On Tuesday, May 1, WordFest will be meeting at the Electric Bean coffee shop, 946 Washington Way (Washington Way and 10^th Avenue) in Longview.

Carolyn Caines will be reading from her novel, Passage to Love, an Ellis Island Story. The novel is based on the lives of her Finnish grandparents who came to America more than a hundred years ago. The story begins in the village of Puolanka, Finland, where young men and women are pulling up roots and following the lure of land and a new life in America. Among them are the headstrong Reeta, the eighteen-year-old daughter of a landowning family, and Thomas, the son of a tenant farmer. Social class restrictions doom their relationship from the start.

Carolyn is a third-generation resident of SW Washington and taught in both public and private schools for thirty years. She began writing during her college years at Seattle Pacific University, publishing a dozen short stories. She has had more than 125 poems published in devozine, Evangel, The Salal Review, and various other magazines and journals. Since 1998, she has written Poems For You, a weekly e-mailing.

Both her novel and her volume of poetry, In the Noiseless Night, poems about childhood in the ‘50s, will be available for purchase and autographing at WordFest.

Former prosecuting attorney and retired judge C.C. Bridgewater will be reading from his unpublished novel, entitled The Hook.  A crime mystery situated in SW Washington, it involves kidnapping, murder, and the use of mysticism in discovering the murderer and the location of the victim.

During the second hour, there will be an open mic period (10 minute limit.)

WordFest is a monthly gathering of readers and writers who meet the first Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 pm. The events are free and open to the public.

Posted on April 29th, 2012 by Alan
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On Tuesday, April 3, WordFest will be meeting in the historic Monticello Hotel to learn about the craft of writing one’s memoirs.

Vancouver writer Bob Ferguson will read from his book, Some Days Chicken, Some Days Feathers, and will talk about the craft of writing one’s own story.

Bob’s memoir starts with his early recollections of harvesting potatoes as a pre-schooler in Central Oregon, and ends when he is released from a Naval hospital as a young Marine Corps lieutenant after being wounded in Vietnam.

He believes that everyone has a good story to tell and he will offer some fun ideas on how to get started telling that story.

Bob received a BA degree from Linfield College, and later a Masters degree in Teaching. Self-employed for over 30 years in the advertising industry, he is a frequent professional speaker at national industry trade shows throughout the United States.

During the second hour, there will be an open mic period, where people are invited to read from their own memoirs (10 minute limit.)

WordFest is a monthly gathering of readers and writers who meet the first Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 pm. The events are free and open to the public.

In April, WordFest will be held at the Monticello Hotel.

Posted on April 2nd, 2012 by Alan
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Next Tuesday, March 6, WordFest will be moving to Las Rocas Mexican Restaurant, located at 1260 Commerce Avenue in Longview.

Headlining the evening’s program will be authors Mike Nettleton and Carolyn J. Rose, who will be reading from their newest works and be discussing the craft of writing murder mysteries. Mike’s new book, Shotgun Start, is about a former cop turned golf hustler who sets out to prove his ex-wife’s innocence in the shotgun slaying of her abusive boyfriend and becomes entwined in a dark world of biker gangs and the Mexican Mafia.

Carolyn has a new book, titled No Substitute for Murder, about a former radio talk show host whose job is downsized and she takes a position as a substitute teacher. Soon after she arrives at the school, an unpopular teacher who was a bully and blackmailer is found strangled.

In addition to the books they have written individually, Mike and Carolyn are a husband and wife team who have collaborated on a number of quirky murder mysteries set on the Oregon coast, including The Big Grabowski, Hard Karma Shuffle, and Sometimes a Great Commotion.

Following their readings, there will be an open mic time.

WordFest is a monthly gathering of writers and readers who meet on the first Tuesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 pm.

The event is free and open to the public.

Posted on March 1st, 2012 by Alan
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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