Former Lower Columbia College instructor and poet Joseph Green and LCC counselor Mary Stone will be launching their books at WordFest on Tuesday, February 7.

That Thread Still Connecting Us, Joe’s  first book since The End of Forgiveness in 2001, is a “chapbook,” a unified collection of poems under 48 pages. “I’ve come to think of the chapbook as a nearly ideal format for grouping poems,” says Joe. “Like most poets I know, I spend an obsessively long time working out the order of poems, and I almost think of the collection as one long poem, from beginning to end.”

Joe’s poems have appeared in magazines since 1975 and have been collected in His Inadequate Vocabulary (1986), Deluxe Motel (1991), Greatest Hits: 1975—2000, and  The End of Forgiveness, which won the Floating Bridge Press Poetry Chapbook Award.  He was PEN Northwest’s Margery Davis Boyden Wilderness Writer for 2000, in residence at the Dutch Henry Homestead in Oregon’s Rogue River Canyon; and in 2002 he held a residency at Fundación Valparaiso, in Mojacar, Spain.  He lives in Longview, Washington, where he retired from teaching in his twenty-fifth year at Lower Columbia College. Through his own printing operation, The Peasandcues Press, he collaborates with his wife, Marquita, to produce limited-edition, letterpress-printed poetry broadsides, using hand-set metal type.

Mary Stone draws on her expertise as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor at Lower Columbia College and her life in Christ to present principles and techniques in her non-fiction book, Run in the Path of Peace–the Secret of Being Content No Matter What. Mary writes with openness and sincerity seasoned with humor as she shares vignettes from her own life. Also included in the book are stories from contemporary women who share how they have overcome tragic events.

In January of 2011, Mary retired from almost 30 years on the faculty at Lower Columbia College, at which time she was conferred Faculty Emeritus.

WordFest is a gathering of local writers and readers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month at The Brits, 1427 Commerce Avenue, in Longview, 6:00-8:00 PM.

The events are free and open to the public.

Posted on February 3rd, 2012 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off

Irene Martin, author of several books on Columbia River history, will be launching her newest book this Tuesday at WordFest.

The Flight of Bumble Bee, One Hundred Years of the Columbia River Packers Association and the Pursuit of Fish tells the story of what became the largest salmon packer in the world. The book covers developments in 19th century salmon canning technology, the expansion into Alaska in the 20th century, and the beginnings of the west coast tuna industry. Numerous historic photographs, engravings and salmon labels illustrate the volume. Started by Roger Tetlow and completed by Irene after his death, the book presents the history of a corporation that has been in business over a hundred years and became a national icon in brand names. Copies will be available for sale and autographing.

Irene has been a writer for nearly forty years, specializing in Northwest regional history, particularly that of fishing and the Columbia River. Among her publications are Legacy and Testament, the Story of Columbia River Gillnetters, The Beach of Heaven, a history of Wahkiakum County, and Sea Fire, Tales of Jesus and Fishing. She lives in Skamokawa, Washington, with her husband who is a commercial fisherman in Alaska and on the Columbia River. She is also an Episcopal priest at St. James Church in Cathlamet.
Following Irene, Kelley Jacquez will be reading from her collection of short stories, Holding Woman and Other Stories of Acceptable Madness. The book is being published by Bilingual Press, Tempe, Arizona, due out in May.

WordFest is a gathering of readers and writers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month at The Brits, 1427 Commerce Avenue in Longview.

The event is free and open to the public. Following the presentations, there is an open mic period.

Doors open at The Brits at 5:30, with the readings starting at 6:00 pm.

Posted on December 31st, 2011 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off

The community is invited to share holiday stories and reflections at the next WordFest on Tuesday, December 6.

 Local optometrist Terrence Tack will be leading with a short story he wrote titled, ”Off the Grid” which, despite its title, is a Christmas story.

“Several years ago I began writing non-fiction vignettes about life changing encounters, the kind that you like to tell your grandkids.  It started out as a casual exercise, a ‘value checker’, so to speak, and has become a way for me to pass on my heritage and to tell the same story more than once and not lose the details…or my audience,” says Terry.

Raised on a farm in Rose Valley and a Kelso High graduate, Terry graduated with honors from Pacific University College of Optometry in 1970, then practiced optometry in the US Air Force before establishing his private practice in 1974 in Longview. His oldest son joined the practice in 1991.   

Following Terry’s reading will be an open mic time when people are invited to share their poems, short stories, memoirs or chapter from their novel that focus on the holidays. There is a 10-min limit.

Doors open at The Brits at 5:30, with the readings starting at 6:00 pm.

Posted on November 29th, 2011 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off

At the next WordFest on Tuesday, November 1, local poet Carolyn Caines will be launching her book of poetry, titled “In the Noiseless Night,”  a collection of poems evoking what it was like to grow up in the 1950s. 

Carolyn, active in the WordFest poetry group, was a teacher (K-12) for thirty years and is now retired. She has published short stories in the past and has written for the Cowlitz Historical Quarterly. She recently completed a novel based on the lives of  her Finnish grandparents coming to America that began as an article in the CHQ. 

Carolyn has been writing poetry for the last fifteen years, and has published more than 125 poems in devozine, Evangel, The Salal Review, and various other magazines and journals. Since 1998, she continues to write Poems For You, a weekly e-mailing.

Copies of her book will be available for $10 each.

 Also that evening, WordFest regular Mary Louise Lyons will read from a collection of Memoir and Poetry that she has been working on this past year. Mary has conducted Memoir workshops at the annual Kalama Word Catcher events.

Doors open at The Brits at 5:30, with the readings starting at 6:00 pm. There will be an open mic time following the presenters.

Posted on October 29th, 2011 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off

At WordFest on Tuesday, October 4, two former newspaper editors will provide advice on how writers can improve their fiction or nonfiction, by using skills and techniques from journalism.

Jack Hart, former managing editor and writing coach at The Oregonian will be discussing the application of fiction techniques to nonfiction writing.

Jack is the author of A Writer’s Coach and Storycraft: The Complete Guide to Writing Narrative Nonfiction, just published this year. During his time with The Oregonian, the paper won a number of Pulitzer Prizes for stories that he helped craft and shape, using these principles. Jack has been a popular workshop presenter at the Kalama Word Catcher events. Copies of both of his books will be available for purchase.

David Rorden, Longview attorney and former reporter and editor for The Daily News, will offer tips for developing and honing reporting skills to sharpen one’s fiction or nonfiction writing. David was city editor of The Daily News and part of the news staff that won the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens. He was also one of four writers of the 1980 best-seller, Volcano! The Eruption of Mount St. Helens, and is currently working on a novel. 

Doors open at The Brits at 5:30, with the presentations starting at 6:00 pm. There will be an open mic time following the presenters.

Posted on October 2nd, 2011 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off

At the WordFest gathering on Tuesday, September 6, Gilbert Rossing will be discussing and reading from his book, Dignity, Dogmatism, and Same-Sex Relationships: What Science and Scripture Teach Us. A retired Lutheran pastor (ELCA), Gib and his wife, Beth, began an unexpected journey of study and understanding when their oldest son came out to them that he was gay. Gib’s book is both a personal account of their struggle to understand and what they learned from their investigation of scripture and modern science.

 He writes: “In the beginning, I cared about information about homosexuality only to help me understand my gay son. But soon, I realized that I needed to reconcile understanding about my son with larger issues raised by traditional religious judgments about homosexuality.”

Gib served Lutheran parishes over a period of 30 years in Spokane, Portland, and in Texas. He has a Master of Theology degree from Luther Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a Master of Arts degree in Education from Portland State University. After retirement from parish ministry, he was a computer software developer and database designer in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex.

 During the second hour, Daniel Iddings will read from his manuscript, Happily Depressed, for which he is currently seeking a publisher. Born and raised in Kelso, Dan moved to Seattle where he lived for 20 years. Suffering from severe bouts of depression, he lost his job, marriage and home, and became homeless, living out of the back of his pickup truck. With the support of family and friends, he got back on his feet and returned to Longview, where he wrote his book. Happily Depressed discusses how he recovered from major depression by discovering and implementing four key principles to building a happier life.

During the open mic time, Kelley Jacquez will be reading a poem that was recently accepted for publication.

The Brits doors open at 5:30, and the readings begin at 6:00.

Posted on September 3rd, 2011 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off

There will be no WordFest gathering in August. We will resume our monthly get togethers on Tuesday, September 6th.

Good reading!  Good writing!

WordFest Workshop on Story Spinning

Saturday, August 13,  9:30-12:00, $10

CAP Conference Room,

1529 Commerce Avenue, Longview

You have an idea for a story or a novel. Now what? Or maybe your story has dead-ended. What to do?

The creative process of “spinning” stories is part conscious (we invent, we plot, we “make up”) and part unconscious (we discover–and sometimes are surprised at what we find bubbling up from the subconscious.) This two-hour, interactive workshop explores and experiments with a variety of techniques that cultivate both conscious and unconscious processes. Participants will be invited to workshop their own story ideas, using this tool kit of techniques.

Workshop leader: Alan Rose

Pre-registration necessary. Contact Alan at alan@alan-rose.com.

Posted on July 31st, 2011 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off

On Tuesday, July 5, editor and publisher John Morgan will give an overview to current publishing options available to authors, including traditional print publishing, print-on-demand services, and the rapidly growing world of e-books.

John founded Morgan Online Media earlier this year, an e-publishing company that is seeking to edit, publish, market and sell e-books by new and undiscovered authors. John has worked for several large media corporations, including three years as senior editor of the financial trade journal Money Management Executive. His articles have appeared in American Banker, Financial Planning, On Wall Street, Bank Investment Consultant, and Investment Dealer’s Digest.

Also that evening Kim Le will be reading from her book, 100 Snapshots of Struggle, Hope and Survival, which captures the experiences of Southeast Asian refugees who left their homelands and started new lives in the West.

Kim has worked with various social services for over thirty years.  She served as the Executive Director of New Americans Social and Cultural Assistance for almost 10 years, an organization that provides resettlement services for Slavic and Southeast Asian refugees and immigrants in Southwest Washington.   She has also been very involved in community building and empowerment since 1977. Copies of 100 Snapshots will be available that evening for a $5.00 to the Health &Well Being Foundation.

Linda Eddleston will be reading poems that she and her daughter wrote and published in a booklet entitled, Poetry A Through Z.Linda , a retired teacher, will be discussing why people write poetry and providing handouts with different styles of poetry. Copies of the booklet will be available for $10.00.

WordFest is a gathering of readers and writers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at The Brits, 1427 Commerce Avenue in Longview. Following the evening presenters, there is an open mic time where the audience can read their own material.

The events are free and open to the public.

Posted on July 1st, 2011 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off

Scappoose author Willy Vlautin will be discussing and reading from his award-winning novel, Lean on Pete, at WordFest on Tuesday, June 7. The novel is a gritty, heartbreaking story of 15-year old Charley Thompson, who steals his only friend, a broken down race horse named Lean on Pete, when Pete is to be sold for dog food. Together, they set off across the desert of eastern Oregon to find Charley’s aunt in Wyoming. The novel has won two Oregon Book Awards: the Ken Kesey Award for Fiction and the Reader’s Choice Award (You can read my review of the novel in the current issue of The Columbia River Reader.)

Willy, a singer and songwriter for the band Richmond Fontaine, has written two other novels, The Motel Life and Northline.

In the second hour, Mary Ellen Stone will be reading her story, “Some Swan Song,” which was published recently in Bethany House’s anthology, Love is a Flame. The nonfiction piece is both serious and humorous as it looks at what it takes to make a marriage stronger.

Unable to read last month as scheduled, Kelley Jacquez will be reading ”A Believable Story,” about a daughter’s efforts to protect her mother, who is a compulsive liar, from exposure. The story is from a collection of Kelley’s short stories, Holding Woman and Other Stories of Acceptable Madness, which has been accepted for publication by Bilingual Press, University of Arizona, Tucson.

WordFest is a gathering of readers and writers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month at The Brits, at 1427 Commerce Avenue in Longview, 6:00-8:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Doors open at 5:30, and The Brits offers a select menu for those who wish a meal with the readings.

Posted on May 29th, 2011 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off

Spike Walker, author of a number of popular real-life thrillers, will be the featured author at WordFest on Tuesday, May 3. Spike will be discussing and reading from his most recent book, On the Edge of Survival: A shipwreck, a raging storm, and the harrowing Alaskan rescue that became a legend.

The story recounts the dramatic Coast Guard rescue of crew from the 738-foot freighter, Selendang Ayu, in December 2004. The ship lost its engines in the midst of a storm and began drifting toward the treacherous coast of the Aleutian Islands.

Spike is the author of Nights of Ice, Coming Back Alive, and Working on the Edge. His books inspired the hit television show, “The Deadliest Catch.”

Copies of his books, provided by Paperbacks Galore, will be available for purchase and autographing.

During the second hour, Bernadette Crepeau will be reading from book two of her Brooklyn Leprechaun Mystery series, entitled Royal Spirits, and will be discussing how writing a screenplay helps one become a better novelist.

Kelley Jacquez will be reading ”A Believable Story,” about a daughter’s efforts to protect her mother, who is a compulsive liar, from exposure —until the lie goes too far. The story is from a collection of Kelley’s short stories, Holding Woman and Other Stories of Acceptable Madness, which has been accepted for publication by Bilingual Press, University of Arizona, Tucson.

WordFest is a gathering of readers and writers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month at The Brits, at 1427 Commerce Avenue in Longview, 6:00-8:00 pm. The event is free and open to the public.

Doors open at 5:30, and The Brits offers a select menu for those who wish a meal with the readings.

Posted on April 30th, 2011 by Alan
Filed under: Upcoming Events | Comments Off