prize, Glenda Beall would be my nominee for the inaugural award.
Click here to see rest of article.

THE NEWS IS GOOD RIGHT NOW

Today has been terrific for me. First I opened an email from Helen Losse, editor of Dead Mule School of Southern Literature to find that four of my poems had been accepted for the June issue. I have not submitted many, hardly anything actually in the past year, and was overjoyed to find that all the poems I submitted were wanted by this fine online publication.

The next email I opened was from Scott Owens who told me his review of my poetry book, Now Might As Well Be Then, published by Finishing Line Press, is in the current issue of Wild Goose Poetry Review. I hurried to read it and found my review right under that of Anthony Abbot's new book.

Wow! I'm in good company there.
(Judy and Pat, JCCFS writing students)

Tonight I opened an email from a former student at John Campbell Folk School. Rebecca told me she had posted on the Folk School blog and had mentioned my name and my class. Just last week, I had been asked to guest post. Rebecca's post is just above mine. She wrote about her experiences in my class and how she met some good writing friends there.

I'm so happy Emolyn, who administers the JCCFS blog, is using this forum to help us promote the WRITING classes which are among the best.
Nancy Simpson invites excellent instructors for the faculty there and she receives more applications than can be placed each year.
Please go to http://www.folkschool.org/ and click on the blog page.