Hudson Valley Writers Guild Newsletter, November 15
In This Issue
Guild Announcements: Annual Guild Meeting, The Schenectady Community of Writers Event
Member Announcements: Djelloul Marbrook, Carolyn Martone
Area Announcements: Writers Institute Events, Carolee Sherwood to read at Social Justice Center, Adirondack Center for Writing Presents Performance Poetry, Sunday Four Reading Series to feature Marion Menna, Writers Group meets in Johnston, Winter Poetry Sunday in Schenectady, Call for Sports Writers, Call for Requests for NYFA Fellowships
Guild announcements
November 17, 6-9 p.m.
Annual Guild Meeting
Everyone is invited to the annual meeting of the Hudson Valley Writers Guild, which will take place at the William K. Sanford Library (Colonie). There will be reports from the past year, nominations/elections for board and officers and opportunities to discuss your ideas for upcoming Guild activities. This is a great chance for networking and laying the foundation for all the literary opportunities you’d like to bring to our area! The library is located on Albany Shaker Road near the Times Union building and the end of Wolf Road.
November 21, 2-4 p.m.
Schenectady Community of Writers Event
The annual Schenectady Community of Writers readings will take place on Sunday November 21 at the Schenectady Public Library. The readings will take place between 2-4 p.m. with a reception and book sales to follow. The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Guild and the library. The readers in order of appearance will be:
Steve Hellyard Swartz, Poet Laureate of Schenectady County. In addition to being a 2011 Pushcart Prize nominee for Poetry, he has received Honorable Mention in the Allen Ginsberg, Mary C. Mohr and Anna Davidson Rosenberg Poetry Awards. In 1990, his film “Never Leave Nevada” opened at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
Margaret Bryant, poet and essayist, has been invited to read her poems and essays on NPR and participates at area open-mics. Her work is published in on-line magazines and journals, and in publications throughout the Capital District. Margaret’s book of poems, Aligning Stems, was published in March 2010 and was featured with others at Open Door Bookstore’s “Artists’ Night” in May 2010.
Kathe Kokolias, essayist and memoirist, painter and photographer, has been published on-line and in the Albany Times Union, the Schenectady Gazette and a variety of magazines and anthologies. In August 2009, she published a collection of essays entitled Spandex & Black Boots: Essays from an Abundant Life. Her travel memoir of Mexico, What Time do the Crocodiles Come Out? will be available in the fall of 2010. She lives with her husband, Brian, in Colonie, NY, and in Ixtapa, Mexico.
Tom Corrado, poet, visual artist and musician, has been writing poetry for 25 years. A founding member of the Every Other Thursday Night Poets, Tom is also a member of the Capital District Poets Collective and the Third Saturday Poesy Cafe. His poems have appeared in several publications.
Keziah Roselin, journal and short story writer, recently moved to Schenectady from Miami. She is majoring in Performing Arts Drama at SCCC. She has kept a journal and written short pieces for many years. Keziah will play the role of Tiger Lilly in the upcoming production of Peter Pan at the Schenectady Players Theater.
Rose Kent, writer of young adult fiction, is a former naval officer and public relations manager at a food corporation. She is the author of children’s novels, including Kimchi & Calamari (HarperCollins), which was chosen for several state reading lists including The New York State Charlotte Award. Rocky Road (Knopf Books), her most recent book, which takes place in Schenectady, about seven miles from her home.
Nancy Duci Denofio, author of What Brought You Here? and Did You Ever Want To Fly?, continues to work with her father, Mayor Frank Duci, on his memoir, from the birth of his mother in 1892. Her work has appeared in journals, publications and newspapers here and abroad. She teaches Author Presentation and several poetry and writing workshops.
Marc Renson, non-fiction writer and memoirist, graduated from Schenectady County Community College with an Associate’s degree in Culinary Arts. He’s the co-owner of the restaurant “Ambition” on Jay Street, a resident of Schenectady and a mentor for the Boys and Girls Club.
Dean M. DeLuke, fiction writer, is author of Shedrow, a new thriller dubbed a cross between Dick Francis and Robin Cook. An oral and maxillofacial surgeon, business consultant and active volunteer, he is a graduate of St. Michael’s College, Columbia University (DMD) and Union Graduate College (MBA). You can read excerpts and reviews, view a book trailer and more at www.shedrow1.com.
Member announcements
Brushstrokes and Glances, prize-winning poet Djelloul Marbrook’s second book of poems, is about seeing things as others see them, something no democracy can do without. The poems are about paintings, painters and museums. Sometimes the poet addresses the painting, sometimes the painter, and sometimes people observing paintings and each other. An audio version is forthcoming in December 2010. Marbrook’s first book of poems, Far From Algiers (Kent State University Press, 2008) won the Stan and Tom Wick Poetry Prize in 2007 and the International Book Award in poetry in 2010. It has been widely and warmly reviewed.
The poet was born into a family of artists. The scents of turpentine, oil paint, acrylics and varnish are familiar to him. He writes about art not as rarefied experience but as essential to understanding the world where we live. He regards an appreciation of art as the ability to see as others see and therefore essential to getting along with each other.
Deerbrook Editions books are distributed by the Small Press Distribution Service and by Baker and Taylor and are available through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, and independent booksellers. Copies of Brushstrokes and Glances will soon be available for online purchase at the Deerbrook web site: http://www.deerbrookeditions.com
Carolyn Martone would like to pass along the link to an article she wrote. It was published on Busted Halo.com on November 5 (she is currently a freelance contributor) after attending the Rally to Restore Sanity in DC. Should any other HVWG members be interested, she could use the feedback. To read, the article, visit http://www.bustedhalo.com/features/saturday-in-the-park.
Area announcements
Upcoming New York State Writers Institute Events
- Tuesday, November 16. New York State Poet Jean Valentine (Lucy, Little Boat, Break the Glass) will read her work at the Albany Public Library, 161 Washington Avenue, at 7:30 p.m.
- Thursday, December 2. Poet Jena Osman (The Character, The Network) will read from her work at the Standish Room, Science Library, UAlbany Uptown Campus, at 7:30 p.m.
For more information on these and other Writers Institute events, consult albany.edu/writers-inst.
November 18, 7 p.m. sign-up, 7:30 p.m. readings
Carolee Sherwood to read at the Social Justice Center
The Third Thursday Poetry Night will feature and an open mic on Thursday, November 18, at the Albany Social Justice Center, 33 Central Avenue. 7 p.m. sign-up. 7:30 p.m. start. Dan Wilcox, host.
November 18, 7:00 p.m.
ACW Presents Performance Poetry at Paul Smith’s College
You asked for more amazing poetry, more new voices and writing styles and more events that will change the way you think about poetry. OK! We understand! We love it too! This is why the Adirondack Center for Writing and Paul Smith’s College are presenting Adam Falkner, John Sands and Mahogany L. Brown at the College. These three poets are the freshest voices in the spoken word scene. Come out and be amazed and thrilled. Free and open to the public. Freer Hall.
November 28, 3 p.m.
Sunday Four Poetry Reading and Open Mic at Old Songs
Please mark your calendars for the Sunday Four Poetry Open Mic when we feature Marion Menna from Glenmont at the Old Songs Community Arts Center, 37 S. Main Street, Voorheesville. Come hear Marion read her well-crafted and filled-with-feeling poetry. It will be an interesting afternoon. Bring your latest work to read as well—up to three poems. We look forward to seeing you and maybe sharing a pint at the POETS’ CORNER at Smith’s Tavern afterward. CONTACT dsullivan6@nycap.rr.com or 469-0202
The last Tuesday each month, 7 p.m.
Writers Group Meets in Johnston
The Mohawk Valley Writers Group, consisting of writers in all genres in Fulton and Montgomery Counties, meets monthly at Union Hall in Johnstown. For more information, contact Lena Andersson at (832) 474-5984 or lena.andersson@fmcc.suny.edu or katsson@yahoo,com.
December 26, 10:30 a.m.
Annual Winter Poetry Sunday
Each year on the first Sunday after Christmas, poets and poetry lovers gather at the First Unitarian Church of Schenectady to read favorites and celebrate the art. Each reader is limited to three minutes. All are welcome to this ecumenical service. If you would like to participate, please contact Melinda at melindaperrin@msn.com with your name, contact information, and selection titles before December 4. The Church is located at 1221 Wendell Avenue in Schenectady.
Call for Writers for Sports Book/Movie Project
Writers are needed to join a team seeking a book or movie option for Luther “Ticky” Burden, star basketball player at Philip Schuyler High School (Albany, NY) and later at the University of Utah. For more information about this project, please call Mr. Burden’s representative, Willie Dabbs at (518) 376-5101 or 690-2828.
Deadlines approach for New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships
Artists’ Fellowships are $7,000 unrestricted cash awards made to individual originating artists living and working in the state of New York. Grants are awarded in 15 artistic disciplines, with applications accepted in five categories each year. Since the awards began in 1985, NYFA has awarded over $22 million to over 3,688 artists. Peer review panels select approximately 100 Fellows each year based on artistic vision, the goal being to buy recipients creative time to continue making work. The Fellowship award is free for artists to apply! Please go to nyfa.org/afp to apply and to review application guidelines.
The following categories will be reviewed during the 2010 – 2011 cycle: Digital/Electronic Arts, Crafts/Sculpture, Nonfiction Literature, Poetry and Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts. The deadlines are November 30 at 11:59 p.m. for Crafts/Sculpture and Digital/Electronic Arts and December 1, 2010 at 11:59 p.m. for Nonfiction Literature, Poetry and Printmaking/Drawing/Book Arts.
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The Hudson Valley Writers Guild offers space in its newsletter for submission and program opportunities but does not endorse any programs or publications that are not offered through the Guild. Two notes from the newsletter editors:
* Within each section, announcements/events are arranged, when possible, by relevant dates.
* We are always curious to know if the formatting “works” (appears neat and tidy) in your email or if it causes issues (is difficult to read). Send feedback and suggestions regarding any formatting issues to hvwginfo@gmail.com. News items should go to Bob Sharkey at riverrun@nycap.rr.com. Thank you!
