Winding River Writers Mentioned in NoVa Daily

The writing workshop I've been running for the past 2 years has an official name now: Winding River Writers. We're a group of about eight regulars who meet once a month to read each other's poetry, fiction, plays, and nonfiction. We're all advanced writers intent on publishing.

If you have some experience as a writer and would like to join us, please contact me at hdavis67@gmail.com.

The Northern Virginia daily just mentioned us in an article about local writers' groups:Pen Pals: Writing Clubs Help Members Push Themselves

It's great to see so many groups springing up. There's also now a regular readings series and open mic at The Book of Knowledge on the downtown walking mall in Winchester. It takes place on the first Friday of each month at 7 PM. It's a great store and the audience is very supportive. Check it out!

Shenandoah Breakdown: The Blog

Check out our new blog Shenandoah Breakdown for observations of local people, culture, cuisine, and varieties of monster truck. We break down the pros and cons, the ups and downs, the funny, the sad, and the scary aspects of living in the Shenandoah Valley and, specifically, of life in the confounding little town of Front Royal, VA.

Hint Fiction Anthology: Call for Submissions

This sounds like a great exercise to try. I imagine many of these turn out to be quite poetic. Check out the guidelines here:
http://www.robertswartwood.com/?page_id=8
Tentatively scheduled for the fall of 2010, W.W. Norton will publish an anthology of Hint Fiction. What is Hint Fiction? It’s a story of 25 words or less that suggests a larger, more complex story. The thesis of the anthology is to prove that a story 25 words or less can have as much impact as a story 2,500 words or longer. The anthology will include between 100 and 150 stories. We want your best work.

Potty Poetry Story in NV Daily

Check out this great article on the Bathroom Poetry Project:

http://www.nvdaily.com/lifestyle/2009/06/poetry-project-front-royal-lat.html

For a Good Time, Call...

The Bathroom Poetry Project Progressive Reading was a hoot! About 25 brave poetry fans walked with us to 15 downtown shops in Front Royal, VA on May 21 to hear great bathroom poetry. Actually, the poems had nothing to do with bathrooms--we just hung some of them in bathrooms where patrons' cannot help but see and read them.

Thanks to all who came out! We'll have another reading in a few months with a second round of poems by local adult and teen writers!

A Poem by Maggie

Here is a poem by Maggie, who is 5. Watch out, Mary Oliver!

The Butterfly Wind

I was playing outside in the grass

and my mother called me for dinner.

The berry blossoms sprang open.

It was a late night.

The dazzle blossoms sprung closed.

I walked into the house.

They were having flower dazzles.

The bluebirds burst out of their eggs

and flew over the fields of grain.

It was morning.

The bluebirds turned into giant eagles.

Bathroom Poetry Project Comes to Front Royal, VA

CALL for POEMS!

The Front Royal Women’s Resource Center and the Blue Ridge Arts Council (BRAC) invite teen and adult poets from Warren County, Virginia to submit poems to the Front Royal Bathroom Poetry Project.

The Bathroom Poetry Project is an exploration of poetry in non-traditional spaces that will—
--allow the public to experience the arts in an unexpected way
--bring visitors to downtown businesses
--encourage writing by local authors.

At least 20 winning poems will be framed and displayed in the bathrooms or other spaces of restaurants and shops in downtown Front Royal, VA for a period of three months.

The winners will also be invited to participate in a “progressive reading” of the poems at each venue and an opening reception at BRAC to be held Thursday, May 21 as part of the Third Thursday Art Walk.

DEADLINE for Submissions: Friday May 1, 2009

Submission Guidelines:

• Poems will be accepted from poets who live in Warren County, Virginia.
  
• Poems can be on any topic and in any form but should be appropriate for a wide audience.
  
• Poems must be typed in 12-point font and be no longer than one page single-spaced.
  
• Poets may submit up to 3 poems.
  
• The name of the poet must not appear anywhere on the poem itself but should be included on a separate cover sheet.
  
• Separate cover sheet should include name, address, phone and email and the title of the poems submitted. Teens should note their age on this sheet.
  
• Adult and teen contests will be judged separately. Each venue downtown will display one poem by an adult and one poem by a teen. Teens aged 13-18 are invited to submit to the contest.
  
• Contest entries must be mailed by regular mail to: Bathroom Poetry Project, FRWRC, P.O. Box 1748, Front Royal, VA 22630.
  
• Contest is free—no entry fee required.
  
  For more information—
  Contact project coordinator Heather Davis at heatheredit@cs.com.
  Go to http://bathroompoet.net/index.html.