Tag: Kaler

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

Writers Guild Begins 2018 Season

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By Linda Donaldson

Thirteen was a lucky number this Sunday. It represented the number of members who attended our first meeting of the Pearl S. Buck Writers Guild this 2018 season. Both previous and new members came with work to share.

First was an excerpt from a novel by Joe Vitella. It featured a high-action scene with a man searching for his missing girlfriend as he interrogates her former roommate. We stopped midway through Joe’s long chapter, and many wanted to read on to learn more – the best compliment we can give a writer! Continue reading “Writers Guild Begins 2018 Season” →

Ho… Ho… Ho… No Fall Journal in Your Stocking This Past Year

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By Anne K. Kaler

The first snow has fallen, the season of lights is past, the reindeer sled was not far behind, and the New Year has arrived with more snow . . .

Anne Kaler Head ShotThe Pearl S. Buck Fall 2017 Literary Journal got lost under a pile of autumn leaves, hunkering down and resting, until it can rise again when the brighter lights of early spring arrive.  We hope . . .

We could quote all sorts of cheerful holiday songs about the busyness of the season but we won’t. We could say that the editors are busily working at the Journal’s production but we won’t. We could say that our computers connived to erase all of our entries but we won’t. We can’t lie, not this close to the ears and eyes of Santa and his elves. Continue reading “Ho… Ho… Ho… No Fall Journal in Your Stocking This Past Year” →

October Writers Guild Meeting Recap

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By Linda Donaldson

Our last meeting of the Pearl S. Buck Writers Guild brought a dozen of us to the Cultural Center at Green Hills Farm on Sunday October 15th.

Four people brought work to share, and we began with John McCabe’s new introduction to his collection of short stories about the Market-Frankford Elevated trains. Many voiced a connection to John’s depiction of the silent “rules of the riders” that discourages people from talking to each other on trains. We liked his handling of the protagonist’s reconnection with a childhood pal and their subsequent adult friendship as the “glue” that brings these stories together. Continue reading “October Writers Guild Meeting Recap” →

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” →

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” →

How to Write Using a Pattern

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By Anne K. Kaler

Writers use patterns the same way that fabric designers use patterns – as guides for their material. (Note the pun there – both use “material” which means it is “of matter” or words.) Writers use the patterns called formulas to make their words conform to an understood, preconceived expectation for the reader.

Anne Kaler Head ShotAnd readers become intensely annoyed when the pattern/formula/genre is misrepresented. Classic story. The well-meaning children of a church pastor bought him a surprise book – Erskine Caldwell’s God’s Little Acre  — thinking that the subject matter was suitable for a man of the cloth. It wasn’t.

So, knowing what the pattern of a book is becomes paramount in the construction of that book. That’s why there are genres or types of books which are classified by the patterns they use. Often times the title itself will suggest enough of the ultimate pattern for me to want to read the book. Continue reading “How to Write Using a Pattern” →

Writing, Watching, and Wondering

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By Anne K. Kaler

Anne Kaler Head Shot

Ever wonder where writers get their ideas from?

Today one source landed right outside the window and insisted on being the center of my universe for the morning.

A young, a very young, robin perched on the top of an iron-ledge of a garden chair as I went out to get the newspapers.  His gimlet eye watched as a circled around him so as not to startle him into flight.

I knew he was young – the speckled head and shoulders and the orange hint on his pale breast gave away his age.  And he did not seem ready to fly away when I passed by.  It was only after observing him for an hour that I realized that this was indeed a very young bird. Continue reading “Writing, Watching, and Wondering” →