Phyllis Curott
Zoom with the Author November 7th 2:00
Join us for a virtual presentation on Wiccan spirituality and personal history, as presented by one of the first public witches in America! Phyllis Curott, a Wiccan Priestess and lawyer, has been writing about her experiences in the Wiccan spiritual community for decades, pulling back the veil and bringing Wicca to the wider public.
Curott will discuss the inspiration and writing process for her five books including her latest release, The Witches' Wisdom Tarot.
This event will be held via Zoom. Sign-up by e-mailing Dianalee Velie at dianaleevelie@aol.com to obtain access.
The event is free and open to all and is sponsored by the Literary Arts Guild of the Center for the Arts, Lake Sunapee Region.
Ernest Hebert
Zoom December 5th 2:00
In his words:
I have two identities as a writer. Part of me is a realist. I want my novels to be truthful to the real world as I have experienced it. But I'm also a dreamer. I believe in the life of the imagination.
My interest in novel writing is the interior world of the characters. Everyone has two dramas in their lives, the drama on the outside--how we relate to our loved ones, our jobs, our friends, our enemies--and the drama on the inside--how we relate to that steamy, dreamy on-going nut-case story in our heads. When the story in the head comes into conflict with the story in the outside, well, that's a problem for this novelist.
Eleven novels in all with some prizes along the way.
Marie Harris
Live! on September 12th 2:00
Join us for a visit with Marie Harris, Poet Laureate of NH from 1999-2004. Harris is a writer, teacher and editor who has served as writer-in-residence at elementary and secondary schools throughout New England and is the author of five books of poetry, the most recent of which is DESIRE LINES, the latest volume in the Hobblebush Books Granite State Poetry Series.
She will read from her new poetry book, DESIRE LINES, and from her 2 children's books, G is for GRANITE and THE GIRL WHO HEARD COLORS. There will be time at the end for questions.
The event is free and open to all and is sponsored by the Literary Arts Guild of the Center for the Arts, Lake Sunapee Region and the Newbury Public Library.
Saturday September 12th
2 p.m.
NEWBURY TOWN OFFICES
This program is part of the Literary Arts Guild for
the Center for the Arts 2020 Snapshots in Time Series.
Amy Makechnie
Zoom with the author August 6th 7:00
"From Mom to Published Author"
Best-selling Andover author Amy Makechnie will offer her thoughts and experiences on becoming a published writer in a public "conversation" beginning at 7 p.m. on Thurs., Aug. 6.
A resident of East Andover since 1997, a science teacher at Proctor Academy since 1998 (with a ten-year motherhood hiatus), and the author of a critically acclaimed middle-grade novel -- "The Unforgettable Guinevere St. Clair" -- in 2018, Makechnie has recently completed a second novel -- "Golden" -- to be published by Simon & Schuster in 2021.
At the Aug. 6 event, Mackechnie will describe and read from her new novel; then describe her "journey" to becoming a published novelist (while engaging in a part-time teaching career and serving as a wife and mother of four); and then engage in conversation with attendees. Local writers and "will-be" writers (especially elementary and middle-schoolers) are invited to participate, she said.
Her first novel is available in hardback or paperback at any online retailer, at Morgan Hill Bookstore in New London, and with signed copies at Gibson's Bookstore in Concord. Makechnie is also happy to mail signed bookplates to anyone requesting one.
Originally from Omaha, Nebraska, Makechnie and her husband Gregor are the parents to four children. She studied Health and Human Performance at Brigham Young University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree, and holds former certifications in Personal Training and Sports Nutrition.
Makechnie's other published works include many essays available online and in local magazines. You can follow her on Instagram @amymakechnie and Twitter @amymakechnie, and sign up for her "monthly-ish" author newsletter at amymakechnie.com.
What Kirkus Reviews wrote about Makechnie's first novel: "If Scout Finch had had a sister, she would be future 'world-famous lawyer' Guinevere St. Clair...100 percent unforgettable."
The event is co-sponsored by the Literary Arts Guild of the Center for the Arts, Lake Sunapee Region, and The Andover Community Hub.
The event will be delivered "live" over the internet to local homes via an easy-to-use technology called Zoom. There it can be viewed interactively on home computers and hand-held devices. Up to 100 households can reserve "seats" in advance by sending an e-mail request to TheAndoverHub@gmail.com
Ken Tentarelli
ZOOM with the author July 27th 6:00
Join us for a virtual visit with Ken Tentarelli, the author of the
Nico Argenti Series. The series follows Argenti, a young lawyer
fresh out of law school at the University of Bologna. Argenti is
called upon to assist in a political plot to stabilize the
government following Cosimo de Medici's death. The series is
filled with mystery, intrigue, political maneuvers and a cast of
real and fictional characters from Renaissance Italy. Hosted by
the Literary Arts Guild and the Newbury Public Library, this
event will take you into the writing process and inspiration for
the series. There will be time for questions from the audience.
Call 763-5803 or email director@newburynhlibrary.net to obtain
a link for the author talk. Books are available for purchase
through Amazon, Apple Books or your local bookstore.
This program is part of the Literary Arts Guild for the Center for
the Arts 2020 Snapshots in Time Series.
2020 Winning POems "Snapshots in Time"
FROZEN
The world stopped spinning
Everything was silent,
The breeze stopped blowing the trees,
And the river stopped rolling along.
Everything was silent,
Oh, so very silent And Dark.
Sophie Stachulski, Elementary School Winner
Strafford NH
Just Like That.
It’s funny how quickly a moment can go from thrilling to terrifying,
Just like that.
Laughter turns to screams
The world becomes so loud, yet so deafeningly silent.
The impact isn’t even the worst part,
But the pressure of the water overtaking my body and stealing my breath is what kills me.
I try to gasp for air
But to no avail.
Air turns to water and fills my lungs.
In my last moments I relive everything in my life up until now.
Every wrong decision
Every right one
Everything in between
Will the world miss me?
Or will I just be another unknown soul,
Gone?
Just like that.
Callie Valeri, High School Winner
New London NH
A 1987 Photo of Female Destinies
Mom, me, and my little sister, frowning. Summer vacation, road-trip.
Dad had rested the 1960’s Travco motor home, to extend its life
on the road. While we waited for it to quit its white-steam-sighing,
he brought his camera out to capture a gigantic Arizona cactus.
My little sister and I fence Mom, as directed, and stand in front of the star.
My oldest sister—absent—explores a Christian camp, 3,000 miles away,
where she’ll meet her future husband and try-on Mom’s Sunday shoes.
The star of the photo towers behind us, stiffly poking the desert sky
with its succulent-nubs, to force the rain that just won’t come.
This inside-out pincushion grows from Mom’s slumped shoulders, out
of her housewife-head, as if all of the cooking & sewing she did for us
came back in one impatient clump. Her feet swell beneath the burden
in the degree of heat that melts cheese; another reason we are not smiling.
My golden-haired sister—dressed in blue—leans close to Mom’s right side,
gazing at the concrete with her tiny-blue-eyes. Her three-inch feet
are firmly tucked together, readying her Air Force Sergeant future.
I am captured at eleven, a tanned, brunette, bean-pole; summer’s dry-gleam
a pasture in my hair. My white pants are rolled to my scuffed knees. My
white tank top hides two sore bumps, (soon-to-be trainees)—I match
Mom’s scowl. This trip, she tells me that it is about time I wear a brazier.
My left-hand rests on the back of my head, my elbow forms an arrow
pointing in the direction apposing her. Deep, in the distance between us,
on my right shoulder, a highway-sign cautions, alongside a chain-linked fence:
Do Not Enter.
By Amber Rose Crowtree
First Place Adult Category
Grafton NH
Compost Poem
A lopsided moon sends no light through the bare trees
as I stumble blindly
toward our compost bin.
One foot squishes and I jerk it back.
Someone’s cigarette smoke bullies its way
into my consciousness-a neighbor? Walker?
Undistracted, briefly stilled, I savor my small illusion
of solitude.
Joyce White, Second Place Adult Category
Farmington NH
LAST RIDE UP MEETING HOUSE HILL
No one knows
The next ride could be you
in the black hearse with the yellow fringe and tassels
draped over velvet drawn curtains
always parked in the dark end of Johnson’s barn.
In her stall, across from the hearse, Lucy
the retired black mare, waits alone.
When it’s time, she wears an ostrich plume
pulling the carriage slow and steady
with its pine casket and massive iron wheels
through the village of Sutton
up Meeting House Hill to the Old South Cemetery.
It might be Mrs. Ferry who is the next one to go.
The ninety-seven-year-old woman who lives on Barker Road
and holds the Boston Post Cane made of ebony with an engraved golden knob.
Although the last time I saw her,
she was on a step ladder painting her kitchen ceiling.
Jody Wells, Third Place Adult Category
Sutton NH