Category: Pearl Buck

Themes Announced for Winter 2022 issue of Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal

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By Linda Donaldson

Hoping to jump start your imaginations, I referred to the online Visual Thesaurus to cobble together a list of words associated with our next Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal’s co-themes of Chaos and Order.

Chaos – confusion, pandemonium, bedlam, topsy-turvy, discombobulation, disarray, disordered, muddiness, disquieted, perturbed, upset, unhinged.

Order – place, rank, grade, hierarchy, taxonomic category, organize, categorize, arrange, decree, club, guild, edict, regulate, dictate, request.

Many different paths through the labyrinth will bring you to one or the other – Chaos or Order. Which route will you choose? Send me your submissions by November 30th, 2022, for our next Journal issue.

To find our Submission Guidelines, click here.

Keep Writing!

Register Now for 2020 Writers Guild & Memoir Classes

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In keeping with the literary legacy of Pearl S. Buck, the Pearl S. Buck Writing Center, organized and run by the Pearl S. Buck Volunteer Association, offers Writers Guild monthly meetings and Memoir Writing classes. Both begin in March and are available for registration for our 2020 season now at https://pearlsbuck.org/writing-center/. Here is an outline of each offering. Hope you can join us! Continue reading “Register Now for 2020 Writers Guild & Memoir Classes” →

2020 Update on Guild and Writing Center Press

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By Anne K. Kaler

So you thought that we were celebrating and/or napping over the holidays . . . but here is an update of our most recent accomplishments at Pearl S. Buck Writing Center.

The Writing Center Press is proud to announce the publication of two important books this November, both memoirs/autobiographies worth reading: Continue reading “2020 Update on Guild and Writing Center Press” →

October 2018 Writers Guild News

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By Linda Donaldson

This Sunday, October 21st is the final 2018 meeting of the Writers Guild of the Pearl S. Buck Writing Center. We meet at 1pm until 3pm at the Cultural Center [big red barn] at Green Hills Farm, 520 Dublin Road, Perkasie, PA 18944.

We welcome all writers, published or aspiring, to bring a short 2-3 page selection from their work to share. The Guild members are eager to listen, offer praise and constructive critique. You are also welcome to attend and just listen. Continue reading “October 2018 Writers Guild News” →

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

On First Looking Into Dickens’s Oliver Twist

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(With apologies to Messrs. Chapman and Keats –but I needed a title)

By Bob McCrillis

Always on the lookout for a bargain, I found myself perusing the public domain table at Barnes & Noble. For those unfamiliar with these offerings, they are cheap hardback editions of classics that are no longer protected by copyright priced with the student budget in mind. Continue reading “On First Looking Into Dickens’s Oliver Twist” →

Pearl S. Buck’s 125th Birthday Celebrated

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By Linda Donaldson

Sunny weather welcomed guests on both days of Pearl S. Buck’s 125th birthday anniversary on Sunday, June 25th and Monday, June 26th (her actual birthday). I had the privilege of attending both days which showcased the Short Story Contest winners and the re-release by our own Pearl S. Buck Writing Center Press of Pearl’s children’s story Matthew, Mark, Luke and John on the 50th anniversary of its original printing.Coconut Cake 125

After enjoying delicious cake and lemonade, guests were treated to a free house tour which included concerts on both Pearl’s Steinway piano and her organ by talented musicians.

Short Story Contest Winners

Continue reading “Pearl S. Buck’s 125th Birthday Celebrated” →

Harmony Stories Strike a Happy Note

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By Anne K. Kaler

cindy-hti-book-signing
Cynthia L. Louden at recent book signing.

Pearl S. Buck and her daughter Carol must be smiling down from heaven these days with the recent publication of Stories from the Hearts of Harmony, which is subtitled as the “uplifting stories of harmony, hope and happiness from families of adults with developmental disabilities.”

Why, you ask?

Pearl’s only biological child, Grace Carol Buck, was a victim of a birth defect of a buildup of amino acid called phenylketonuria or PKU which prevent normal physical development.  Pearl’s book on her struggles recognizing and accepting Carol’s delayed development – The Child Who Never Grew – was a clarion call to the world of the dangers of PKU.  (Babies born today are routinely tested at birth for PKU which can now be treated if caught early enough.) Continue reading “Harmony Stories Strike a Happy Note” →

2017 Short Story Writing Contest

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psb-portraitPearl S. Buck   ~ 1st American Woman to win BOTH the Pulitzer and Nobel Prizes for Literature

 “In a mood of faith and hope my work goes on.
A ream of fresh paper lies on my desk waiting for the next book.
I am a writer and I take up my pen to write.” –  Pearl S. Buck

  Pearl S. Buck Writing Center Short Story Contest

                        Submissions will be accepted in three/3 age categories:

  • Grades 3-6 – word count not to exceed 1000 words
  • Grades 7-12 – word count not to exceed 1000 words
  • Adult – word count not to exceed 2,500 words.
  • A submission form must accompany all manuscripts
  • Submissions must be received by April 15, 2017
  • One winner in each age category will receive a $100 prize
  • Contest is open to ALL interested writers.  It is also open to PSB Writing Center members.  It is not available to PSBI Staff or PSBVA Writing Center Current Presenters.

Winners will be announced at Pearl S. Buck’s 125th Memorial Birthday, June 26, 2017

  • Contest winners will be asked to re-submit their stories for publication on Pearl Buck Writing Center’s Blog site or in the PSB Literary Journal
  •  Contest submissions must be emailed to clouden@pearlsbuck.org by April 15, 2017.
  • Judges: Local authors and Pearl Buck Volunteers

General rules:

  • All submissions must be sent by email only to clouden@pearlsbuck.org
  • Story must be original and not previously published.
  • Submission must be typed, double-spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt font.
  • Author’s Name, address, email address, phone # must be on the upper left corner of the first page.
  • Word count printed on the upper right corner.
  • A submission form must accompany all manuscripts
  • All other pages must have author’s name on the upper left corner above the page number.

Contest sponsored by Pearl S. Buck Volunteer Association
and the Pearl S. Buck Writing Center              

            Pearl S. Buck International, 520 Dublin Rd. Perkasie, PA 18944  www.pearlsbuck.org

2016 Wraps and 2017 Beckons

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By Linda Donaldson

Here is a much-delayed recap of our October 2016 meeting, followed by a call for submissions to our Spring Issue of the 2017 Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal.

We began our last 2016 meeting with an Authors’ Tour of the Pearl S. Buck residence led by Cindy Louden that highlighted both Buck’s libraries, her office, and Richard Walsh’s office. Continue reading “2016 Wraps and 2017 Beckons” →