Category: Memoir

Spring Writing Conference 2017

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By Cynthia L. Louden

The Pearl S. Buck Writing Center presents

“Ready! Set! WRITE!”

Saturday, April 8, 2017 from 9am – 3 pm

in the historical Barn Culture Center

Presenters:     Orlando R. Barone, op-ed writer, poet, author and educator
Jennifer Lin, noted TV journalist and author

Registration is $75 and includes an abbreviated Writers Tour of the Pearl S. Buck’s National Historic Landmark House. Presenters will also read from their works, and have books to sell. A panel of authors & editors will take questions and offer additional writing suggestions to interested participants. Bring your own bag lunch. Coffee, tea, water will be provided. A 10% Discount on Gift Shop purchases is also included. Register for the Spring Writing Conference at www.pearlsbuck.org/writing

Continue reading “Spring Writing Conference 2017” →

2017 Writing Center Calendar

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By Linda Donaldson

Our PSB Writing Center’s calendar of 2017 workshops, classes, discussion groups and Writers Guild meetings is now always available through the heading Calendar of Events appearing as a link at the top center of our blog. The calendar is organized by date.

To register and pay online for any program, visit PSBI website’s Writing Center page http://www.psbi.org/writingcenter and choose the programs you’re interested in. During inclement weather, we urge you to refer to http://www.psbi.org for cancellation information.

Following is a summary of 2017 calendar:

First, classes that offer something for everyone!

  • Creative Writing is Needed for ALL Writing – 8 classes
  • Writing as a Platform for Social Change – 7 classes
  • Writing Short Stories in a Year – 7 classes
  • Write a Novel in a Year – 6 classes
  • Journaling and How to use it in Your Other Writing – 8 classes

Dates for our 2017 Writers Guild Meetings: March 19, April 16, May 21, June 18, July 16, August 20, September 17 and October 15.

Save These Dates!

  • Spring Writers Conference – Sat., April 8, 2017 at 9:00 am – 3 pm
    = Ready! Set! WRITE!

Plus two Susan Wagner Workshops!

  • Labyrinths & Wellness Writing Workshop – Sat., July 15, 2017 at 9:00am
  • Poetry Writing Workshop – Sat., October 21, 2017 at 9:00am

There are Discussion Groups of Pearl S. Buck’s works held each month from March through October. The Book Discussions are from 2:00 to 3:00pm on the 3rd Mondays of each month. The Short Story Discussions on the 2nd Tuesdays from 10:00 to 11:00am.

Welcome back to Anne Kaler, Sue Wagner, Anita Nolan, Sandra Cody and Orlando Barone as returning presenters. We look forward to Janet Ruth Falon’s new course: Journaling and How to use it in Your Other Writing.

We’re proud to offer such a comprehensive list of programs. Three cheers to Cindy Louden for coordinating these offerings!!!

 Now, more than ever, we have an abundance of reasons to Keep Writing!

 

What the Teacher Learned

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by Linda C. Wisniewski

linda-wisniewski

I’ve been teaching memoir writing classes for adults for twelve years, and as time goes by, I have found it necessary to keep reading and learning, if only to stay one step ahead of my students. Some of them have been with me for three or four years, and I want to give them fresh, new material, so I have to create it from resources I access outside my own experience. My own writing teacher has been covering much of the same ground for the seven years I have studied with her, but each class and its accompanying handout offers more for me to practice and absorb, and I know she is still learning too. Continue reading “What the Teacher Learned” →

Fall 2016 ♦ Volume 1, Number 2

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Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal

From Gateways to Graves

Seeing the works of Pearl S. Buck through her use of the strong symbol of gateways, our first issue of the PSB Journal centered on that theme from her best known novel The Good Earth. The theme of the second issue of the PSB Journal grew out of that natural cycle of our human existence on this planet. What starts to live must also come to death and, so, the theme became our writings on the Living Earth and the Dying Earth.

Since the Journal is an outreach to continue the awareness of Pearl S. Buck through her life, her literature, and her legacy, we found especial inspiration in two recent events which confirmed Pearl’s resurgence into the literary limelight after years of neglect. Continue reading “Fall 2016 ♦ Volume 1, Number 2” →

A Conference of Pearl S. Buck Enthusiasts

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By Anne K. Kaler, PSBVA

The question why people come to academic conferences answers itself — WHY. Having been an academic who has attended professional conferences for almost forty years, I feel qualified to speak on conferences. So WHY did I come to the recent Pearl S. Buck and the Pulitzer Prize Gateways Conference held in Morgantown, West Virginia, and what did I learn?Anne Kaler Head Shot

I discovered to my pleasure that the study of Pearl S. Buck’s works, life, and legacy has sprouted new roots across the world.  In PSBI’s case, this new growth has captured the interest of scholars who have found her stories and life experiences a fertile field to explore for new growth.  This conference showed the human curiosity of scholars who ask WHY certain authors feel so strongly about the topics about which they write.  A meeting of presenters like this provides a vital nutrient to encourage digging deeper to unearth better soil.  What really keeps academic detectives going, however, is that big WHY some things were written and others not written. Continue reading “A Conference of Pearl S. Buck Enthusiasts” →

September Writers Guild Meeting Recap

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We bookworms met early in the parking lot for our tailgate book swap. Many prizes headed home with new readers, but, sadly, quite a few ended up in our trunks.

Good news, though! One carton of books related to writing were rescued – to keep on hand for a lending library at future meetings: writing techniques, grammar tips, phrase finders, root word dictionary, screenplay writing, copyright and libel rules, creating characters, writing for children & teenagers, writing science fiction, fantasy and horror.

Our meeting began with the first of seven excerpts brought for reading and discussion. Continue reading “September Writers Guild Meeting Recap” →

Summer Connections

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By Susan Wagner

Sue WagnerWe spent a week this summer at the Jersey shore with three of our grandchildren. Watching another generation enjoy our special place was a huge pleasure. I met my husband in Ocean City when we were both 18 and newly graduated from high school. We have been together since.

My husband’s parents worked and played there when they were in college. He was a cook and she a waitress, just like us. They continued to visit every summer with their children and my husband’s grandmother. We brought our own children down every summer, sometimes for a week, more often for day trips.

These grandchildren, the oldest three of our grandchildren, had been in Ocean City as babies. Now we returned with them as preteens and teen. A lot has changed. Continue reading “Summer Connections” →

Guild Meets, Reviews Authors’ Works

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The August Writers Guild meeting welcomed some new faces, updated health issues of members, and discussed the Literary Journal and PSBWC blog.

Most important, the deadline of the Fall Issue of the PSB Literary Journal has been extended to September 30th, 2016. You can find the submission guidelines here.

Cindy Loudon announced that she and Anne Kaler have a trove of books they will offer members. That sparked a debate about how best to handle the “swap” with more members participating. Continue reading “Guild Meets, Reviews Authors’ Works” →

The Power of Place

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Sandy Cody
Sandy Cody

I grew up in St. Louis and the surrounding area, never too far from the Mississippi River. The character of the city, the small towns, the farms and, most of all, the people, of the mid-section of the country, have been shaped, for both good and ill, by that mighty river.

On the good side, St. Louis owes its life and much of its prosperity to the fact that it is located on a major artery of transport. As for ill, The Old Man at floodtide can, in a single day, wipe out a small town’s entire business section or rob a farm family of a year’s livelihood. Yet, for all its destructive force, I don’t know anyone who has grown up within the reach of the Mississippi who doesn’t love it–an affection that baffles many visitors, especially those who grew up near other rivers. They think water should be clear−sparkling and transparent. The Mississippi is nothing like that. There’s good reason it’s called The Big Muddy. Looking into its dark, impenetrable depths, you see a living entity, pulsing with power and energy. To live near the Mississippi is to know that Nature is in charge. Continue reading “The Power of Place” →

Literary Journal Deadline Extended

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The editors of the Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal announce an extension to the deadline for our Fall Issue, planned for publication in mid-October. The new deadline is September 30th.

Please visit our Submission Guidelines for instructions on submitting your work.

Mark your calendars, so you don’t miss our August Writers Guild meeting on Sunday, August 21st from 1:30 to 3:30 pm in the Cultural Center (the red barn) at Green Hills Farm, 520 Dublin Road, Perkasie, PA.

Poets, essayists, fiction, non-fiction and memoir writers are all welcome, regardless of project status.  In the words of our fearless leader, Keep Writing!