I have enjoyed this dark, drizzly day. It was just what we needed for the gardens to catch their breath, soak their roots and suck up all that good rainwater. I think I needed it too, a break from relentless sunshine and the weekend's heat.
The West Virginia Writers Conference is over, and I am wishing that 1) it lasted longer, and 2) that I could take the time to reflect on all the many good things that happened during the two days I had with fellow writers. The conference continued on Sunday but I had to make do with just Friday and Saturday as there was just too much pressing stuff on my plate.
For me the best part of such events is getting to see people I have not seen all year. There were new faces too, and I made some new friends this weekend, always a gift. I attended what was basically a full-day poetry workshop with poet Laura Treacy Bentley on Friday. Laura is widely published in the US and in Ireland, and has published both poetry books and novels. We met to discuss poems, then broke for a few hours, during which we were to write a poem to bring back to the next session. Talk about pressure! I snuck in some time for a poetry reading session and read a few of my poems there, then I had to get serious and write.
Writing poetry under a deadline isn't easy. If you write you know that the inspiration, the words, the feeling just isn't always available on command. Especially if you want to write something good. I was with an incredibly talented group of people in this workshop so the bar was high--for all of us. Finally an idea crowded out all of the rest, insisting on being addressed.
Then it was back to the group to read (gulp) what I'd written and to listen and offer suggestions on the others' poems. I got good feedback for mine, a valuable thing. The cap to all this was that later that evening we were to read our new poems during an open mic session in front of the whole conference. Pressure, pressure. It went well, and I have a good poem that has been worked over now to the point that it needs only a little more work.
That was Friday. Saturday I went to a session on writing children's book based on historical facts, given by the award-winning children's author Anna Egan Smucker. I love her work, and came away with good, concrete suggestions, and I hope I will be able to apply them to a children's book I have been working on for over a year, off and on. After this workshop it was more poetry and prose reading sessions, and one on writing ekphrastic poetry (poems based on works of art). The focus here was music, and it was intriguing to see how differently we were inspired by various pieces.
I went home after that for a nap and to pick up Larry. We returned to the conference for the evening performance featuring storyteller and WV Poet Laureate Marc Harshman and professor and old-time musician Doug Van Gundy (who, incidentally, walked away with $250,000 on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2010 or thereabouts). Fiddle music and poetry--a great combination. Then it was time for a late-night gathering to just talk, laugh and catch up with people I hadn't had a chance to talk to. We left after midnight to drive home and crash.
A good, good time. I wish I could do it more often. Maybe I need to start looking for other opportunities.
Yesterday was booth restocking day at our Marietta booth (pics later) and for the next few days my focus is on getting my summer library program ready to hit the road. So writing will have to wait until things settle down again--and probably after garden time too.
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
Showing posts with label West Virginia Writers conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label West Virginia Writers conference. Show all posts
Monday, June 11, 2018
Sunday, June 12, 2016
It's Summertime, and the Livin' is Good
How can I tell it's summer?
1. Library Summer Reading programs--I did my first one on Friday and it was such fun! All about vegetables, believe it or not. Vegetable riddles, vegetable songs, vegetable stories! The Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library was a great place to be on a hot, hot afternoon. A small audience, but big fun.
2. The West Virginia Writers Conference--I did not present or submit the year. I've been lazy about creative writing for the past few years and am only recently getting back into my writing groove. But the conference is THE place to reconnect with writing friends, and it was all I could have asked and more.
3. Late nights--I arrived late Friday evening after my performance in Clarksburg and a 2 1/2-hour drive, and found the conference in full swing. Well, maybe not workshops and such, but the meet-and-greet was going strong. We stayed late, just catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Saturday morning I was up and out for a workshop with the stellar poet and musician Doug Van Gundy. His session was on finding poetic inspiration in music, and it was not anything like you might expect. Listening to pieces, then describing the person who might have loved the music, or a setting the music took us to...very good stuff. The evening offered a concert by Doug and his music partner Paul Gartner, known together as Born Old. Their music is old-time and just plain excellent. Here's a quick clip of Doug from an afternoon break on the porch at the conference:
We stayed until the wee hours of Sunday morning and honestly I hated to leave even then.
4. River watching--the Ohio continues to fascinate me, even though I'm pretty much afraid of water of any depth. We had a leisurely morning, getting up late and having a very late breakfast, then went to Marietta to tidy up our booth and (most important) pick up our monthly check. The booth certainly needed the attention! Sales have been excellent and the booth was a right mess. I didn't need to bring anything new in, just rearrange and straighten up what was already there. When we were done we picked up some lunch and took it down by the river to eat, and stayed a good while just watching the boats, the water and the people. It was so relaxing. Then we took the slow way home, following the river as far as possible south before turning east to home.
5. Gardens! Veggies are coming in beautifully now--lots of broccoli, cabbage, onions and new potatoes. Larry pulled the peas and planted pickling cucumbers and another row of carrots and beets, and replanted lettuce because the last planting did not germinate. Lettuce seeds seem to be very difficult to get to sprout in the last few years and I wonder why? What has changed? We're certainly not doing anything different.
6. Firepit evenings--now that we're finally caught up on spring yard chores and some of the house things, like painting the deck and porch, we can stop work a little earlier and enjoy the evenings. The cicada go to bed early, thank goodness, and the air becomes blessedly cool and soft. Such easy pleasure.
This week summer programs happen in earnest with 3 library programs scheduled this week in various parts of the state, followed by he West Virginia Folk Festival on the weekend. And then, I take a week off for Allegheny Echoes creative writing workshop in the beautiful mountains of Pocahontas county, WV.
Such bliss it will be, to only write, listen to some of the best music in the country in the evenings, and enjoy the beauty of the mountains, the Greenbrier River, and the fellowship of many friends.
So, this is how I know it's summer, even if the calendar doesn't agree. What says summer for you?
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
1. Library Summer Reading programs--I did my first one on Friday and it was such fun! All about vegetables, believe it or not. Vegetable riddles, vegetable songs, vegetable stories! The Clarksburg-Harrison Public Library was a great place to be on a hot, hot afternoon. A small audience, but big fun.
2. The West Virginia Writers Conference--I did not present or submit the year. I've been lazy about creative writing for the past few years and am only recently getting back into my writing groove. But the conference is THE place to reconnect with writing friends, and it was all I could have asked and more.
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| photo by Susan Korstanje of WV Writers |
3. Late nights--I arrived late Friday evening after my performance in Clarksburg and a 2 1/2-hour drive, and found the conference in full swing. Well, maybe not workshops and such, but the meet-and-greet was going strong. We stayed late, just catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. Saturday morning I was up and out for a workshop with the stellar poet and musician Doug Van Gundy. His session was on finding poetic inspiration in music, and it was not anything like you might expect. Listening to pieces, then describing the person who might have loved the music, or a setting the music took us to...very good stuff. The evening offered a concert by Doug and his music partner Paul Gartner, known together as Born Old. Their music is old-time and just plain excellent. Here's a quick clip of Doug from an afternoon break on the porch at the conference:
We stayed until the wee hours of Sunday morning and honestly I hated to leave even then.
4. River watching--the Ohio continues to fascinate me, even though I'm pretty much afraid of water of any depth. We had a leisurely morning, getting up late and having a very late breakfast, then went to Marietta to tidy up our booth and (most important) pick up our monthly check. The booth certainly needed the attention! Sales have been excellent and the booth was a right mess. I didn't need to bring anything new in, just rearrange and straighten up what was already there. When we were done we picked up some lunch and took it down by the river to eat, and stayed a good while just watching the boats, the water and the people. It was so relaxing. Then we took the slow way home, following the river as far as possible south before turning east to home.
5. Gardens! Veggies are coming in beautifully now--lots of broccoli, cabbage, onions and new potatoes. Larry pulled the peas and planted pickling cucumbers and another row of carrots and beets, and replanted lettuce because the last planting did not germinate. Lettuce seeds seem to be very difficult to get to sprout in the last few years and I wonder why? What has changed? We're certainly not doing anything different.
6. Firepit evenings--now that we're finally caught up on spring yard chores and some of the house things, like painting the deck and porch, we can stop work a little earlier and enjoy the evenings. The cicada go to bed early, thank goodness, and the air becomes blessedly cool and soft. Such easy pleasure.
This week summer programs happen in earnest with 3 library programs scheduled this week in various parts of the state, followed by he West Virginia Folk Festival on the weekend. And then, I take a week off for Allegheny Echoes creative writing workshop in the beautiful mountains of Pocahontas county, WV.
Such bliss it will be, to only write, listen to some of the best music in the country in the evenings, and enjoy the beauty of the mountains, the Greenbrier River, and the fellowship of many friends.
So, this is how I know it's summer, even if the calendar doesn't agree. What says summer for you?
Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.
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