New Ventures

Some new things are coming up for me. Maybe I will see you at one of these events?

First, Tellabration is coming to Beckley, WV's Tamarack Arts Center, for the 14th year, I believe. I remember participating in a Tellabration there in 1997, and the event has been held almost every year since then--and possibly before. Jodi French has been the organizer of the Beckley Tellabration since its inception and conitnues to do a fine job of putting the event together. Tellers will include Danny McMillion, Sue Atkinson, William Scott Hill and me. The telling starts at 2:00pm! You can find out more at Tamarack's events page. This is a good opportunity to do some shopping for some of West Virginia's finest arts and crafts and hear excellent storytelling too.

Second is a poetry reading at the Princeton, WV library with poets Sal Buttacci, Raymond Neely, and Rob Merritt. There are few opportunities for a poet to read his/her work, and I was delighted to be able to join these talented men to share our writing. This event is coming up soon, on Tuesday, November 30th at 6:00pm. If you're in the area, please do join us. You can find out more by calling the library at (304) 487-5045, and you can get directions to the library here.

Third, I was notified last week that my workshop on crafting stories from ballads has been accepted for the Virginia Storytelling Gathering to be held March 18-20, 2011 at Massanetta Springs Conference Center near Harrisonburg, Virginia. More information about the Gathering will be coming soon at the VASA website.

This last is not an event, but a new writing project. I will be writing book reviews and the occasional editorial for a new online poetry journal called Poetica Place, published by Middle Island Press. I am excited about this opportunity to share my thoughts in a new venue.

See why I need to retire from my full-time job? My part-time life is getting busier all the time with the things I truly love to do--gardening, writing, telling stories, singing. We hear often from professionals in the fields of mental health and human behavior that the way to happiness is to do what you love, and the rest will follow. I am finally willing to take that leap of faith, and get more excited as each day my retirement gets closer. How close? 174 days! Less than six months.