 |
|
|
|
Programs Programs continue to fill the schedule. They include a reception for a well-known author, the return of two popular children’s programs, plus discussions on topics ranging from publishing to rare books. Coal: A Poetry Anthology
Blair Mountain Press was founded in 1999 by a small group of Appalachian writers who were committed to producing works of literary importance that reflected the traditions and issues of the region and the environment. Coal: A Poetry Anthology is one of their more recent titles, and represents the only significant anthology of poems concerning coal currently published in the USA. Dr. Green’s introduction to the program will discuss the rationale behind an anthology of poems about coal, place, and environment, after which several of the poets featured in the collection will read from the work. As with editing Coal: A Poetry Anthology, Green has long worked with poets and poetry in Appalachia. He edited Wind from 1999-2004 and wrote the history of the Southern Appalachian Writers Cooperative. Currently he teaches Appalachian literature at Marshall and has edited Radicalism in the South Since Reconstruction (a collection of scholarly essays with Palgrave Macmillan). His monograph, The Social Life of Poetry: Appalachian, Race, and Radical Modernism (about the poetry of Jesse Stuart, James Still, and Don West, is due out from Palgrave Macmillan in 2009. He is chair of the upcoming Appalachian Studies Association Conference to be held at Marshall University from March 28-30. What Chris cares about is people writing their lives and speaking their worlds. For more on Chris, click here Identification
of Rare Books Gordon Simmons, Chris Hatten, and David Owens bring a combined 50 years of bookselling experience and a breadth of subjects that defies the imagination. The panel will discuss what to look for in a valuable book, how to speak the book language, and other nuggets of wisdom. They will not offer appraisals. WV Poets featuring Irene McKinney, Mark Defoe & Dr. John McKernan Book Publishing and Agents
West Virginia Political Non-Fiction
Lisa Scottoline, author of several mysteries, will be the featured speaker at a reception scheduled on Friday night. Look for her bio in the featured authors section. For more on Lisa Scottoline, click HERE Madcap Puppet Theatre
Madcap Productions Puppet Theatre is a non-profit, touring children's
theater company which combines giant puppets with actors to create
a unique style of puppet theater. Central to Madcap's work is its dramatic, focused visual style and deep commitment to develop new plays designed for giant puppets and actors. The puppet characters reach up to 12 feet tall, and range in style from hand to rod to body to backpack puppets.
Founded in 1984, POETRY ALIVE! fields groups of two-person teams
who travel worldwide. Their high-energy presentations Each year Poetry Alive conducts approximately 2,000 performances, more than 750 classroom follow-ups and 150 teacher workshops for an estimated 600,000 students nationwide. Not a canned, ‘cookie-cutter’ event, PA’s performance techniques are fresh and focused on connecting students to text. Poetry Alive! is a poetry company that uses the rich heritage of the bardic tradition of long ago, bringing high-intensity poetry performances to youngsters. The Poetry Alive! actors have memorized hundreds of poems—from the classics to the popular to the contemporary. Epistolary literature
Dearest is their extraordinary story. And just as extraordinary is the presentation. Dearest is the first ever three-dimensional novel. You untie the twine and lift the lid and there you find a bundle of letters tied with a ribbon. You read through the letters, newspaper articles, and examine the artifacts. This is how you begin the experience of the novel, Dearest. Altiére is an Ohio writer living in Montgomery County. Trained as a playwright, Dearest is his first novel. Shutta Crum
Jon Carloftis
Check back later for more details about these and other events.
|
Dr.
Chris Green is an Assistant Professor of English at Marshall University,
where he specializes in the teaching of Appalachian Literature
and multicultural poetry. As well as writing for the academic
community, Dr. Green has been involved in several poetry anthology
projects including Coal: A Poetry Anthology. This anthology,
published by Blair Mountain Press, reveals the extraordinary connection
that links the land, the people who work it, and a tradition of
literature in Appalachia. 
Michelle
Rubin, a senior agent with Writers House, will be doing a presentation
on Book Publishing and Agents. Al Zuckerman, a former novelist,
TV writer, and teacher of playwriting at Yale, is the founder
of Writers House. One of the largest literary agencies in the
world, Writers House prides itself on providing an extraordinary
amount of individual client attention combined with the full service
benefits. Home to 12 agents and several rising junior agents,
Writers House works individually as well as collectively to take
full advantage of the unparalleled depth of experience they embody.
Some of the agents started as assistants, while others joined
from other parts of the business, bringing editorial, book selling,
writing, and legal experience. Many of the agents at Writers House
have been together for more than 20 years, as have many of their
clients.
Dr.
Allen H. Loughry II, holds four separate law degrees including
a Doctor of Juridical Science from The American University, Washington
College of Law; Master of Laws in Criminology and Criminal Justice
from the University of London; Master of Laws in Law and Government
from The American University, Washington College of Law; and a
JD from Capital University School of Law, in addition to studying
law 
at the University of Oxford. Dr. Loughry has served as a Senior
Assistant Attorney General in the West Virginia Attorney General's
Office and has argued more than 20 cases before the West Virginia
Supreme Court. He also argued or filed legal pleadings before
the U.S Supreme Court. Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit,
the U.S. District courts for the Southern and Northern Districts
of West Virginia and Southern District of Florida, as well as
various other legal forums. He served as a special assistant to
a United States Congressman and as a direct aide to a West Virginia
Governor. He has worked for the Ohio Supreme Court; served as
a personal assistant to a county prosecutor; was appointed as
a special prosecuting attorney; wrote for two newspapers and the
Associated Press; and assisted with or ran various political campaigns
at the local, state, and national levels. He and his wife currently
reside in Charleston where he is a law clerk to Justice Elliott
"Spike" Maynard of the West Virginia Supreme Court.
Madcap wants to introduce children to a whole new concept of puppetry,
one that allows all the elements of theater to be combined in
an artistic and educational performance. Now in its 25th year,
the company offers in production both original scripts and fresh
adaptations of old tales.
have
taken Poetry Alive! to a total audience of more than 7,000,000
in all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto
Rico, Saipan, South Korea, China, the Bahamas, and Peru. 
Michelangelo
Altiere will be presenting a program on The History and Development
of Epistolary Literature. In 1872, a small town milliner and a
wealthy engineer from the city have a chance encounter on a small
Ohio riverboat. They are two ordinary people caught up in a powerful
relationship and life-altering circumstances. 
Shutta
Crum is an award-winning writer of books for children and poetry
for adults, as well as a storyteller and a retired youth librarian
who was awarded the Michigan Library Association's Award of Merit
as youth librarian of the year for 2002. She is also an educator
who has taught at the community college and high school levels,
as well as under the auspices of the Michigan Council for the
Arts. Currently, she travels nationally giving author talks, writing
workshops, and conducting staff development for teachers and librarians.
The author of eight picture books and one novel, as well as four
forthcoming books, Shutta also writes articles for various teaching,
writing, and other professional journals. In 2005, she was honored
by being one of eight authors invited to read at the White House
Easter Egg Roll. 
Jon
Carloftis grew up on the banks of the Rockcastle River in south
central Kentucky. It was there he began a love affair with nature
that has culminated in his being recognized as one of the nation's
premier garden designers. In 1955 Jon's parents, Carlo and Lucille
Carloftis, settled in Livingston, KY. where they built a riverside
home and opened a popular tourist attraction called Fort Sequoyah.
The shop has since evolved into the Rockcastle Trading Company,
run by Jon's mother. The beautiful gardens, designed by Jon that
surround the Carloftis home and shop are featured in the August
2002 issue of Country Home. Because the Fort Sequoyah area was
very remote, Jon’s parents set the stage for his interest
in landscaping and gardening at an early age. He attended the
University of Kentucky, graduating in 1986 with a communications
degree, however he knew he was not meant to work behind a desk
under fluorescent light. "I decided I wanted to do professionally
what my hobby was...growing things and being outdoors." He
returned to the University of Kentucky and studied horticulture,
landscape architecture and art history. In 1988 Jon moved to New
York City and started his business. In 1993 Jon moved to Bucks
County, PA, his current residence. (A layout featuring his home
and gardens appeared in the fall 2001 issue of Country Gardens.)
Much of his work is still done in New York City, where the lack
of backyard space has led him to specialize in rooftop gardens,
balconies and courtyards. That focus eventually made him an expert
on container gardening, including trademark "granny pots"
where numerous plants spill over each other in colorful and competitive
abundance.