Tag: Poetry

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” →

What Is Your Passion?

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By Susan WagnerSue Wagner New

When I was in fourth grade, the economic problems of Appalachia were in the news. I had seen it myself when I watched the news with my mother. We talked about it in school because our school planned to raise funds to aid children there. It was a penny collection. Over a period of a month, we were all asked to collect and donate as many pennies as we could. Continue reading “What Is Your Passion?” →

Spring 2017 ♦ Volume 2, Number 1

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Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal

There are 16 contributions to this Spring 2017 Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal. The theme of this issue is birth, rebirth and renewal. Submissions include essays, memoirs, poems, short stories, flash fiction and an excerpt from a novel.

Our thanks to authors, Anne K. Kaler, Bob McCrillis, Lois Guarino Hazel, Susan Wagner, Meredith Betz, Fred W. Donaldson, Linda C. Wisniewski, Jennifer Yuan, John McCabe, Carol Kretovich, and Judith Wrase Nygard.

 

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

 

Journals – Seedbeds of Memory

ESSAY BY ANNE K. KALER, PSBVA

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The Doe

SHORT STORY BY BOB McCRILLIS

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Reinventing Judith

SHORT STORY BY LOIS GUARINO HAZEL

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The Stitches of Lydwyna the Spinster

EXCERPT FROM A NOVEL BY ANNE K. KALER PSBVA

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Rain

POEM BY SUSAN WAGNER

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South Carolina Restaurant

MEMOIR BY MEREDITH BETZ

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A Letter to My Son

ESSAY BY FRED W. DONALDSON

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What a Man’s Got To Do

SHORT STORY BY LINDA C. WISNIEWSKI

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Cleaning the Crevices with a Cotton Swab

MEMOIR BY LOIS GUARINO HAZEL

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Plum Flower

SHORT STORY BY JENNIFER YUAN

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The Irishman

SHORT STORY BY JOHN McCABE

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Doug the Foster Child

POEM BY SUSAN WAGNER

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A Difficult Journey

MEMOIR BY Carol Kretovich

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Achieving Inner Calm

POEM BY JUDITH WRASE NYGARD

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You Are Creative…You Just Don’t Know It…Yet

MEMOIR BY MEREDITH BETZ

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Two on a Railing

FLASH FICTION BY JOHN McCABE

Important Guild News

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First, please note the April Writers Guild meeting will take place at 1:30pm on Sunday, April 23rd downstairs in the Cultural Center (Red Barn building), Green Hills Farm, 520 Dublin Road, Perkasie, PA.

Departing from our usual third Sunday meeting date, to avoid the Easter holiday, has necessitated a location change, due to an earlier event booking upstairs at the barn. Please enter the building from the lower level off the walkway on the side of the barn facing the house.

Next, we remind all authors of the deadline of April 15th for our Pearl S. Buck Short Story contest. Here is a link to the details of the contest.

Finally, don’t forget to send in submissions to our Literary Journal – Issue 3, Spring 2017. You’ll find a link to the Submission Guidelines here. The deadline has been extended to May 15th. Any questions, please contact Cindy Louden, clouden@pearlsbuck.org.

Looking forward to seeing you at the April meeting, and remember to bring at least 10 copies of any writing selection – of up to 3 or 4 pages – that you would like to share.

Puzzles and Writing and the Human Mind

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By Anne K. Kaler

Puzzle DoneIt is finished. The puzzle, that is. The writing is never finished.

The writing is truly never finished, never polished enough, never edited sufficiently because the story never fully ends in my mind. The characters and events continue to exist in my internal universe. I am never satisfied because I feel as if I have abandoned my created children on an alien planet without a working spaceship.

That’s why I do puzzles when I write. I need the constant encouragement that there is an end in sight — that there actually is a last puzzle piece to plunk into place, the only place in the material universe that it will fit.

So why do I persist in both endeavors? Continue reading “Puzzles and Writing and the Human Mind” →

March Guild Meeting Sunday the 19th

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By Linda Donaldson

 

We look forward to welcoming our current Writers Guild members and new Guild participants for our March meeting on Sunday, May 19th at 1:30pm in the Cultural Center [big red barn] at Green Hills Farm, 520 Dublin Road, Perkasie, PA.

Only one more snowstorm this winter – hopefully – stands in the way of Spring. On that note, don’t forget to send in submissions to our Literary Journal – Issue 3, Spring 2017. You’ll find a link to the Submission Guidelines here. The deadline has been extended to May 15th.

Our April meeting, originally scheduled for the 3rd Sunday has been moved to the 4th Sunday, April 23rd, thus avoiding Easter Sunday. Be sure to mark your calendars with this one-time scheduling change. May’s meeting returns to the 3rd Sunday on the 21st.

The Writing Center has many classes and workshops beginning this month and in early April. Visit our Writing Center program listings on the PSBI website to register online.

Our complimentary book discussion groups occur once a month on the 3rd Monday. Read and discuss books by and about our award-winning author Pearl S. Buck.

Concerning stories and poems for our Guild’s critique segment: If you plan to bring copies of your latest writing to share for comments, please limit excerpts to 3 or 4 pages and bring 10 to 15 copies to hand out.

Since we only devote about 10-15 minutes to each selection, remember to put your email address on your work to invite further comments after our meetings.

Become a follower on this blog and get immediate notification of blog posts with links. We feature helpful articles to get you started on your writing projects, and to polish your poetry and prose.

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!

 

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” →

Guild Meets Sunday Oct. 16

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Whew! This year certainly sped by. Our Guild meetings included many lively discussions of the talented selections that were shared. We enjoyed essays, poems, memoirs, novel excerpts and proudly launched our biannual Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal.

Tomorrow our October meeting concludes our 2016 Writers Guild season. At promptly 1:30pm tomorrow, Cindy Louden will be leading a private authors’ tour of the Pearl S. Buck house for Guild members. The tour will last about 30 minutes. Please be on time because our tour time has been reserved! Anyone who cannot negotiate the steps is welcome to wait in the Cultural Center until 2pm when our regular Guild meeting will begin. Continue reading “Guild Meets Sunday Oct. 16” →

Meeting, Swap, Signing & Contests

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A full calendar of events is unfolding at the Pearl S. Buck Writing Center over the next two months.

Tailgate Book Swap – Discover and Discard!

We begin with our Tailgate Book Swap at 1:00pm this Sunday September 18th in the parking lot adjacent to the Cultural Center (the big Red Barn). Pack your books – spines up – in boxes in your car trunks to make them easy to browse. Bring shopping bags in which to take home your treasures!

September 18th Writers Guild Meeting

Our September Writers Guild meeting will be held in the Center directly after the book swap from 1:30pm to 3:30pm. Bring 15 copies of any excerpt of your work you’d like to share. Try limiting selections to 3 pages, and add your email address on your work.

Anne Kaler, Cindy Louden, and John McCabe will share their experiences at the Pearl Buck Living Gateway Conference held at the West Virginia University campus earlier this week. They all presented papers on Pearl S. Buck along with other PSB volunteers, scholars and PSBI staff.

REMEMBER: Deadline for Fall Issue of Literary Journal is Sept. 30th!

Irish Festival & Sullivan Book Signing a Good MatchIrish Front Cover Only

Paul Sullivan’s new novel The Irishman’s Song will find a welcoming crowd at the Bucks County Irish Festival on Saturday October 1st. Paul will be featured at this outdoor event with vendors and lots of Irish music! Head over between Noon and 6pm to the Fallsington American Legion, 300 Yardley Avenue, Fallsington, PA, 19054.

Tethered by Letters 2016 Fall Writing Contest

Tethered by Letters is offering $1600 in prizes for our Fall Contest winners! Matt Gallagher will be judging short story submissions; Ken Arkind is the poetry judge; and Sari Wilson will select the best flash fiction submissions.

In addition to a weighty cash prizes, winners of the Fall Contest will be considered for publication in F(r)iction, our tri-annual journal of fine art and literature.

Click here to learn more about submission guidelines! Hurry! The deadline (November 1st) is fast approaching!

Editor’s Note: The Short Story contest costs $15.00 per submission, and both the Flash Fiction and Poetry contests cost $8.00 per entry or $12.00 for 3 entries.

Tweet a Twitter Journal…

Sue Wagner says, “This might be fun for people to try. Would make a good writing prompt for fiction or memoir.”

Can your writing go #viral? Tiny Text is looking for #ViralLit to share with the world!

Tiny Text is a Twitter journal (@Tiny_Text) that publishes #LittleLit: Twitter-length fiction and memoir, as well as serials. What is Twitter-length? 140 characters or less—spaces count! Each section of a serial should adhere to that, as well as be able to stand on its own. We’re looking for stories that amaze us by how much can fit into such a small space.

Please follow us on Twitter for weekly writing prompts and send up to three stories or memoirs at a time (including your name and Twitter handle) via a Twitter direct message or via email to teeny.tiny.textATgmail.com

We publish one piece of Twitter-length prose every other Monday and every publication gets two unique promo Tweets earlier the same day—but we’re hoping to expand that number, so send away! Submissions are eagerly read year-round. Please allow us 4 weeks to get back to you before sending more work or inquiring about the status of your submission.

We at Tiny Text look forward to your words!