Still time to submit to Kakalak 2014 before April 30

I was honored when my poem Scene from Yellowstone's Valiant Wild  was published in Kakalak 2009. Richard Taylor and Beth Cagle, editors and judges who publish the work of some of the best Carolina poets in their anthology were present at Poetry Day in Hickory NC today. I traveled from the "far west" of the state to take part in the third annual Poetry Day at Catawba Valley College where Scott Owens teaches and holds this event. 

Scott and Pat Riviere-Seel, poet from Asheville, NC, held workshops on Invention and Revision. I'll write more later but want to let all the poets know that Main Street Rag, which will publish the next issue of Kakalak, requests you submit poems now. You will be proud to be among those who are chosen for this anthology. 



Scott Douglas says, "The flood gates for the KAKALAK 2014 contest opened March 1, 2014 and so far only a trickle of North and South Carolina writers and photographers have entered. Everyone at Main Street Rag and the editors of Kakalak 2013 were very pleased with last year's turn out as well as the quality of the work KAKALAK 2013 featured. We want very much to continue offering this opportunity and continue to maintain and increase the quality of the work featured there, but it relies heavily on the support of the poets and photographers in the region. With an April 30 deadline, there is about 5 weeks remaining (as of the time of this posting) to enter. Guidelines and a live entry link can be found on the KAKALAK 2014 page. We hope all of our eligible friends in North and South Carolina will join us this time around."

Do I Have to Wear a Label?

Many writers are identified by one genre. Some are poets and that is all they write. Some are novelists. Some write only creative non-fiction.

I like to write it all -- fiction, non-fiction and poetry. I also enjoy interviewing people and writing about what they have to say. I write passionately about subjects like indoor air pollution and multiple chemical sensitivity. I probably write more personal essays than anything.

So, am I a writer? A poet? A journalist? A memoirist? 

Do I have to be put into a box? Do I have to wear a label like a box of spaghetti on the shelf? 

In recent weeks I've published a review of a novel, an interview with a writer, and I have interviewed another writer. I am in the  process of finding the best home for that piece now.

Almost everyday I write a post for one of my blogs. These posts seldom have anything to do with poetry, but at times I will publish a poem on one of my blogs because it is short and because I want to share it. And sometimes I have a poem that seems to fit with my subject for that day. 

However some people think of me simply as a poet. I wear many hats in my life. I am a writer, a blogger, a poet, a teacher, a mentor, a business owner, a volunteer. Some people refer to me as a publicist at times. 

Variety makes anything more fun, I believe. I have been asked, "Can I write creative non-fiction and write poetry as well?"

Of course you can. At a recent reading at John C. Campbell Folk School, I read a true story, a memoir, and had many compliments from my audience. I also read one or two poems that evening. 

My friend, Estelle, says she tends to write poetry when she wants to express serious feelings and emotions. She finds that memoir helps her tell about her family, her past, her history. But short stories are her path to share humor. Another friend, Mary Mike, writes touching poetry that lingers in the mind of the reader, but her short fiction is memorable as well.

I might sit down to write and find that my subject lends itself to personal essay better than to poetry. I might begin to write a non-fiction piece and find that I'd rather embellish it and make it a short story (fiction).

If you look, you will see that I have published short stories, personal essays, articles in magazines and newspapers, memoir, and poetry. I like to do it all.

Below see where some of my short stories and memoir pieces are published in magazines, journals and anthologies:

How We Met – Forks in the Road -Anthology
Reunion – Reunions Magazine
Tar, Tallow and Prayer -- Moonshine and Blind Mules and other Western North Carolina Tales, 2006
Confrontation  --Muscadine Lines; A Southern Journal - 2009
What Did You Say? - Dead Mule School of Southern Literature - April, 2010
The Trillium -- Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, Essays, stories and poems by writers living in and inspired by the southern Applachian Mountains.
Pass it on - Breath and Shadow, online journal, July 15 issue,; ICL Newsletter, 2011, Clay County Progress Newspaper
Buck, My Brother Ned and the Snake -Muscadine Lines: A Southern Journal - 2011     
Public Domain - Dead Mule School of Southern Literature - April 2012   

SILVER BOOMER BOOKS ON SALE

Last year two of my poems were published in an anthology, On Our Own, Widowhood for Smarties published by Silver Boomer Books.

A few years ago, another of my poems was published in a Silver Boomer anthology, Freckles to Wrinkles. 

Silver Boomer books is having a special sale on these anthologies which have stories, memoir, and poetry by many good writers. I am particularly proud to be included in On Our Own, Widowhood for Smarties. This book makes an excellent gift for someone who has lost a spouse. 

See more about the sale below.

In anticipation of reorganizing our Abilene office space this fall, we are offering a great sale on our entire catalog of titles published through 2012. We need to reduce local inventory before moving. This is a very limited offer, good through July 31.

Not only are we offering great prices, all shipping is free within the U.S. Click on the sale link at silverboomerbooks.com to see the entire sale list.

This is a great opportunity to stock up your gift closet...have something on hand for every reader for every occasion. 

Photo to the right: Lois Robison Council, one of my first and best advisers, as a young lady.

Left: My big sister, June in 1947.

I received an email from my friend Shirley regarding a new anthology planned by a man named John Curtis. He has the idea of having "elders" like me write about what we think young people might gain from our generation. I plan to be on a conference call tomorrow night to learn more about this book.

It hurts sometimes to see young folk fumble and fall into situations which could have been avoided if they had turned to someone who had experience with similar problems in life. And it is hard for older people to give advice unless they are asked. No one wants to "stick her nose" into someone's business unless asked.

I am thankful I had my sister June to go to when I needed advice. I also had my mother. My problem was I didn't always listen and I was not convinced they understood my problems when I was a teen.

But as I grew older, I learned to listen to the wise advice of my older siblings and my parents. I learned from my mother-in-law.

How sad it must be to have no one to go to when you have a heavy decision to make.

That is why family is important. Even when family drives us nuts, we always know we have each other and when the chips are down, we will be there to lean on. I miss my brother Ray's sage financial advice. I could always call him when I had a question. His was a true Horatio Alger story, from rags to riches, and I valued his ideas. My brother Hal gave us good advice when we were newlyweds. And Rex still advises me on investments. He willingly shares his successes.

What would I do without my biggest supporter, my sister Gay? Although younger than I, she is wise and wonderful.

The ability to listen and consider the opinions or ideas of others doesn't come easily sometimes. Clinging stubbornly to the wrong way in order to protect our egos can be a heart-breaking path. "I've always done it this way, and I'm not going to change." This attitude can be costly and painful. When I took the position of leader of our writers group it was difficult to go against a former leader's argument of how "it was done in the past."

But after I took a close look at where we were and the changes that had come about in the past ten years, I used what I had learned from her and others involved and put my own ideas into the mix to build an even better literary group for all our members.

We can all learn from others - either what to do or what not to do - by listening or observing, and we can pass on what we have learned in our life stories, in anthologies and poems. If you haven't begun writing about your life, don't wait another day.