Teen writers, you must READ!

To write well, a writer must read. And read. And read some more. Read everything you can get your hands on. Read fiction, read biographies, read nonfiction, read newspapers, magazines, and yes, even web pages. Read the backs of cereal boxes and shampoo bottles. And if you sign up to participate in "Metamorphosis," the Teen Read summer reading program, you can rack up some cool stuff while you read. Teen Read members must come to the library to register for the program. Give us your name, email address, school, and telephone number, and we will send you an invitation to join the Teen Read blog. Once you reply to the invitation email and follow the instructions, you will be signed up for the blog. Read any books from the library that are 100 pages or more, write a book review of at least one paragraph, post it to the blog, and you will get a free paperback to keep forever and ever. Two reviews will earn you two Crawdad baseball tickets, four reviews will earn you two more tickets, and every review earns you a chance to win cool prizes at the end of the program. Every review posted also earns you a free book, as long as supplies last. The prize books are mostly samples and galley proofs that we receive from the publishers, so there is a wide selection, but you are responsible for choosing your own books. We haven't read them, so we can't give you an opinion one way or the other. Where else can you earn as many free books as you read? Come to the library into the children's room, and we will get you fixed up for the summer. Happy Reading! Your friendly neighborhood Book-woman, Tamara

Last TWG meeting until fall

For most of us, this is a happy time of the year. School is almost out, graduation is near, and we have the long, hot summer stretched out before us. Before we go our separate ways for a couple of months, we have one more writing group meeting in June. It's on Saturday, June 7, at 2:30 in the library meeting room. Since it's our last meeting until the fall, we will celebrate our success with pizza! Mr. Rice will bring a copy of the Hickory High School literary magazine for us to peruse and "oooo" and "aaaahh" over. Remember to either send me your poems that you have read meetings via email, or bring them typed to the meeting. I am keeping a file of them for future projects. Take care, Tamara

Poetry Hickory on June 10

Hey guys! Poetry Hickory is coming up again in June, so here is the press release I received from Scott Owens. Note the autobiographical piece below the release-its style and form--to see how you do not have to stay "in the box" with your writing. PERFORMANCE POET AND MAGAZINE EDITOR TO READ AT POETRY HICKORYThe Poetry Hickory reading series will continue into the summer at 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday, June 10 at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in downtown Hickory with the visit of poets Ted Pope and Jonathan K. Rice.Originally from Indiana, Rice is the influential editor of Iodine Poetry Journal and presently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. He authored his first chapbook, Shooting Pool With A Cellist, in 2003. His latest book, Ukulele and Other Poems, (Main Street Rag, 2006) is a full-length collection. His poetry has appeared in many periodicals, including The Aurorean, Cold Mountain Review, Comstock Review, Main Street Rag, Pedestal, Sacred Journey, Slipstream, Sundog: A Southeast Review, and work forthcoming in Blue Unicorn, Gargoyle and HazMat Review. He has also been a longtime host of poetry readings in Charlotte.Pope is an acclaimed performance poet and musician and author of the book, rEdlipSticK. Originally from southwest Oklahoma, Pope now lives in Morganton.Poetry Hickory is coordinated by Hickory poet, Scott Owens. For further information, contact him at 234-4266 or asowens1@yahoo.com. Details are also listed online at www.poetryhickory.com "i go shoot baskets run full court and practice poems even write poems out loud. maybe that is the thing to say. does anyone care that i was born on an airbase in sw oklahoma? 20 minutes from the texas panhandle. the wind blew the same direction so much that the treebranches all grew the same direction. the first time i remember a good rain w/out hail, lightening or a tornado was afew days after moving to NC so my dad could go to semenary and be a so babtist preacher. i have been in every little church from texas to nc... i have got the holy ghost listening to jimmy swaggart met pat robertson, been to PTL...heard Billy Graham. I spent a summer as a kid constantly talking to myself to make sure i was in control and hadn't been posessed by a demon. now i read science books and the world seems a more awesome place. this morning i brought home a bird feather and a piece of bark because i could not help myself they looked beautiful. i spent sum time drawing in a journal w magical markers and then contructed and photographed a tiny scene including sum deer-moss and the figure of a woman in a white dress made to go w those model train sets she was damn near microscopic. i enjoy taking photos of insides of seashells and things so close you can't tell what it is...the small world. i like taking pics of flowers and of toys in strange settings... toy buffalo herd w/ herd of real snails... i made a film about shadows, seashells and telephones for a school project. i am the author of the book and: rEdLipSticK and its companion cd an audiobook but also a rock and roll concept album...my 2112. (the book and are available at amazon.com and target.com etc) i just read a book on creativity by david lynch. i agree. i am reading A BRIEF HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING by bill bryson. i just read a graphic novel based on Fritz (Metropolis) Lang's 1931 film: M it starred Peter Lorre as a child murderer in Berlin. i like the painter Francis Bacon. i am still amazed at how unkind or just plain evil people can be...so i am broken...can't be fixed. ya just eat it and go on...swallowing it doesn't make the world right...it means you can survive in it maybe... i like birds, flowers and rivers...rocks, clouds, the sun is pretty amazing i like the sun. i want to write children's books about slaves of famous people. i was working on Ony Judge...a slave of Martha W. who escaped from the Capital when it was at Philly went up north and married a sailor and raised her kids...the letters the surviving letters and journals are amazing..martha W. seems to have really felt her slave should have been more dutiful and returned...hell the Washingtons tried to have her kidnapped at the countrys expense...which was against the law....anyway someone beat me to this last July at least on Ony Judge...but there are plenty more slave stories...unfortunately there is an abundance. I am Woody Guthrie's flying saucer trapped out here NOW in the orbit of mars like a hound-dog or maybe the Owl the little inner buddah is building me a canoe that will take these poems from my head and heart to you."

Come to the meeting this Saturday!

Hello everyone! I want to remind you that our next teen writing group meeting is this Saturday, May 10, at 2:30, in the Patrick Beaver Library Meeting Room. Remember also that we have a homework assignment! Mr. Rice asked us to write a piece about a happy or a sad memory and bring it to share at the May meeting. We will continue to try using these guided writing exercises to increase our writing skills and stimulate creativity. Don't forget! See you Saturday! Tamara

Next TWG Meeting Is Coming Up!

The next meeting of the PBML Teen Writing Group is Saturday, May 10, at 2:30 in the library meeting room. Remember that Mr. Rice gave us a homework assignment! We are supposed to write a poem about a happy or sad memory. I guess you could also write an essay or a short story if you wanted, if you're not into writing poetry. Bring your writing to the meeting and be ready to share it with us. I want to start collecting copies of your poems, stories, etc. that you share in hopes that someday we can publish a chapbook or other collection of our work. If you are willing to allow me to do this, either bring an extra copy for me to the meetings or I can make copies of it for you. I can't promise right away that we will be able to publish, but it is something to think about. Don't forget! Saturday, May 10, 2:30, library meeting room. Friends. Writing. Food. Be there. -Tamara

Teen Poetry Slam Debriefing

Hi everybody, just wanted to update you on the teen poetry slam I went to last night. There were about 30 kids people there, maybe a few more, and a lot of them were talented teenagers. I was impressed. The slam was produced by the Catawba County Council on Adolescence. They plan on having another one next month, and I'll let you know when it will be. I still didn't get to buy any coffee, though! Drat. -T.

YES WE ARE MEETING ON APRIL 12!!!

Thanks to my super boss Hannah, I will be able to have a Teen Writing meeting on Saturday, April, at 2:30. We will still plan to attend the Jon Scieszka reading, which is OUTSIDE at 1:00 (not 12 as I thought, sorry), at the Shaw Plaza at LRC. No, I have no idea where the Shaw Plaza is, but I imagine you can follow the crowds. That's what I'm going to do. In fact, if you come to the reading, look for me. I'm going to take my lunch at 12:00 and go early so I can get a good seat and eat out in the sun, hopefully. The reading is from 1 to 2, and we will meet at 2:30. So bring some coffee or if you want to bring your lunch to the meeting, that's fine with me. We will have the usual junky food. See you there! P.S. Chris will be out of town with his family, so you will have to put up with me!

Teen Writing Group April Reminder

Hi guys! Just a reminder that we are NOT having a regular TWG meeting this month. Instead, everyone is invited to hear Jon Scieszka speak at P.E. Monroe Auditorium at L-R on Saturday, April 12, at 12:00 noon. Scieszka has written picture books for children such as The Stinky Cheese Man and the Time Warp Trio series. We'll meet there and maybe after the speech go get dessert and coffee or something. The catch is, I am scheduled to work with a new employee that day, and I will not be able to attend the Scieszka reading or go out with you guys. I'm so sorry! It's the nature of the public service business, though, that your schedule is not always your own. Anyway, I'll get you more information as it becomes available. Tamara

April Poetry Events in Hickory

Local author and poet Ron Rash will be reading from his work at the CVCC Library at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 5. He will read from "Eureka Mill," a book of his poems, as part of the 2008 Big Read. This reading is free and open to the public, so I encourage you to go if you can. Also, don't forget that Tasteful Beans is hosting another Poetry Hickory event on Tuesday, April 8, at 7 p.m. Poets Mark Smith-Soto and John Picard are the featured readers. They each have published books of poetry through Main Street Rag, the Charlotte publishing company that promotes the monthly poetry readings in Hickory. Hope to see you there! -Tamara

Statewide Poetry Contest Information

Here is some information about a statewide poetry contest that actually pays cash for award-winning entries! Also, I graduated from Catawba College, it's beautiful, and only an hour away. -T You may find the following information useful. I encourage you to enter thePoetry Council of North Carolina contest. Details follow below. The contestrules are posted at http://www.oldmp.com/poetrycouncilofnc/ ***Dear North Carolina poet,The annual poetry contest sponsored by PCNC is open for submissions fromadult writers and students in North Carolina through May 15, 2008. Winningpoems will be published in Bay Leaves; and the winning poets will beinvited to Poetry Day to read at Catawba College in Salisbury on October 4,2008. The first- and second-place winners of the Oscar Arnold Young Contestfor a book of poetry will also be honored on Poetry Day. All winners, withthe exception of honorable mentions, receive cash prizes as detailed in thecontest rules enclosed. Names of the contest judges are listed on thereverse of this letter.The Poetry Council of North Carolina does not maintain a membership. We area council of about 15 volunteers who conduct the annual poetry contest,publish the contest anthology, and run Poetry Day each fall. Because we donot have a paid membership, we charge a small entry fee of $5 for adultentries by contest category. Students are not required to pay a fee toenter a grade-appropriate student contest.Our program on October 4, 2008, will begin with registration starting at9:30 a.m., and end around 2:30 p.m. Activities for the day will include theaward readings, opportunities for photographs, our luncheon that runs from12:30 to 1:30 p.m., and a one-hour poetry-related program in the afternoon.The public is invited to attend, and you do not have to be a winning poetto enjoy the day. For your convenience, a book table will be set up whereyou may purchase Bay Leaves, set out your own poetry books to sell, orpurchase books from other poets.I encourage you to enter the 2008 PCNC contest; and to share thisinformation with other North Carolina poets that you know, and your localschoolteachers too. You may also find information about PCNC at thefollowing blog address: http://share.triangle.com/node/11095Contest rules are posted at: http://www.oldmp.com/poetrycouncilofnc/Sincerely,Ed Cockrell, PresidentPoetry Council of North Carolina

April and May Poetry Readings at TB

Here's the press release from Scott Owens, coordinator of the poetry events at Tastefull Beans -T. : Two writers from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro will be featured at the April 8 Poetry Hickory reading. Poet, Mark Smith-Soto, author of Green Mango Collage, Shafts, Our Lives Are Rivers, and Any Second Now, and short story writer, John Picard, author of little lives, will read from their work at 7:00 P.M. at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in downtown Hickory.Costa Rican-American Mark Smith-Soto is professor of Romance Languages and Director of the Center for Creative Writing in the Arts at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he edits International Poetry Review. A 2005 winner of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship in creative writing, his poetry has appeared in Nimrod, Carolina Quarterly, The Sun, Poetry East, Quarterly West, Americas Review, Callaloo, Chattahoochee Review, Literary Review, Kenyon Review and various other literary magazines. John Picard is a graduate of the UNCG MFA program in creative writing. He has received the Tim McGinnis Award for Humorous Fiction and a NC Arts Council Grant for fiction. His work has appeared in Iowa Review, Crescent Review, Greensboro Review, West Branch, and Kansas Quarterly among others.Poetry Hickory is a monthly reading series sponsored by Main Street Rag held on the second Tuesday of each month at Taste Full Beans and coordinated by Hickory poet, Scott Owens. Upcoming events are listed at www.scottowenspoet.com. For further information, call 828-234-4266.