Redheaded Stepchild, June Poetry Hickory Reminder, Open Mic, and Jessie Carty

Just a quick note to remind you about the special Poetry Hickory this Saturday (5/22) at 1:00 featuring poets from the pages of the very unique NC journal “Redheaded Stepchild.”

Readers will include “Stepchild” editors Malaika King Albrecht and Eric Helms (all you hopeful writers should take advantage of this opportunity to network, aka “schmooze”); “Asheville Poetry Review” associate editor, Pat Riviere-Seel; “Moon Shine Review” editor Beth Cagle Burt; “Dead Mule School of Southern Literature” poetry editor, Helen Losse; Poetry Out Loud organizer, Michael Beadle; and me.

Also, a heads up for the regular Poetry Hickory on June 8.  Our featured writers that night will be David Rigsbee of Mt. Olive College, author of an incredible 18 collections of poetry, and Linda Annas Ferguson of Charleston, SC, author of 5 books of her own (and by the way, she is bringing musical accompaniment).  The Open Mic readers that night will include former featured reader, Ann Chandonnet, author of a new book of Civil War letters; fiction writer from Sherrill’s Ford, Carolyn Steele Agosta; and newcomer to the Poetry Hickory scene, Vanester Hawley.

As always, Poetry Hickory will be preceded by the NC Writers’ Network Writers’ Night Out, at 5:00 (open to anyone and everyone), and the Open Mic readings will begin at 6:30.

Special guest host on June 8 will be the wonderful poet, Jessie Carty.

February Poetry Hickory Videos

Here are links to 5 video samples from February’s Poetry Hickory, thanks to Jessie Carty.  It was a fantastic night, and I want to thank all those who attended and especially our readers who came from Emory, VA, Chapel Hill, Elkin, Statesville, and Charlotte.  As always, thanks to Taste Full Beans and Main Street Rag.  I will attempt to embed these links in the sidebar under videos so that they’ll be available here even after this blog entry has scrolled into oblivion.

–Jessie Carty:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Khf53AJ8BwY

–Tony Ricciardelli http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGJ3kCD8K58

–Bill Blackley http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo_ds2afWxY

–Felicia Mitchell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPzT9byZGR4

—http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S06PST-AIs Joanna Catherine Scott

February Open Mic Readers Set

I was already pretty excited about February’s Poetry Hickory.  I mean, you can’t get much better than Joanna Catherine Scott and Felicia Mitchell as featured writers.  If you don’t already know their work, then you could start by reading the reviews I wrote of their recent books for Wild Goose Poetry Review.  Both reviews have been archived on my blog at http://scottowensmusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-of-joanna-catherine-scotts-night.html and http://scottowensmusings.blogspot.com/2009/11/review-of-felicia-mitchells-cleft-of.html.

But now, the Open Mic has shaped up to be perhaps the best we’ve ever had.  First there is Jessie Carty, who has already been a featured writer and will be so again soon but is doing the Open Mic now because she has a new book out, The Wait of Atom, a review of which will be in the next Wild Goose Poetry Review.  If you can’t wait for that, you can read a sort of preview here:  http://scottowensmusings.blogspot.com/2010/01/twins-weasleys-and-wait-of-atom-or.html.  You can also read some of her recent work in Wild Goose where she is the Featured Poet in the current issue.

The second Open Mic reader will be one of my favorite people in the world of NC poetry and a repeat Open Mic reader at Poetry Hickory, Tony Ricciardelli.  Tony is the founder and coordinator of the Phi Beat Open Mic Reading Series in Statesville where he teaches at Mitchell Community College.  Poetry Hickory fans will remember his poem “Ryan O.” which he read back in October and is in the current issue of Wild Goose.

The final Open Mic reader is a first-timer at Poetry Hickory, but certainly not in the world of poetry.  Bill Blackley has, in fact, been the President of the NC Poetry Society and is this year’s Chair of the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Series.  This is his first time at Poetry Hickory simply because he will have to drive all the way from Elkin to participate.  I hope we can make so worth his time that he wants to come back and do it again.

This is definitely one not to miss.  So I hope to see you all at 6:30 on February 9 at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse.  By the way, we’ll also have copies of the new Main Street Rag and several new books from Main Street Rag, available for purchase at the usual incredible Poetry Hickory discount prices.