West Virginia Writers Podcast: Recent Episodes
E. Meritus (Eric Fritzius)
The ongoing podcast for West Virginia Writers, Inc., hosted by Eric Fritzius. Each show will feature interviews and discussion with and about Appalachian writers as well as news of WV Writers related events.
The writer Lee Maynard passed away on June 16, 2017, in New Mexico. He was an infamous son of the Appalachian literary scene due to his less than flattering depiction of growing up in West Virginia in his novel Crum--infamously banned from sale at Tamarack. What negative publicity it received, however, drew more attention to the book, which is, at its heart, a love letter to the state.
For the past 15 years, Lee has been a regular presenter at the WV Writers Summer Conference, often accompanied by his friend and collaborator Pops Walker. In this episode we talk to Pops himself about Lee and his work. Also included are Lee's previous podcast appearances, including a recording of one of Lee's readings with Pops Walker, a resonant interview he did with Cat Pleska in 2009, and other recorded material.
The Seward Whale Strike Tragedy, they called it. Twenty-five people dead. The worst accident in Alaska’s tourism history since Will Rogers’ plane went down in ‘35.
Only one man left alive knows the truth of what really happened -- the man everyone agrees caused the tragedy to start with. And if there's one thing he's sure of, the thing they hit that day was no whale.
Presented here is his testimony, as transcribed for an interview with Paranorm Violations Magazine.
This podcast adapts the short story "The Ones that Aren't Crows" found in the collection A Consternation of Monsters.
Ed Davis is the WV-native author of the novels I Was So Much Older Then and The Measure of Everything. His third novel, The Psalms of Israel Jones was recently published by WV University Press. It tells the story of a legendary hard-living, hard-lovin', hard-drinkin', and hard-druggin' rockstar who, in his later years, develops something of a cult following. Literally. His son Thom, a conservative minister with some possible moral issues of his own, is called on to the tour by a mysterious phone call and finds himself once again thrust into his estranged father's chaotic world of tour busses, dive-bar shows, and... snake-handlers?
In this episode, host Eric Fritzius sits down with Davis for an interview about the novel, as recorded during the Lewisburg Literary Festival on August 8, 2015.
In honor of the recent passing of poet Miles Dean, we present an encore of Episode 41 in which he and his poetry are featured.
Miles Dean was not only a WV Writers member, and regular contributor to this podcast, but he was a prolific poet and one of the driving forces for the Raleigh County Library Writers Group. In addition to being a multiple winner of the writers’ wall and people’s choice competitions at the WV Writers Summer Conference, Miles published three collections of his poetry, the most recent of which, New River Reflections, debuted in January.
This recorded live reading comes from the September 16th Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. WV Writers' featured reader is Miles Dean, won honorable mention in the Humor Category of the 2010 WVW Annual Writing Contest as well as voted the 1st place winner in poetry for the Writers Wall at the 2010 Summer Conference.
Find other podcasts featuring Miles Dean at http://podcast.wvwriters.org/search/label/Miles%20Dean
Only a month late in posting this episode, this is the final prose recording from the 2014 Literary Tea series at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. It features Rachel Garringer, the 2nd place winner of our 2014 Emerging Writers Prose category.
This recorded live reading comes from the October 13, 2014 Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg.
We also mourn the loss of WV Writers member and podcast contributor Miles Dean, who passed on April 1. You can hear other podcasts featuring Miles at http://podcast.wvwriters.org/search/label/Miles%20Dean
To help promote our annual writing contest, this year's Literary Tea readings featured winners from the 2014 WVW Annual Writing Contest. The featured reader for this Tea is Janet Lilly, who won third place in the Writers Wall competition at the 2014 WV Writers Summer Conference.
This recorded live reading comes from the October 6, 2014 Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg.
This recorded live reading comes from the September 29 Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg.
To help promote our annual writing contest, this year's Literary Tea readings featured winners from the 2014 WVW Annual Writing Contest. The featured reader for this first reading is Audrey Stanton Smith, who placed in the Humor, Stageplay and Children's Book categories.
(If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own recorded live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.)
This recorded live reading comes from the September 22 Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg.
To help promote our annual writing contest, this year's Literary Tea readings featured winners from the 2014 WVW Annual Writing Contest. The featured reader for this first reading is Dawn A. Baldwin, who placed both honorable mention and 1st place in the Pearl S. Buck Award for Writing for Social Change category of the 2014 contest.
(If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own recorded live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.)
ContestCAST 2015 is your one-stop primer for all information about the 2015 West Virginia Writers Annual Writing contests, which accepts entries from January 2 through March 31.
Joining host Eric Fritzius for the third year in a row is 2015 Contest Coordinator... Eric Fritzius.
In honor of April being National Poetry Month, the WV Writers Podcast presents a recorded live reading captured at the 2013 Literary Tea Poetry Edition at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg, WV.
Featured are poets and readers Lori Evans, Barry Rich, Miles Dean, Micah Labishak, Sammye Lewis, and Wolf Knight.
ContestCAST 2014 serves as your primer for all things related to the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest for 2014, which accepts entries from January 2 through March 31.
Joining host Eric Fritzius for the second year in a row to help explain all the whys and wherefores of the contest is the 2014 Contest Coordinator... Eric Fritzius.
Born in Hillsboro, WV. Pearl S. Buck was a Pulitzer Prize winning author known the world over for such books as The Good Earth. The child of missionary parents, she grew up in China, and her writing later in life greatly influenced the change in Western perceptions of that nation. As part of the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest, our organization has teamed with the Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Foundation in Hillsboro to sponor the Pearl S. Buck Award for Writing for Social Change category of our 2013 contest.
Joining host Eric Fritzius to talk about the award and about Pearl Buck herself, are Jolie Lewis,vice president of the board of directors for the Pearl S. Buck Birthpalce Foundation, and Dr. Edwina Pendarvis, a biographer of Buck's.
ContestCast 2013 serves as your primer for all things related to the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest for 2013, which accepts entries from January 2 through March 31.
Joining host Eric Fritzius to help explain all the whys and wherefores of the contest is the 2013 Contest Coordinator, Eric Fritzius.
For a special Christmas Bonus Show, we're playing a recorded live reading of a Christmas-set short story by our own podcast host, Eric Fritzius. This story was recorded at the November 16 Brown Bag Reading he did at Carnegie Hall WV in Lewisburg.
Introducing the show, unfortunately, are Eric's usual Bonus Show co-hosts, his dogs, with a Christmas story of their own.
As you may have read in the most recent WV Writers print newsletter, or seen in announcement form on the WV Writers website, we have a one day Fall Conference in the works coming up on November 3 in Elkins, WV. In this episode, we chat with WV Writers President Teresa Newsome as well as Fall Conference Presenters Sandy Tritt and Christina Freeburn regarding the conference. You'll get an overview of what is planned as well as some specifics on the workshops being offered there by Sandy and Christina.
On this episode, I sit down with an old friend from college, playwright and actress Suehyla El Attar. She will be leading two workshops at the 2012 WV Writers Summer Conference which are not only helpful for playwrights, but storytellers, poets, writers and any form of creative endeavor. Suehyla bases her workshops on work she did with movement storyteller Celeste Miller. She explains Celeste's approach.
With the 2012 WV Writers Summer Conference on its way, June 8, 9 and 10, at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV, it's time to check ack in with our organizational president and conference organizer, Cat Pleska, regarding updates to the conference lineup and schedule.
In honor of April being National Poetry Month, the WV Writers Podcast returns from a long hiatus (explained within) with a recorded live reading captured at the 2011 Literary Tea Poetry Edition at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg, WV.
(In case you'd like a hint as to why the podcast has been gone so long, this episode was recorded atop a hill in a county other than Mercer County. It's a good thing.)
One of the guest presenters at this year's West Virginia Book Festival was author Jaimy Gordon. Her books include "Bogeywoman," "She Drove Without Stopping" and "Shamp of the City-Solo." But it is her most recent novel, Lord of Misrule, that has gained the most acclaim, being the winner of the National Book Award for Fiction in 2010. It’s a novel set in West Virginia, amidst the world of horse-racing.
Jaimy was gracious enough to sit down with us for a conversation with fellow WV Writers member Dr. Edwina Pendarvis.
Thanks go out to Phyllis Wilson Moore for arranging this interview.
Recorded at the West Virginia Book Festival, A Quest for Humor: WV Style is a panel of four humor writers from our state both reading examples of their work and commenting on the style of our state's sense of humor.
Featured on the panel are Diane Tarantini (WVW Podcast #31, #46), Karin Fuller, Terry McNemar (Podcasts #1, #23, #31), and Rick Steelhammer. The panel is moderated by former podcast guest Steve Goff (#23, #25, #49 and Bonus Show #9).
This week we present a recorded live reading from the 2011 WVW Summer Conference featuring Susanna "Granny Sue" Holstein. She’s been a featured storytelling performer at events from Bellingham, Washington to Boston, Massachusetts and points in between. She's especially well known, however, for being a West Virginia storyteller, focusing much of her repertoire on WV history, ghost stories, Appalachian tales and ballads.
Recorded live at the 2011 WV Writers Board of Directors Retreat, we present a conversation with WVW President Cat Pleska regarding the organization's anthology collaboration with Woodland Press, West Virginia Writers Inked. The anthology will be open exclusively for submissions by members of WV Writers, Inc. We also spill a few beans on some upcoming guests for the 2012 Summer Conference as well as give a wrap up to the 2011 Conference.
Welcome back for Episode 57. It's been a longer than usual summer hiatus, but we are now back with new episodes.
This week we present a recorded live reading from the 2011 WVW Summer Conference by Jim Minick, conference presenter and author of The Blueberry Years, Burning Heaven, and Finding a Clear Path among others.
Jim reads from his work.
In our continued effort to whet appetites for the 2011 WV Writers Summer Conference, this week's podcast features an interview with author, conference presenter and banquet keynote speaker, Meredith Sue Willis.
Meredith Sue was born and raised in Shinnston, West Virginia. She has degrees from Barnard College and Columbia University, and her fiction has been published by Scribners', HarperCollins, West Virginia University Press, Ohio University Press, and others. Her novels include A Space Apart, Oradell at Sea, Higher Ground, Only Great Changes, and Tresspassers. Her short story collections include Dwight’s House and other Stories, In the Mountains of America, and her latest, Out of the Mountains. Meredith Sue is also devoted to writing about the craft of writing. She’s written nonfiction titles such as Blazing Pencils, Personal Fiction Writing, Deep Revision, and her latest, Ten Strategies to Write Your Novel.
Meredith Sue will be leading two workshops at the 2011 Summer Conference, June 10, 11 and 12 at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV.
In our continued effort to whet appetites for the 2011 WV Writers Summer Conference, this week we interview Sarah Dooley, author of the young adult novel Livvie Owen Lived Here. The book is a story told from the perspective of an autistic 14-year-old girl whose loving family is frequently thrown into chaos by her actions. In real life Sarah is a teacher of special needs children and can speak to the reality of kids like Livvie.
Sarah will be leading two workshops at the 2011 Summer Conference, June 10, 11 and 12 at Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV.
With the 2011 WV Writers Summer Conference a mere 3 weeks from this recording, it's time to check back in with our organizational president and conference organizer, Cat Pleska, regarding updates to the conference lineup and schedule. We also drop a few hints as to who will be interview guests on this very podcast as we go to a weekly schedule through the conference itself.
In honor of April being National Poetry Month, today's podcast is a listener generated one usign poems gathered via our Podcast Poetry Hotline. We asked listeners to voicemail us some poetry and voicemail it they did. Featured on the show today are Debbie Richard, Twyla Vincent, Dreama Frisk, as well as previous podcast guests Tim Armentrout, Pam Hanson and Salvatore Buttaci. We also have a couple of major announcements at the start of the show regarding the 2011 Summer Conference.
In honor of April being National Poetry Month, today's podcast is another recorded live poetry reading, this one captured at the Princeton Public Library in down town Princeton, WV. The poets featured are all members of the Appalachian Penworks writers group.
Featured poets for Part 2 include: Beth and Steve Godfrey, and Rob Merritt.
In honor of April being National Poetry Month, today's podcast is another recorded live poetry reading, this one captured at the Princeton Public Library in down town Princeton, WV. The poets featured are all members of the Appalachian Penworks writers group.
Featured poets in Part 1 include: Raymond Neely, Ashleigh Gill and Salvatore Buttaci.
In honor of April being National Poetry Month, today's podcast features a recorded live poetry reading from Raleigh County Library's poetry reading in March. Featured poets include Sammye Lewis, Sue Atkinson, Kitty Mooney, Miles Dean and Rebecca Dean. The evening was also hosted by Rebecca Dean.
Apologies must go out to Danny McMillion and Sammye Lewis. Due to technical difficulties, The poem Danny read was not recorded, nor was Sammye's first poem of her set. We'll have them back on future podcasts to rectify this.
The 2011 WV Writers Summer Conference is coming up June 10, 11 and 12 at the Cedar Lakes Conference Center in Ripley, WV. While registration for the conference has been open since March 7, we've only revealed a preview of the presenters for it on our website. ConferenceCast 2011 helps fill in the blanks for the upcoming conference. Joining us to help fill the blanks is our Conference Coordinator and organizational president, Cat Pleska.
The current list of workshop presenters and their workshop descriptions will soon be available at our website.
Bonus Show #13 is all about announcements, including word about the ending days of the WVW 2011 Writing Contest, the registration opening for the 2011 Summer Conference, the Writers Toolkit Event and our special upcoming poetry hotline show in which you can participate.
Check our website for all the details on all of the above, but listen to the podcast to hear me say it.
http://www.wvwriters.org
We're now at the half-way mark for the 2011 WV Writers Annual Writing Contest. (DEADLINE March 14, LATE DEADLINE March 31 with $2 late fee per entry.) Therefore it's time for Part 2 of ContestCast 2011.
Joining us to give us an update on this year's contest will be Contest Coordinator and WVW 1st VP Teresa Newsome. And joining us to help answer your Frequenly Asked Questions about the contest will be Coordinator Emeritus Steve Goff.
Way back in June, we put out a call for our listeners to submit Dear City Letters to help drum up some publicity for National Public Radio's State of the Re:Union paying a visit to our state. With the Dear City letters, people were invited to write a letter to their city, expressing love, anger, frustration, humor and beyond, addressing the likes and dislikes or breaking misconceptions. We passed the letters we received on to NPR. This podcast is our chance to finally play them.
For a special Christmas Bonus Show, we're playing a recorded live reading of a Christmas-set short story by our own podcast host, Eric Fritzius. This story was recorded at the November 16 Brown Bag Reading he did at Carnegie Hall WV in Lewisburg.
Introducing the show, unfortunately, are Eric's usual Bonus Show co-hosts, his dogs, with a Christmas story of their own.
ContestCast 2011 serves as your primer for all things related to the WV Writers 2011 Annual Writing Contest, which will began accepting entries January 2, 2011.
Joining us to help explain all the whys and wherefores of the contest are WVW President Cat Pleska and WVW 1st VP Teresa Newsome.
Download Contest Entry Forms As Reference for the Podcast:
Adult Contest Entry Form
New Mountain Voices Student Entry Form
Podcast Episode 46 is holiday-centric version of our patented Recorded Live Readings. (Q: "If they're recorded, then how can they be live?" A: "Come over here and ask me that again.") The readers for this event were Ted Webb and Diane Tarantini and it was recorded on November 5, 2010 at the Zenclay Gallery in Morgantown.
Ted Webb is a cofounder of Morgantown Poets. Diane Tarantini is a member of WV Writers and won four awards in our 2010 Annual Writing Competition. Together, they put on a holiday reading full of humorous essays and poetry.
Podcast Episode 45 is a landmark recorded live reading of the Woodland Press Writing and Publishing Panel from October 23 at Taylor Books on Capitol Street in downtown Charleston. This is a panel designed to be a brief overview on publishing using a variety of methods from traditional to self-publishing as well as some of the ins and outs of the publishing business.
Featured in the panel are Woodland Press authors Karin Fuller, Geoff Fuller, Eric Fritzius, Michael Knost, Jason L. Keene, Frank Lanerd and Brian J. Hatcher. The panel is led by 2010 Bram Stoker Award winner Michael Knost, co-founder of Woodland Press.
Taylor Books, by the way, is a fantastic bookstore and they stock not only titles by Woodland Press but also WV Writers own anthology Seeking the Swan.
Episode 44 is another of our patented Recorded Live Readings (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "What is this, the Inqusition? Get off it already.") This one is a recording of Carnegie Hall's October Brown Bag Reading featuring poet Tim Armentrout. Tim reads from a variety of his poems and prose pieces.
LINKS
Examiner.com interview with Tim
Tim's Blog, Breath Made Visible
Tim's Chapbook, All This Falling Away
Tim's CD, Pilgrim of the Neo-Dark Ages
The Livestock Barnyard
Carnegie Hall WV
Trillium Performing Arts "Locally Grown" movement concert
Episode 43 of the WV Writers Podcast features an interview with WV Writers' own Richard A. Lewis. Richard has served the organization in the past as Parliamentarian, First Vice President and Treasurer. He recently published his first collection of short fiction entitled Naked Man's Rock. We joined him at his home in Lewisburg to talk about it.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 43
Links mentioned in Podcast:
*Naked Man's Rock
*WV Writers 2011 Writing Contest forms
We return with Episode 42 of the WV Writers Podcast, another of our patent-pending recorded live readings (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "Zzzzzzzzipit")
This recorded live reading comes from the September 21st Brown Bag Tuesday session at Carnegie Hall WV in Lewisburg and features WV Writers' current parliamentarian, author Belinda Anderson. Belinda will be reading a selection from her three collections of short stories, The Well Ain't Dry Yet, The Bingo Cheaters and Buckle Up, Buttercup assisted by Elizabeth Spangler and Dr. Larry Davis.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 42
Links mentioned in Podcast:
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Carnegie Hall WV
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Belinda Anderson
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Tim Armentrout
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Eric Fritzius
We return with Episode 41 of the WV Writers Podcast, another of our patent-pending recorded live readings (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "Shhhh. Don't you worry your purty little head.")
This recorded live reading comes from the September 16th Literary Tea session at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. WV Writers' featured reader is Miles Dean, honorable mention in the Humor Category of the 2010 WVW Annual Writing Contest as well as voted the 1st place winner in poetry for the Writers Wall at the 2010 Summer Conference.
The Literary Tea series continues October 7 and October 14. They take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in downtown Lewisburg.
If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own recorded live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 41
Links mentioned in Podcast:
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Greenbrier Valley Theatre
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Belinda Anderson
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Tim Armentrout
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Carnegie Hall WV
Episode 40 of the WV Writers Podcast is a super-sized episode with another of our patented recorded live readings (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "You couldn't just let it go, could you?")
This recorded live reading comes from the September 9th session of the Greenbrier Valley Theatre's Literary Tea series. The WV Writers featured reader is Bob Clark reading a portion of his wife Brenda Clark's 2nd place win in the Children's Book category of the 2010 WVW Annual Writing Competition. The featured reader from the GVT staff is Kurtis Donnelly reading a short story by playwright Arthur Miller.
The Literary Tea series continues September 16, October 7 and October 14. They take place at 5:30 p.m. at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in downtown Lewisburg.
If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own recorded live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.
Back in July, we worked with a producer of National Public Radio's show State of the Re:Union to drum up support for their "Dear City" letters segment to help them find material for their upcoming show based in West Virginia. We thought it would be fun to do something similar for our podcast and, with their consent, are going to do so.
The Dear City Letters are basically what they sound like: people writing a letter TO their city. These can be written from a place of love, anger, humor and beyond, addressing the likes and dislikes or breaking misconceptions. As part of our collaboration, the WV Writers Podcast opened its voicemail hotline to listeners to phone in such letters. We forwarded those we received to State of the Re:Union and are planning to also use them for an upcoming podcast.
If you would like to participate with your own Dear City letter, please do so, for there is still time.
Here are your instructions:
- People can feel free to be as creative as they'd like... the only constraint is to keep it under 400 words.
- All the letters should start the same way with "Dear _____ [your town name here],” i.e. if you live in Parkersburg, you should start “Dear Parkersburg.”
- Also, remember to refer to your home in the second person (You). We want these to sound like you're speaking directly to your home.
- Once your letter is written, phone up the WV Writers Podcast voicemail hotline so we can record it. The number is 304-661-9745.
- When you call, you will have 2:45 sec to record your dear city letter. If your letter runs longer, feel free to call back and record the rest.
- If you mess up, just say 3…2… 1 and start where you left off; we can edit out the errors.
After three weeks away, we're back with Episode 39, a recorded live reading of the Seeking the Swan author's reading we produced at Taylor Books in Charleston. This was the second of three events West Virginia Writers put together for Charleston's FestivAll 2010.
Included are Geoff Fuller, Wilma Acree, Edwinna Pendarvis, Laura Treacy Bentley, and Lywellyn McKernan.
Our thanks go out to Taylor Books for inviting us to put this reading together. It's a great store, located on Capitol Street in downtown Charleston. If you're in the area, please stop in and feel free to purchase a copy of Seeking the Swan from them.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 39
Episode 38 is an interview with writer Tamara Woods, co-founder of Morgantown Poets. Tamara will be one of the leaders of a poetry workshop called Poets' Guide to Metaphor & Marketing, taking place Saturday, August 7, from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Monongalia Arts Center in Morgantown. We talk about the workshop itself, as well as Tamara's background as a writer and producer of poetry slams, Morgantown Poets history, and our shared love of writer Neil Gaiman.
You can register on the day of the workshop, or you can pre-register if you send your registration form postmarked by Friday July 30. Pre-registering attendees will receive a $5 discount. Students automatically receive a $10 discount. If you would like to register, please use thePoets' Guide to Metaphor and Marketing registration form.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 38
Links mentioned in Podcast:
*Tamara Woods the Writer Facebook page
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Tamara's Blog "Pen Paper Pad"
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Ted Webb's Facebook page
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Morgantown Poets
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Neil Gaiman
Episode 37 is a recorded live reading of the historic Appalachian Inquisition Panel recorded at the WV Writers 2010 Summer Conference. The panel featured WV literary notables: Irene McKinney, Denise Giardina, Kirk Judd, Norman Jordan, Daniel Boyd, Gretchen Moran Laskas and Tim Poland fielding questions about the state of Appalachian literature, as pitched by moderator Cat Pleska.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 37
Links mentioned in Podcast:
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Irene McKinney
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Denise Giardina
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Kirk Judd
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Norman Jordan
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Daniel Boyd
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Gretchen Moran Laskas
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Tim Poland
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Cat Pleska
For Episode 36, we speak again to our favorite resident of Memory Lane, Rhonda Browning White, concerning our Memories of Conferences More Recent 2010. In this, we talk about the most memorable parts for us of the 2010 WVW Summer Conference.
If you were unable to attend, this will give you some highlights.
(For more such memories, see our other Memories of Conferences Past episodes.)
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 36
Links mentioned in Podcast:
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Rhonda Browning White
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Inspiration for Writers
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PopsWalker.com
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Irene McKinney
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Denise Giardina
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Jimmy Carl Harris
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Dana Wildsmith
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Grand Canyon Podcast
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Wilma Acree
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Becky Conrad
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Evergreen Syndicate
This week we're podcasting a recorded live reading of the Publisher's Panel we produced at Taylor Books in Charleston as the first of three events West Virginia Writers is participating in for Charleston's FestivAll 2010. The panel is moderated by incoming WVW president Cat Pleska and features Abby Freeland of WVU Press, Brian Hatcher & Michael Knost of Woodland Press, and Cathy Teets with Headline Books.
Our thanks go out to Taylor Books for inviting us to put this panel together. It's a great store, located on Capitol Street in downtown Charleston.
We've split the recording up into two parts for faster downloading.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 35 Part 1
West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 35 Part 2
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
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FestivAll 2010
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Taylor Books
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WVU Press
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Woodland Press
*Headline Books
This week we're podcasting a recorded live reading of the Publisher's Panel we produced at Taylor Books in Charleston as the first of three events West Virginia Writers is participating in for Charleston's FestivAll 2010. The panel is moderated by incoming WVW president Cat Pleska and features Abby Freeland of WVU Press, Brian Hatcher & Michael Knost of Woodland Press, and Cathy Teets with Headline Books.
Our thanks go out to Taylor Books for inviting us to put this panel together. It's a great store, located on Capitol Street in downtown Charleston.
We've split the recording up into two parts for faster downloading.
DOWNLOAD (Right click and Save Link Target As)
West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 35 Part 1
West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 35 Part 2
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
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FestivAll 2010
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Taylor Books
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WVU Press
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Woodland Press
*Headline Books
This week we present our much heralded interview with Christine Witthohn from Bookcents Literary Agency in Charleston. Christine is a guest at this coming weekend’s 2010 WV Writers Summer Conference. There, she'll be joining fellow agent Kelly Mortimer and Sourcebooks, Inc, editorial manager Peter Lynch to take pitches from conference attendees for potential representation or publication.
To prep our attendees for the sessions, Christine and one of her clients, writer S.G. Redling, will be leading a workshop on Saturday morning on how to pitch to agents and editors. However, I thought it would be good to get a podcast preview of that information here so that our listeners who want to pitch can go into the conference with a heads up on the process. Christine also explains what kind of material she is looking for at Book Cents.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 34
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
Book Cents Literary Agency
WV Writers 2010 Summer Conference Pitch Session Info
Conference Schedule
Workshop Descriptions
S.G. Redling
This week, we speak with Belinda Anderson, writer, journalist, nomination for WV Writers' parliamentarian and presenter at the 2010 WV Writers Summer Conference. We cover Belinda's history with WV Writers, what she will be teaching at the conference and cover some of her current and past writing projects that she's involved with, including an oral history project detailing the history of a lost community located atop Wolf Creek Mountain, near Alderson, WV.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 33
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
- BelindaAnderson.com
This week we present WV Writers 2010 ConferenceCast 2 (a.k.a. Episode 32), detailing all the updates we have on the 2010 Summer Conference. Among the choice bits of information presented is an update to the workshop presenters list, including some unfortunate deletions to the roster and some fortunate replacements. We also talk about the Friday night entertainment and how you can possibly participate, our plans to Tweet the Saturday Night Awards Banquet, some new information about the editor and agent pitch sessions and how in the very near future this podcast will help you prepare for such a session.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 32
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
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Our 2010 Summer Conference Page
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ConferenceCast 1 (Episode #26)
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2010 Pitch Session Details
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WVW Guidelines for First Time Conference Attendees
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WVW Conference Attendee Checklist 2010
*S.G. Redling Interview (Episode #27)
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Memories of Conferences Past (Episode #3)
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Memories of Conferences More Recent (Episode #11)
MOMCAST 2010 is our celebration of Mother's Day, featuring stories, poems, essays and memories as phoned in by our listeners.
Featured on this episode are mom pieces from: Terry McNemar, Tracy Seiffers, Sandra Klein, Barbara Wittington, Llewellyn McKernan, Sal Buttacci, Kate Dooley, John Nagle, C.J. Farnsworth, Diane Tarantini, Tim Armentrout, Susan DeVan, Elvera Denning, Charlotte Sneed, Linda Hoagland, Barbara Smith, Cat Pleska, Heidi Hartwicker and Eric Fritzius.
Concluding our National Poetry Month celebration, this week for the WVW Podcast Bonus Show 11, we play a rebroadcast with poet Mary Lucille DeBerry, originally posted as Episode #13 last July. In it we speak to Mary Lucille about her poetry collection Bertha Butcher's Coat. The interview also features several readings from that work as well as discussions of the techniques Mary Lucille has used to inspire those poems.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Bonus Show 11
Links mentioned in Podcast:
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Bertha Butcher's Coat
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"Les Demoiselles Schwartz" painting by Anders Zorn
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WV Writers Upcoming Mother's Day Podcast (MOMCAST 2010) Info
We continue our celebration of National Poetry Month with more Recorded Live Readings. This two-part episode features poetry recorded at the Spoken Word Event sponsored by the Independent Theatre Collective in Wheeling, WV, as part of the Oglebay Institute's Imagination Celebration 2010.
In Part 2 we feature Independent Theatre Collective president and co-founder Jeremy Richter reading Mark Twain's posthumously published The War Prayer. We also have a recording of a moving poem by a young Wheeling poet named Creighton Hill.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 30 Part 2
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
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Independent Theatre Collective
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Kettle Bottom by Diane Gilliam Fisher
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Mark Twain's The War Prayer
We continue our celebration of National Poetry Month with more Recorded Live Readings. This two-part episode features poetry recorded at the Spoken Word Event sponsored by the Independent Theatre Collective in Wheeling, WV, as part of the Oglebay Institute's Imagination Celebration 2010.
In Part 1 we feature John E. Reilly reading from Diane Gillian Fisher's Kettle Bottom, and some original poetry by Wheeling poet Duncan Kinder.
4/25/10 THIS SEGMENT NOW UPDATED TO INCLUDE KETTLEBOTTOM SECTION.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 30 Part 1
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
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Independent Theatre Collective
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Kettle Bottom by Diane Gilliam Fisher
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Mark Twain's The War Prayer
We continue our celebration of National Poetry Month in WV Writers Podcast Episode 29. We also celebrate our own 1st anniversary as a podcast. (Whoo hoooo!)
This week we have part 2 of our recorded live poetry reading from the Greenbrier Valley Theatre's Poetry Literary Tea this past November.
Featured poets this week include Ellen Broudy, Tim Armentrout and your host Eric Fritzius, reading a Cheryl Denise poem as recorded at a reading in Mercer County this past December.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 29
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
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Greenbrier Valley Theatre
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Tim Armentrout on Podcast Bonus Show #5
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Cheryl Denise's appearance on podcast Episode #20
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Tim Armentrout's original piece "Local Heroes, Local Foes" from his blog Breath Made Visible, November 2008.
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"Local Heroes Local Foes" recorded live reading, linked from MisterHerman.com.
Continuing our National Poetry Month Theme, this week's bonus show is a rePodcast of our interview with Georgia-based poet Dana Wildsmith from Episode #5. In it Dana speaks about her journey to becoming a poet, her time spent as a Writer in Residence around the country, her love of music and Garrison Keillor's reading voice, she recites some of her own poetry, and tells us about the workshops she was preparing for the 2009 WVW Summer Conference.
We're happy to say that Dana will be a returning presenter for the 2010 WVW Summer Conference. You can find out what she'll be presenting by visiting our conference page and checking out the full Workshop Descriptions.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Bonus Show 10
Links mentioned in Podcast:
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Dana's new book "Back to Abnormal: Surviving With An Old Farm In the New South"
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Dana Wildsmith.com
*Dana Wildsmith books from Amazon
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Dana's poem "Making a Living" on the Writers Almanac
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Appalachian Writers Workshop at the Hindman Settlement School
In celebration of National Poetry Month, this month the podcast will be featuring all things poetry.
For WV Writers Podcast Episode 28, we feature part 1 of a recorded live poetry reading done as part of Greenbrier Valley Theatre's Literary Tea series poetry edition this past November, in Lewisburg. Featured poets this week include the Tea's featured poet, WVW 2009 Writing Contest winner Sarah Crickenberger, and WVW member Sammye Lewis.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 28
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
Greenbrier Valley Theatre
For our 9th Bonus Show we talk comedy with WV Writers Writing Contest Coordinator Steven Goff. Steve's a comedian who did standup at the 2009 Summer Conference. We talk about our favorite comedians of today and yesteryear plus tell a couple of stories about encounters with famous comedians (or at least with professional wrestlers who once worked with famous comedians, who one of us once interviewed at a Kia dealership grand opening in Columbus, MS).
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Bonus Show 9
LINKS TO COMEDIANS MENTIONED IN SHOW
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Bill Cosby
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Patton Oswalt
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Maria Bamford
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Tig Nataro
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Bill Hicks
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Zach Galifianakis
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Jonathan Winters
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Robin Williams
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Kathleen Madigan
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Dave Chappelle
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Harland Williams
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Jeff Garlin
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Jeff Ross
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George Carlin
WV Writers Podcast Episode 27 is now online featuring an interview with 2009 WV Writers Summer Conference success story Sheila "S.G." Redling. Sheila is a morning radio show cohost at WKEE in Huntington and the author of a book called Storyteller that is currently making the rounds of publishers via her literary agent. The details of how she came to be in this position are illuminated in this podcast. (We'll give you a hint: it has something to do with the 2009 WV Writers Summer Conference, not to mention a healthy dose of talent.)
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 27
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
Sheila's "I Don't Believe In Reality" blog
Book Cents Literary Agency
Sourcebooks, Inc.
Since the beginning of this podcast, nigh on a year back, we’ve repeatedly given out our web address so that you can find us online. Thanks to some technobabble-worthy issues behind the scenes, though, our address has had to change.
While the old address will still get you here (at least after 30 seconds, when it forcibly bounces you), the new address for the show is now and will hopefully forever more be Podcast.WVWriters.org. Similarly, address for the West Virginia Writers blog has also changed and is now Blog.WVWriters.org.
We're not complaining, as this is a simpler address to remember than our old one and the move has allowed us to do lots of modification on the site that would otherwise have been more difficult to do. Expect some visual changes and new features (not to mention a sidebar that gets updated more often) on both the podcast page and the blog.
All of the old posts of both the blog and the podcast are now in place at the new addresses and feed service will soon resume. So if you have us bookmarked anywhere, please change to the new addresses.
Part 2 of the WV Writers ConferenceCast 2010 (a.k.a. Episode 26) is now online.
In it we reveal the second 1/3 of the list of presenters for the 2010 Summer Conference. We'll also have information on the guest editors who will be there as well as on the pitch sessions and one on one critique sessions they are offering.
We also run down important registration details and reveal the Saturday Entertainment for the Conference.
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West Virginia Writers ConferenceCast (a.k.a Episode 26) Part 2
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
Our 2010 Summer Conference Page
Part 1 of the WV Writers ConferenceCast 2010 (a.k.a. Episode 26) is now online.
In it we reveal the first 2/3 of the list of presenters for the 2010 Summer Conference. We'll also reveal the exact date we will begin pre-registration for the conference, (as well as when Cedar Lakes will begin accepting pre-registration forms for rooms and meals). A hint: it's VERY soon.
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West Virginia Writers ConferenceCast (a.k.a Episode 26) Part 1
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
Our 2010 Summer Conference Page
Now that we're a wee bit past the mid-way point for the 2010 WV Writers Annual Writing Contest, we thought it would be prudent to check in with our contest coordinator, Steve Goff, to find out how things are going and answer some more of your frequently asked questions, discuss the list of contest judges and reveal some of the categories in which your odds are better for winning this year.
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West Virginia Writers Contestcast 2 (a.k.a Episode 25)
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
*Contest Judges List
- Patsy Pittman's BLOOD KIN AND OTHER STRANGERS
Download Contest Entry Forms
WVW 2010 Contest Entry Form (.doc) Entry Form (.pdf)
Student Entry Form (.doc) Student Entry Form (.pdf)
Our 8th bonus show is extry short, but is important if you're going to be in the Charleston area on February 13 and if you're interested in improving your writing.
The Writer's Toolkit event will be taking place at the cultural center, featuring free writing workshops for fiction, nonfiction, poetry and nonfiction research. The event is brought to you by the WV Division of Culture and History in collaboration with the WV Library Commission. You can find specific details about it at our BLOG, but get an overview by listening to the bonus show.
PLEASE NOTE: According to the Charleston Gazette, State Poet Laureate Irene McKinney will not be able to attend the annual Writers' Toolkit as originally scheduled due to weather concerns, but the program will still continue with the authors below and poet and essayist Doug Van Gundy will step in to take the workshop spaces left by McKinney.
As an added bonus to the bonus, you also get to hear the host of the show play his brand new cigar box guitar and the cohosts of the show supply their critique.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Bonus Show 8
Our 7th bonus show is an extry-long entry into our Recorded Live Reading series. (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "Ahhhh, mind your Ps and Qs, Mack.")
This live reading was recorded at a poetry reading given by Salvatore Buttaci at the Princeton Public Library on December 3, 2009. Sal is the author of A Dusting of Star Fall: Love Poems, Boy on a Swing and Other Poems, Sun Sparks The Day and Sal Buttaci's Greatest Hits 1970 - 2000 published in the Pudding House books Greatest Hits series. He is also the author of Painless Poetry, which is a workshop for educators teaching poetry appreciation and creative writing. His most recent book is called A Family of Sicilians: Stories and Poems.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Bonus Show 7
LINKS
Salvatore Buttaci's website
A Family of Sicilians
"It’s with a heavy heart that I write to you today, for we have lost a great friend and performer, Keith Pitzer. Keith passed on this morning after a courageous fight with cancer. His wife Joan, and his four grown sons mourn the loss of their loved one, as do I, Bobbi, and anyone who knew Keith." -- Pops Walker
This is the opening paragraph from a letter written by Keith's friend and our podcast composer, Pops Walker. Written on December 22, the day Keith passed, it is how many of us first learned the news. Keith was not only a friend of this podcast, but he was a friend of our organization as well.
I thought for today’s special double-sized podcast it would be nice to speak with Pops in tribute to Keith. I wanted to get Pops' perspective on Keith the man and hear about his tireless work with Friends of the Cheat, and also hear of his skill as a musician. We'll also hear some of the outtakes from my interview with him last June, including some of the amazing music he made alongside his wife Joan.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 24
LINKS FOR THIS PODCAST
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Keith & Joan’s website
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Keith & Joan on MySpace
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Keith & Joan Pitzer's CDs
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Falling Mountain Music
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Friends of Cheat
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Cheat.org
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Pops Walker.com
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Keith Pitzer Memorial Celebration Information
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Pops' Letter Regarding Keith
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Keith on Podcast Episode 9
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West Virginia Highlands Voice blog
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Dominion Post article about Keith by Michelle Wolford
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VIDEO: Keith, Joan and their son Jake playing as "String Fever"
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Andrew McKnight's blog entry about Keith
Part 2 of our gargantu-sized two-part episode called THE CONTESTCAST, serving as a primer for all things related to the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest, which began accepting entries mere days ago.
Joining us for the podcast are WV Writers President Terry McNemar and Adult Contest Coordinator Steve Goff.
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West Virginia Writers Contestcast (a.k.a Episode 23 Part 2)
For our first new episode of 2010, we're doing a gargantu-sized two-part episode called THE CONTESTCAST. That's right, this is your primer for all things related to the WV Writers Annual Writing Contest, which began accepting entries mere days ago.
Joining us for the podcast are WV Writers President Terry McNemar and Adult Contest Coordinator Steve Goff.
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West Virginia Writers Contestcast (a.k.a Episode 23 Part 1)
This week we're rebroadcasting Episode 9 of the podcast in honor of the recent passing of musician Keith Pitzer. We spoke with Keith last June in preparation for he and his wife Joan's appearance at the WV Writers Summer Conference. Unfortunately, Keith and Joan were unable to make it because of a sudden turn in Keith's health, caused by the cancer that eventually took him. He died December 22, 2009.
The WV Writers Podcast will soon have a brand new episode dedicated Keith Pitzer, celebrating his life as both a performer and an amazing human being.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 9 (REBROADCAST)
Our 6th WVW Podcast Bonus Show features a recorded live reading from Lee Maynard's appearance at the WV Book Festival, in October. Mr. Maynard reads the first chapter of his new novel-in-memoir-form The Pale Light of Sunset: Scattershots and Hallucinations in an Imagined Life, published by West Virginia University Press.
Be sure to check out Episodes 21 and 22 for our podcast of the conversation between Lee and Cat Pleska.
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WVW Podcast Bonus Show 6
Links mentioned in Podcast:
The Pale Light of Sunset: Scattershots and Hallucinations in an Imagined Life
CatPleska.com
Episode 22 of the WVW Podcast continues with Part 2 of the conversation between WV Writers 1st Vice President Cat Pleska and Lee Maynard. Lee is best known as the author of the book Crum, and its followup Screaming with the Cannibals. He has a new novel-in-memoir-form called The Pale Light of Sunset: Scattershots and Hallucinations in an Imagined Life, published by West Virginia University Press.
This week some of the topics covered include the truth layered in a fictional memoir; the true threat of retirement; fictional violence in service to story; influences; and the answer to the question "What two things do you know for sure?"
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 22
Links mentioned in Podcast:
LeeMaynard.com
Cat Pleska.com
The Pale Light of Sunset: Scattershots and Hallucinations in an Imagined Life
Lee Maynard Video Podcast Live Readings on YouTube
Cat Pleska heard in Podcast Episode 4
Podcast Bonus Show 3
Episode 21 of the WVW Podcast features a conversation between WV Writers 1st Vice President Cat Pleska and Lee Maynard, author of the book Crum, its followup Screaming with the Cannibals and his new novel-in-memoir-form The Pale Light of Sunset: Scattershots and Hallucinations in an Imagined Life, published by West Virginia University Press.
As those of you who've attended Lee's workshops at previous WV Writers Summer Conferences well know, he's an extremely talented writer who specializes in gut-level writing. This week's part of the conversation explores some of that as well as his writing discipline, his philosophy on truth in memoir vs. storytelling and his feelings about West Virginia.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 21
Links mentioned in Podcast:
LeeMaynard.com
The Pale Light of Sunset: Scattershots and Hallucinations in an Imagined Life
Chuck Kinder
Our 5th WVW Podcast Bonus Show features a recorded live reading from the October Literary Tea series at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in Lewisburg. The reader in question is Tim Armentrout, WV Writers Region 3 Representative. Tim reads from his book-length work in progress poem entitled Someone Screaming Out.
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WVW Podcast Bonus Show 5
LINKS TO TOPICS MENTIONED IN PODCAST
Tim's Blog, Breath Made Visible
Tim's Blogger Profile
Tim's CD, Pilgrim of the Neo-Dark Ages
The Livestock Barnyard
MacBeth Curse Info
Episode 20 of the WVW Podcast in which we speak with poet Cheryl Denise, author of the collection I Saw God Dancing.
We talk to Cheryl about her upbringing in Canada as well as the origins behind some of her poetry. And, of course, we hear her recite some of that poetry.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 20
Links mentioned in Podcast:
I Saw God Dancing
Garrison Keillor Read's Cheryl's Poem "They'll" on the Writer's Almanac
More of Cheryl's poetry courtesy of the Hamilton Stone Review
More of Cheryl's poetry courtesy of Mennonite Life.
Episode 19 of the WVW Podcast in which we air the fourth of our patented recorded live readings. (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "One of us is asking too many questions.")
This recorded live reading comes from the October 8th session of the Greenbrier Valley Theatre's October Literary Tea series and features Willa Izzo reading from her honorable mention win in the humor category of the 2009 WV Writers Writing Competition. (I'd like to thank Belinda Anderson for recording this session while I was out of state stuffing my face in Austin.)
The Literary Tea series for 2009 continues with a special Kids Tea on October 29 and a community poetry Tea on November 5. These take place at 5:30 p at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in downtown Lewisburg.
If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 19
Links mentioned in Podcast:
WV Writers Annual Writing Competition
Greenbrier Valley Theatre
Irish Pub on Washington Street
Our 4th WVW Podcast Bonus Show features trimmings from our Episode 12 interview with Pops Walker. We also pass along the results of the Shenandoah Valley Acoustic Roots Fest and Songwriting Contest, which we talked to Pops about in Episode 12.
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WVW Podcast Bonus Show 4
Episode 18 of the WVW Podcast in which we air the third of our patented recorded live readings. (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "Hey, I don't come to your house and question you about your podcast, so cut me some slack.")
This recorded live reading comes from last week's session of the Greenbrier Valley Theatre's October Literary Tea series and features Belinda Anderson reading from her two prize-winning children's book manuscripts, "Fly Away Story" and "Jackson vs. Double W Making Kid Soup." These won second and third place, respectively, in WVW's 2009 Annual Writing Contest.
The Literary Tea series for 2009 continues this month on October 15, 22 with a special Kids Tea on October 29 and a community poetry Tea on November 5. These take place at 5:30 p at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in downtown Lewisburg.
If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 18
Links mentioned in Podcast:
Belinda Anderson
Greenbrier Valley Theatre
West Virginia Book Festival
"Putting Flesh on the Bones" Book Fest Workshop
Book Festival Workshop Schedule
Our third WVW Podcast Bonus Show features trimmings from our Episode 4 interview with Cat Pleska. Naturally, my usual bonus show co-host has something to say about it.
We speak about the late Joe McCabe, Cat's work on an upcoming documentary and we also play one of Cat's radio essays that we weren't able to fit into Episode 4.
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WVW Podcast Bonus Show 3
Episode 17 of the WVW Podcast in which we air the second of our patented recorded live readings. (Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?" A: "Mind your own Ps and Qs.")
This recorded live reading comes from a session of the Greenbrier Valley Theatre's October Literary Tea series, from 2007 and features the story "Faux Fangs" from Beverly Pauley's collection Gothic Bedtime Stories. This story is the first appearance of Bev's reoccurring character, elderly West Virginia vampire Rutherford Zucks.
The Literary Tea series for 2009 will run October 1, 8, 15, 22 with a special Kids Tea on October 29 and a community poetry Tea on November 5. These take place at 5:30 p at the Greenbrier Valley Theatre in downtown Lewisburg.
If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 17
Links mentioned in Podcast:
Gothic Bedtime Stories
Greenbrier Valley Theatre
West Virginia Book Festival
"Putting Flesh on the Bones" Book Fest Workshop
Book Festival Workshop Schedule
Welcome to the second bonus show of the WVW Podcast, continuing to serve as a no-frills, bi-weekly clearing house for quality interview trimmings we were unable to fit into previous episodes.
This week we play a couple of off-topic clips from last week's Shirley Young Campbell tribute episode, featuring Dolly Withrow and Barbara Smith. We also have a return visit from my dog, who seems to think she's my new co-host.
This week we present a special double-sized podcast episode in tribute to WV Writers founder Shirley Young Campbell, who passed away August 17, 2009. For this special episode, we interview Kirk Judd, Dr. Barbara Smith and Dolly Withrow, each counted among the charter members of WV Writers and longtime friends of Mrs. Campbell.
We speak to them about Mrs. Campbell's many accomplishments in promoting the writing and writers of WV, her role as the driving force in the creation of West Virginia Writers, Inc., her co-founding of Mountain State Press, her own writing career and many publications, what she was like as a person, and her role in mentoring many of the finest writers of our state and beyond.
Many thanks to Phyllis Wilson Moore for her tremendous help in the research for this podcast.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 16
Links mentioned in Podcast:
Shirley Young Campbell’s books in the World Catalog search
Fairmont State's Literary Map of West Virginia
Dolly Withrow Columns at the Charleston Daily Mail
Allegheny Echoes
Dr. Barbara Smith
Phyllis Wilson Moore
A POEM FOR SHIRLEY YOUNG CAMPBELL
BY BOYD CARR
Shirley Young Campbell ~ 8-19-09
i was a budding writer in her fold ~
when i got into My.th day/nights
i would send her my papers ~
at the wvw ink i would sit with her
& go over them ~ she said two things ~
a thousand years is not a very long time &
do you think if i had gone to the
university of virginia i could understand
your My.th ?
when i had my hernia Repaired she held
her second Hill & Valley party ~ i phoned
her & declined ~ she said that in her business
a hernia was not even considered a disability ~
i stayed home & sulked ~
she said she used to have a public speaking
voice but when i knew her it had cracked ~
Ed ~ her husband ~ gave me a walking stick
with a head carved on one end ~ i can see it
now in the cane &umbrella stand ~one day
i said to Shirley ~ i am being discovered ~
she Replied ~ you have already been discovered
bc
Welcome to our first bonus show of the WVW Podcast. The bonus shows will serve as a no-frills, bi-weekly clearing house for quality interview trimmings we were unable to fit into previous episodes.
Up first is last week's interview subject, Granny Sue Holstein. I talk to her about her ongoing blog "Granny Sue's News & Reviews," about how people interested in storytelling can get their feet wet at it, and how her husband once nearly set my face on fire.
Welcome to Episode 15, in which we talk to storyteller Susanna "Granny Sue" Holstein. She’s been a featured storytelling performer at events from Bellingham, Washington to Boston, Massachusetts and points in between. She's especially well known, however, for being a West Virginia storyteller, focusing much of her repertoire on WV history, ghost stories, Appalachian tales and ballads.
We speak to her about her origins in the art of storytelling, the fluidity of the artform, the skills required to do it correctly and, of course, we'll hear one of her more famous stories.
You can see Granny Sue for yourself at: the WV Book Festival (October 10-11); at the Patchwork Storytelling Festival in Beckley (October 23-24); at Tygart Lake State Park in Grafton for a program called Scary Stories after Dark (October 24); in Athens, Alabama, at the Storytelling Festival Ghost Stories Concert as a featured teller (October 30); and at Tellabration! WVU Mountaineer Week, Morgantown, WV, (November 14).
And be sure to stick around for the end credits for a special announcement concerning bonus features of this podcast that are in the works and which will debut as soon as next Friday. Plus we'll offer a preview of the next two weeks of podcasts.
Episode 14 of the WVW Podcast in which we air our very first recorded live reading.
Q: "But if it's recorded, how can it be live?"
A: "It's just born that way."
This recorded live reading comes from the opening pages of the 2009 book Jester Knight as performed by its author, Joey Madia. at a book-signing he did at Vittoria & Banks gallery in Fairmont, WV.
If you're a member or extended friend of WV Writers, Inc. we invite you to submit your own live readings to wvwpodcast@gmail.com.
Episode 13, in which we speak to poet Mary Lucille DeBerry, author of the new poetry collection Bertha Butcher's Coat.
The podcast will feature several readings from that work as well as discussions of the techniques Mary Lucille has used to inspire those poems. We'll also speak to her about her discovery of her own obituary.
After a two week absence, we return with Episode 12 of the WVW Podcast. We at long last speak to singer/songwriter and composer of our podcast's music Mr. Pops Walker. Pops is a friend of WV Writers and has performed at our summer conference on two past occasions. We speak to him about those experiences, his early days and the Shenandoah Valley Acoustic Roots Songwriting Contest, which he is overseeing.
Episode 11, in which we speak once again to writer/editor Rhonda Browning White, this time about our memories of THIS year's conference from two weeks back.
If you were unable to attend, this will give you some highlights.
Episode 10, in which we speak with poet and WV Writers Charter Member, Kirk Judd. We discuss the early origins of WV Writers as an organization, Kirk's recent work with the West Virginia Words and Music program at the Clay Center in Charleston and Kirk's co-creation of the Allegheny Echoes Workshops.
Allegheny Echoes is celebrating its 13th year in 2009 and will run June 21- 27, in Marlinton, West Virginia
Episode 9, the first of our two, count `em, TWO work-week bookending podcasts we're releasing this week. In this episode we talk to Keith Pitzer of the singing duo Keith & Joan Pitzer. Keith is not only leading a workshop on songwriting at the conference this year, he and Joan are returning to the Saturday night entertainment stage. Attendees last year remember them for their concert with our podcast's music provider, Pops Walker.
Episode 8, in which we speak with William Bitner and Daniel Boyd, authors, film-makers, educators, professional wrestlers, and creators of the WV-set pulp-style illustrated novel Death Falcon Zero Vs. the Zombie Slug Lords.
We talk to them about how they became the wrestlers Death Falcon Zero and Professor Danger and how that ultimately led to their book starring their in-ring alter-egos.
Both William Bitner and Daniel Boyd will be leading workshops at next week's WV Writers Summer Conference, June 12-14, 2009, Cedar Lakes Conference Center, Ripley, WV.
Episode 7, in which we speak with artist, poet, essayist, philosopher and official WV Writers Conference Artist in Residence Boyd Carr. We speak with Boyd about his origins as an artist, how it led him to a long association with WV Writers and about his foray into philosophy and the origins of storytelling, which he calls My.Th.
Because this conversation could not be confined within the confines of our usual 20 minute episode length, this will mark our first double-sized episode.
If you'd like to join Boyd's email mailing list, send him a note at Croboyca2r@aol.com.
Episode 6, in which we speak with romance novelist Pam Hanson, who is 1/2 of the team behind the pen names Jennifer Drew, Pam Rock and Pam Andrews (the other half being her mother, novelist Barbara Andrews). They write , romance novels, supernatural/sci-fi/romance novels, women's inspirational fiction and inspirational romance novels.
We speak with Pam about her path to becoming a romance writer, the world of Inspirational Romance, her friend author Mary Furbee and about her three workshops at the upcoming WV Writers Summer Conference, June 12-14, 2009, Cedar Lakes Conference Center, Ripley, WV.
Episode 5, in which we talk to Georgia-based poet Dana Wildsmith, presenter at the upcoming WV Writers Summer Conference, June 12-14, 2009, Cedar Lakes Conference Center, Ripley, WV.
Dana speaks about her journey to becoming a poet, her time spent as a Writer in Residence around the country, her love of music and Garrison Keillor's reading voice, and what her workshops will bring at this year's conference. She was also kind enough to read one of her poems for us.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 5
Links mentioned in Podcast:
Dana Wildsmith.com
Dana Wildsmith books from Amazon
Dana's poem "Making a Living" on the Writers Almanac
Appalachian Writers Workshop at the Hindman Settlement School
WV Writers Podcast Episode 4, in which we speak to Cat Pleska, once and future officer of WV Writers. Cat talks about her work as a teacher and memoirist, her essays for WV Public Radio, her views on the current state of the literary world of Appalachia and her time spent portraying both a famous photographer from 1910 and the mother of mother's day.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 4
Links mentioned in Podcast:
CatPleska.com
Cat Pleska's WV Public Radio Essays
Cat's "Mouth of the Holler" blog
Pearl S. Buck International Writers Workshop
Episode 3, in which we speak of the memories of WV Writers summer conferences past with writer/editor Rhonda Browning White and think ahead to the coming good memories of this year's Summer Conference, June 12-14, 2009, Cedar Lakes Conference Center, Ripley, WV .
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 3
Links mentioned in Podcast:
Rhonda Browning White
Inspiration for Writers
Episode 2 of the podcast in which we speak to humorist Susan Reinhardt on topics as diverse as golf tournament survival techniques, percocet-fueled phone calls from her fans, imaginary gorillas, the Redneck Riviera, the sometimes dark origins of humor, the perils of vidcasting and what she's going to talk about at this year's Summer Conference.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 2
Links mentioned in Podcast:
Susan Reinhardt.com
Susan Uncensored Podcast
SouthernHumorists.com
Mister Herman's Recipes
The podcast is making headlines, at least on the internet side.
Mountain Word (http:inc-to-post-on-fridays/), a blog in the Charleston Gazette's entertainment website The Gazz, has posted a mention of us. Check it out at the link above. While you're there, check out WVW's own Karin Fuller's newspaper column (http://thegazz.com/gblogs/karinfuller/), posted each week. She'll be giving a workshop or so at this year's summer conference.
Episode 1 of the podcast in which we introduce ourselves and speak of "conferency" things to come with WV Writers President T.W. McNemar.
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West Virginia Writers Podcast Episode 1