Category: Memoir

June Writers Guild Meeting Summary

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By Anne K. Kaler

The June 17th meeting started at 1 pm in the upper area of the red barn. Cindy Louden (chair) and Anne Kaler (instructor) led the meeting where all seven attendees presented their writings which are summarized below.

Notice was given on several new sources for short stories and poems under the BookBaby ads. One of their downloads includes a list from Authors Publish Magazine of 180 journals who accept submissions of poetry and prose. Visit www.authorspublish.com. Continue reading “June Writers Guild Meeting Summary” →

Summer 2018 ♦ Volume 3, Number 1

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Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal

There are 12 contributions to this Summer 2018 Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal. The theme of this issue is Justice and Mercy. Submissions include essays, memoirs, poems, short stories, and an excerpt from a novel.

Our thanks to authors Dr. Anne K. Kaler, Rev. Edgar P. Roosa, Bob McCrillis, Susan Wagner, Harry J. Houldin, Jane Bleam, Sandra Carey Cody, and Paul Teese.

Anne K. Kaler, PhD
Professor of English Emerita
Gwynedd Mercy University

 

(Click title to read selection. Author’s biography at end of contribution)

Justice and Mercy

ESSAY BY ANNE K. KALER, PSBVA

♦

Social Justice Themes in the Life and Writings of Pearl S. Buck

ESSAY BY REV. EDGAR P. ROOSA

♦

The Thief of Time

POEM BY ANNE K. KALER, PSBVA

♦

Mrs. Hastings

SHORT STORY BY BOB McCRILLIS

♦

Everest

POEM BY SUSAN WAGNER

♦

To the Bulge

EXCERPT FROM A NOVEL BY PFC HARRY J. HOULDIN

♦

Lydwyna the Spinster and the Pearl Embroidery

EXCERPT FROM A NOVEL BY ANNE K. KALER, PSBVA

♦

Sans Poetic Punctuation

POEM BY JOHN McCABE

♦

The Goose Family

MEMOIR BY JANE BLEAM

♦

The Cherry Trees

ESSAY BY SANDRA CAREY CODY

♦

Respite

ESSAY BY PAUL TEESE

♦

Extinguished Camp Fires Burn

SHORT STORY BY JOHN McCABE

How Much Research?

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By Bob McCrillis

In a talk she gave, Anna Quindlen claimed that she only does as much research as is convenient. That’s quite a statement.

My first thought was, “Sure, if you’re already a best-selling author.” A reader told her that getting from Miami to Tampa in three hours by car was impossible, she replied, “Not in my Florida.”

Yay! I don’t have to bother with inconsistencies and impossibilities. Well, maybe not so fast. I remember a person complaining that the book he was reading wasn’t accurate. It seems that he was familiar with Paris, where the story took place, and the places and street names were all wrong. “It ruined the whole book for me,” he grumbled. Continue reading “How Much Research?” →

Writers Guild Updates

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By Linda Donaldson

A reminder – our June meeting on the 17th falls on Father’s Day. We start at 1 pm and meet till 3 pm. Please bring 10 copies of any work you’d like to share up to 3 pages long, and remember to put your name and email on your work for further feedback.

Anne Kaler began our May Writers Guild meeting by announcing our Literary Journal plans for this year. The former Fall 2017 issue, with the theme of “Justice and Mercy,” will be posted mid-June as the Summer 2018 issue. The Editors have chosen the theme “Transformation“ for the Winter 2018 issue with the deadline of October 31, 2018. Submission guidelines will be posted soon on the blog. Continue reading “Writers Guild Updates” →

April Writers Guild Meeting Recap

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By Linda Donaldson

Many attendees came to share work at the April meeting of the Writers Guild. We got started right away with Melissa Triol’s short story about a widow confronting the man who possesses her dead first husband’s watch. The woman’s slow, understated unraveling of the terrible facts of this man’s betrayal make for an armchair gripping read.

Melissa’s story will be a perfect fit for what we are calling our upcoming Spring 2018 issue of the Literary Journal, the theme of which is Justice and Mercy. We expect to post this issue in the next few weeks, and to announce the theme of the Fall 2018 issue of the Literary Journal. Thanks for your patience! Continue reading “April Writers Guild Meeting Recap” →

Finding Your Market

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by Sandy Cody

Editor’s Note: This message, shared with permission, is from Sandy Cody to her writing class at the end of this year’s classes.Sandy Cody

This will be our last meeting, but I hope you’ll find time in your busy schedules to keep writing. I’m in awe of what you’ve all come up with when given just a hint – and time. I think that’s what this class has been about – providing time and space for you to write.

If you want to send your “babies” out into the world, here’s something to get you started. Mainly, I suggest you just play around on the computer until you find something that looks interesting. Continue reading “Finding Your Market” →

August Guild Meeting Update

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By Anne K. Kaler

The PSB Writers Guild met on Sunday, August 20, 2017 with nine members present.  The next meeting will be on September 17th from 1:30pm to 3:30pm.

Cindy Louden opened with a welcome to a prospective member Joe Vitella. Continue reading “August Guild Meeting Update” →

Writing and Workshops

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By Susan Wagner

If you could dream something into being for a particular person in your life, what would it be and who would it be for?

You can pick anyone and any dream, but you must pick up your pen and write without stopping for five to seven minutes. Try to use concrete images and sensory descriptions. Go. Continue reading “Writing and Workshops” →

Fall 2017 Literary Journal Theme is Justice and Mercy

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By Linda Donaldson

The theme for the Fall 2017 Issue, Volume 2, Number 2, of the Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal is Justice and Mercy. We see a host of possible avenues for writing about justice and mercy  —  the lack of either virtue OR the presence of either virtue. We include both sides of this theme, for, in Anne Kaler’s words: “If there were perfect justice, we would not need mercy.  If there were perfect mercy, we would not need justice.” Continue reading “Fall 2017 Literary Journal Theme is Justice and Mercy” →

July Guild Meeting Highlights

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By Linda Donaldson

Eight Writers Guild members came together this past Sunday for our July meeting. For the benefit of our new member, Holly Odell, we went around the table and introduced ourselves and told about our current writing projects.

It was announced that Sandy Cody, a presenter at PSB Writing Center workshops, and Guild member, sent two links from Authors Publish magazine: First Eleven Literary Journals that Read Submissions Blind (without regard to the author’s identity or previous publishing history). Second, a free PDF  The 2017 Guide to Manuscript Publishers.

Anne Kaler congratulated Bob McCrillis on the paperback proof copy he brought of his new collection of short stories published through CreateSpace. Entitled Puckerbrush: Stories of the Journey to Manhood. Bob had just finished rereading and marking the editing changes he plans to make before correcting them and releasing the book for publication. Continue reading “July Guild Meeting Highlights” →