Mark Your Calendar for the Creative Writing Expo on November 14!

Posted on by Ashley Harris

Join us for the First Annual Creative Writing Expo!

Thursday, November 14, 2019, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Central Carolina Community College, Pittsboro
Building 42, Multi-Purpose Room

writingDo you dream of seeing your writing appear in print one day?

Would you like to learn more about the one and only Creative Writing Certificate offered by Central Carolina Community College?

If so, please join us on November 14!

INSPIRATION * FUN * FELLOWSHIP

    • 6:30 – 7:15 p.m. – FREE Workshop on the Flash Essay. Due to the popularity of memoir, the short-form (or flash) essay is popping up everywhere. Instructor Ashley Memory, whose work has appeared in O. Henry, Women on Writing, Romantic Homes, Raleigh News and Observer and more, will share what you need to know to pen your own short essays, including THE ONE TIP no serious writer can afford to miss!
    • 7:15 – 8 p.m. – Meet our champion, CCCC Associate Dean Felicia Crittenden and our instructors, hear success stories of current students, and learn about our Spring 2020 Course Offerings, including how you can earn the Creative Writing Certificate!
    • 8 – 8:30 p.m. – Enjoy refreshments and spend one-on-one time with instructors and students. Door Prizes! 🎁

 

The Expo is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required, but we encourage you to RSVP by calling the Continuing Education Office at 919-545-8044.

“A true piece of writing is a dangerous thing; it can change your life.” – Tobias Wolff

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Do You Have a Story to Tell? Join us on September 21 for a Flash Essay Workshop!

Posted on by Ashley Harris

writingDo you have a funny story you’ve been itching to put down on paper? What about a poignant memory of a first love? The history of a cherished family recipe that you’d like to share? Or did your dog do something that simply cracked you up?

Of course you have a story! Every human being is simply brimming with fascinating true-life tales, and yours is probably even better than the ones I just described. From “Tiny Love Stories” in The New York Times to the food essays in Saveur magazine to family memories in Carolina Country, there are more markets than ever that would love to publish your stories. And many of them will happily pay you for them. Or you could win a big prize!

From my writing experience, and I’ve been fortunate enough to have published essays in places such as Romantic Homes, The Raleigh News and Observer and most recently, in Women on Writing and Mental Papercuts, I’ve learned that there’s a trick to taking an anecdote and turning it into a marketable short-form (or flash) essay. It’s not enough to simply relate your story as it happened. Readers long for what’s known as a “takeaway” – a little nugget of wisdom or insight that they can apply to their own lives. And it’s not hard to mine your stories for this tiny gem; chances are, it’s been there all along!

If you’d like to learn more about how you can turn your life experiences into memorable and compelling flash essays, I hope you’ll join us at Central Carolina Community College on Saturday, September 21 from 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. We’ll read some of the best flash essays being published today, draft some of our own, and explore the various markets for publication.  Click here to register online or call 1-800-682-8353 (or 919-545-8044) to register over the phone.

As we always do when we gather at Central Carolina Community College in Pittsboro, home of state’s only community college-centered Creative Writing Program, we’ll have a boatload of fun doing it.

Waiting for the Wood Thrush Featured in The Courier-Tribune!

Posted on by Ashley Harris

paperYesterday, a good friend of mine told me that The Courier Tribune in Asheboro featured an article on Waiting for the Wood Thrush on Wednesday! Click here to read “New Poetry Collection by Asheboro Resident Released.”

To every kind soul who has already ordered a pre-sale copy of my book, I do appreciate you! Your support means the world to me. If you haven’t ordered your copy, there’s still time. Advance sales help the author and the publisher, and I’d be so very grateful if you ordered by September 13. Click here to order Waiting for the Wood Thrush online. 

I’ll be reading a selection of poems from the book tomorrow, September 25 at 2 p.m. at McIntyre’s Fine Books in Fearrington. I’ll be reading the title poem, along with several others inspired by my life in the Uwharries, including “Samarcand,” “Lost and Found of the Dead,” and “Eulogy of the Northern Red Oak.” Other poems include “Napoleon and Antosia,” the tale of two star-crossed donkeys in love and “How to See a Ghost,” a poem describing a true-life ghostly encounter. Read more about the event here.

Hope to see you there!

“Pfull” House at Pfeiffer and WOW!

Posted on by Ashley Harris

phoenix2Last night I had the pleasure of reading my poem “I Like My Bagel Toasted” at the special launch celebration of The Phoenix at Pfeiffer University, and it was a blast. First off, it’s a rarity to see more than 20 people at a literary event but at this wonderful occasion, there was at least 100–a “pfull” house by anybody’s standards! And anytime I get to see my friend Ruth Moose (and Pfeiffer alumna!) is always a special occasion.

Wonderful food, a great mixture of art (poems, stories, essays and photography!) and fabulous music made for an entertaining evening. The editors, staff, and advisors did a terrific job of making all attendees and authors feel appreciated.

bagelHats off to the editors who read and considered the nearly 1,000 submissions they received for this issue! My “bagel” and I were indeed lucky to be included. It’s taken a lot of courage to write about my multiple sclerosis so this has been a big step for me.

All in all, the day itself couldn’t have been more perfect. The weather alone was magnificent, sunny and dry with a gentle breeze. Amazing. And not only did my little bare-rooted Mara des Bois strawberry plants arrive from the nursery, I found out I won first place in the WOW Q2 Essay Contest for “How to Chop an Onion Without Crying.”

Isn’t it funny how life turns out? We writers work so hard, day in, day out, and the rewards are mostly internal–the joy you get from finding just the right word, putting your words to paper and sharing what you write with family and friends. But once in a while, the world surprises you with a little recognition and how sweet it is!

Wishing you strawberries, onions, bagels (and more) as you plow ahead and make your own writing dreams come true.

 

Self-Portrait of a stunt woman

Posted on by Ashley Harris

vivienWhat do you do when you find out you’ve got a little bit of Hollywood in the family? You write a poem about it!

By the picture you might think I’m suggesting I’m related to the talented and beautiful Vivien Leigh…..well, not quite! Through my beloved late grandmother, Wilma Dare Hash Thomas, I’m a distant cousin of Addie Hash Warp, the woman who doubled for Vivien Leigh in that famous staircase tumble in Gone with the Wind.

Unfortunately, I never met Addie (who passed away in 2008) but she was a renowned equestrienne who also doubled for Elizabeth Taylor in National Velvet, among other movie roles. In Addie’s own words, “I was black and blue for a while. But I knew how to fall.”

In honor of Addie (and of course Vivien), I wrote a poem “Self-Portrait of Stunt Double for Vivien Leigh Falling Down the Stairs in Gone with the Wind” that appears in Turnpike Magazine, Issue No. 4.   Here I focus on the jitters I imagine must face all stunt people, no matter how experienced they are, when faced with the daunting task of falling down a long staircase AND filling in for a star. Can you imagine? As for me, I’m a chicken who’s only been on a horse once in her life.

Turnpike also kindly published my poem “Ode to the Goddess of Missing Tools,” which is a comic tribute to my husband and all the tools that mysteriously slip through the cracks of our house. There’s a little bit of magic at work here, I’m sure.

The fun of a “self-portrait” style poem is that you can imagine yourself as anyone, famous or not, and write from their point of view. It’s a terrific form of escapism and creativity. So….if you’ve always been fascinated by someone and would like to walk (or fall!) in their shoes, give this prompt a try today.

 

 

Nudge the season with poetry!

Posted on by Ashley Harris

As spring makes a tentative showing — with heavy rains and early leaves on the plum tree — it’s a perfect time to celebrate by writing. And what better way to nudge the new season than with a little poetry!

Interested? If so, I hope you’ll join me for a special weekday workshop at The Joyful Jewel in charming downtown Pittsboro on March 15.

Jump Start Your Poetic Inspiration on Friday, March 15 from 9:30 – 12:30.
You can find inspiration for poetry everywhere— from reading newspapers and periodicals to mining your daily life and memory. We’ll improvise on sample poems written by other poets and participate in wildly creative exercises meant to spark your own imagination. Not only will you end up with three new poems of your own, you’ll leave with a never-ending inventory of ideas that can be used for not just poetry but short stories, essays, and more. We might even pen a poem in time for the annual Vision and Voice celebration the very next month!

To register: Seats are limited so I encourage you to reserve your space today. To register, call The Joyful Jewel, 833-2775, 10:30am-5:30pm Monday through Saturday or Sunday 12pm-4pm. Cost: $50.

AM poster Jumpstart Your Poetic InspirationAbout me: I draw my inspiration from the ancient Uwharries of Randolph County, where I wake to the arpeggio of the pileated woodpecker. When I’m not musing on a metaphor, I’m either brewing raspberry jam or poking around an abandoned cemetery. My poetry and prose have recently appeared in Ginger Collect, Okay Donkey, Pinesong, Gyroscope Review, and Naugatuck River Review. New poems are forthcoming in Turnpike, The Phoenix and The Red Clay Review. My work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and I’m a two-time recipient of the Doris Betts Fiction Prize.

Poetry in Plain Sight!

Posted on by Ashley Harris

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We are so fortunate in our state to have such a vibrant AND innovative arts culture! And there’s no better example than Poetry in Plain Sight, a statewide poetry initiative that brings poetry front and center into the lives of countless citizens every day.  Every month, short poems by North Carolina poets are published on posters (yes, I said POSTERS!) which are then displayed by progressive entrepreneurs in the windows of their businesses.

I was so thrilled to be chosen as a July poet. Here I pose in front of my poem “Consider the Spider,” which is posted on the doors of Fourth & Trade, a terrific art gallery on the corner of Fourth and Trade in downtown Winston-Salem. (Note the sign: “Leased Pets Welcome”!!!)

This year, the project has expanded beyond Winston-Salem to Waynesville and New Bern, so it is truly a statewide initiative!  It’s directed by Donna Wallace and sponsored by Winston-Salem Writers (which launched it in 2013), the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County, N.C. Poetry Society, N.C. Writers Network, and Press 53.

Below are close-ups of “Spider,” along with the work of other poets we discovered on a “poetry crawl” through Winston-Salem the other day. Pardon the glare — these pictures are no substitute for seeing the poems in person! So I hope you will take a journey yourself to the arts districts of either Winston-Salem, New Bern or Waynesville very soon. Also, consider attending the quarterly reading on Saturday, August 11. All Summer 2018 poets will read at the Forsyth County Library (Downtown Winston-Salem) from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

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Celebrate National Poetry Month!

Posted on by Ashley Harris

“Poetry is an echo, asking a shadow to dance,” said poet Carl Sandburg, North Carolina’s own adopted son. And thanks to Carl’s own creative genius, can you look at the little feet of a cat without thinking of fog? I know I can’t.

How will you celebrate a month-long tribute to the cherished art of poetry? As Lu Chi advises in The Art of Writing, I plan to “draw sustenance from masterpieces of the past.” I’m re-reading some of my favorite poets as well as questing to discover new ones. My go-to source for my daily poetry addiction is Poetry Daily and Rattle.

For more inspirational poetry, check out the website for The Gyroscope Review, which is running a daily interview with a poet published by them in the past. It’s a wonderful series that gives you a peek into the minds and work habits of poets at practice.

And today, for April 8, I’m honored to be the featured poet.

 

 

Flash Fiction Isn’t Just a Flash in the Pan!

Posted on by Ashley Harris

The short-short story has been around for decades but flash fiction (prose works between 500 and 1,000 words or less) is all the rage these days. And for good reason.

For the reader, the benefits are numerous. It’s immediate, accessible, and offers a variety of voices in one setting. For the writer, the benefits are also myriad. It offers the chance to experiment and the opportunity to do something with the fragments of other ideas that may not work for a poem, novel or traditional short story. This doesn’t make it any easier, however. The less words you use, the more carefully you must choose them for maximum impact. And while you don’t need to resolve all loose ends in a piece, you still need to produce a satisfying story for your reader.

For me, flash fiction is just plain fun! It’s been an effective and rewarding outlet for my quirky sense of humor. I’ve enjoyed experimenting with forms such as memos, emails, online chat dialogues, blogs, even shopping lists. The sky’s the limit!

Because the pieces take up less room, publishers are able to publish multiple authors. This means that there are so many more outlets for writers to get published. All major literary magazines are seeking flash fiction these days, and just as in poetry, you can submit multiple pieces for consideration.

I’ve had the joy of taking several workshops on flash fiction by celebrated author Ruth Moose through the Central Carolina Community College Creative Writing Program. She does a terrific job of choosing pieces for inspiration and then asking us to put pen to paper. So you end up with a solid start and an immediate audience—your fellow classmates!

These lessons have paid off for me and my friends, who have had several pieces accepted for publication. And just yesterday, I’m proud to say that my own piece, “All-Inclusive Vacation for Pessimists,” just appeared in Issue 7 of Brilliant Flash Fiction, a British online publication. (To read it, scroll down the page to about halfway through. Look for the picture of a beach at sunset!)

I hope to read this piece at the CCCC Open Mic at the library on the CCCC Pittsboro campus on October 23 at 6:30 p.m. This is yet another benefit. Flash fiction is perfect for open mics because more people have the chance to share their works. And this is why I think flash fiction is here to stay!

Hope to see you on October 23!