About the book
Any work that has nature or spring/summer as its theme.
Sample of the work:
Night at the Duck
Pond
Tom Davis
Towering cypress
clothed in ragged grey-brown bark
and bearded with strands
of Spanish moss
ring the pond’s far end.
Cypress knees rise
from the water like stalagmites.
Giant cattails and platter-sized lily pads,
interlaced with long reed canarygrass,
host a choir of bullfrogs and katydids.
A small field road hugs its western side.
In the distance, a gator slaps its tail.
The dank smell of swamp, river, and midnight dew
churn in the air.
A whippoorwill cries its sad three-note song
as the moon shines a face of stunning gold.
TOM DAVIS’ publishing credits include Poets
Forum, The Carolina Runner, Triathlon Today, Georgia Athlete, The
Fayetteville Observers Saturday Extra, A Loving Voice Vol. I and
II, and Special Warfare. He’s authored a collection
of short stories, The
Life and Times of Rip Jackson; a children’s coloring book,
Pickaberry Pig; His memoir, The
Most Fun I Ever Had With My Clothes On: A March From Private to
Colonel. and an action adventure novel, The
R-complex. He lives in Webster, NC. |
Eagles
in the Wind
Joseph J.
Youngblood
BROUGHT TO THE world on
mountain crag or lofty top of trees, the eagle knows no carefree days;
no time that’s danger free. But time and fate will do their task and
the eagle, one day grown, does as eagles always do, confronts the
great unknown. Though knowing fear of plunging fall and shattered
broken bone, with trembling heart it tears free of earth and rides on
air alone. Raising free with morning mist it soars above the land;
with wings spread wide to catch the air, an eagle in the wind.
Time goes by as it lives and learns, mastering its realm; with eyes
fixed wide on distant skies, it rides the thermal lift. Soaring high
above the earth, alone among the clouds it knows well the joy of life
lived free and bold, and proud. But strength and youth cannot last,
its enemy is time. The bravest heart longs for a mate and seeks others
of its kind. Though free to make a different choice they bind
themselves as one, soaring free in wind-torn skies, two eagles in the
wind.
The joy of life must be passed on and fierce hearts know this truth,
one or two is not enough, life must be renewed. Together they returned
earth, on lofty mountaintop, and bring their young into the world so
life will never stop. They protect and feed and shelter it, never
straying far away, and it grows stronger hour by hour not knowing that
someday, it too must face the world alone and bravely face its fear.
With trembling heart, tearing free of earth; an eagle in the wind.
JOSEPH
YOUNGBLOOD lives in Fayetteville, NC where he writes for pleasure
about things that inspire him. His work has appeared in many previous
anthologies.
|
About the Authors
~B~
Frederick W. Bassett is a retired academic
who turned to creative writing late in life. His poems have appeared widely
in anthologies and journals, including Negative Capability, Mudfish,
Slant, Yemassee, Illuminations, Poem, Pembroke Magazine, Passager, The Cape
Rock, Timberline Review, and zone 3. His latest books of poems is The
Old Stoic Faces the Mirror. He also has two novels, South Wind Rising
and Honey from a Lion.
Elaine Bauman has published in Old Mountain
Press, in a local chapbook, Gargoyles in Levis and in New Chicago Voices.
She relishes hanging out with poets, critiquing and learning from others’
critiques and looks forward to her first Wildacres summer. She lives in
Durham, NC, and her heart shares its love with Oak Park, Il.
Joann Bishop recently combined some poems
into a book for her Aunt Tina who fell in love with it and expressed that
some of Joann’s poems reflected her thoughts over the years and she
thought some of them were cute. To this day Joann’s aunt has one of her
poems called "The Clipper Ship" next or her deceased husband’s
picture by a picture of a clipper ship he made by hand without patterns.
Joann continues to combine her poems together for family and friends. She is
working on a family group of poems based upon personal family pictures over
the years.
Polly Brody’s publishing credits include The
Spoon River Poetry Review, Potomac Review, The Midwest Quarterly, Zone 3,
Connecticut River Review, Connecticut Muse. She’s been nominated for a
Pushcart Prize, and has twice received the Winchell Award from the CT Poetry
Society. Her published collections: Other Nations, The Burning Bush, At
the Flower’s Lip, Stirring Shadows, Lore. Polly has placed first,
second and third in national poetry competitions. She lives in Southbury,
CT.
~D~
Tom Davis’s publishing credits include Poets
Forum, The Carolina Runner, Triathlon Today, Georgia Athlete, The
Fayetteville Observer’s Saturday Extra, A Loving Voice Vol. I and
II, Special Warfare., and Winston-Salem Writers’ POETRY IN PLAIN SIGHT
program for May 2013 (poetry month). He’s authored the following books: The
Life and Times of Rip Jackson; A children’s coloring book, Pickaberry
Pig’s First Day of School, The Patrol Order; and an action adventure
novel, The R-complex. Tom has recently completed his memoir. He lives
in Webster, NC.
Nancy Dillingham is a sixth-generation
Dillingham from Big Ivy in WNC. She is the author of twelve books of poetry
and short fiction and, with Celia Miles, four anthologies of WNC women
writers. He 2010 collection HOME was nominated for a SIBA. She lives
in Asheville.
Peter Dome is a poet and writer from
Sheffield/Nottingham England. Inspired by Love for nature, life, and
romance. He love to write it is his life, and he always write from the
heart. I have several books of his own, and been in many anthologies through
the years. He hopes you will enjoy his work.
~F~
Dena Ferrari is a regular contributor to
OMP, Dena’s poetry are featured in Westchester Community College of NY Phoenix
(1975);. Writers Alliance Poets World-Wide anthologies has dozens of her
published works. Dena’s own books, Poems From the Hearth (2010) ;Come
Closer My Dearies (2013) and her newest book Charmed Times Three
(2015), shows diversified writing styles, leaving a Living Legacy for her
grandchildren. She and her husband, Peter live in Vass, NC.
Durwood Folkes is a professional fisherman
who makes his living with his catch. He mainly goes after flounder and grey
trout, but sometimes just sells what he finds at local fish markets. He has
done quite well for what seems to be a subsistence living, and he has a
truck, a trailer, and an amazingly free life. No women on a regular basis,
no children, no politics, no taxes. He wouldn't change a thing and hopes to
die of a quick heart failure while baiting his hook.
~G~
Christian George attends Appalachian
University and is studying to be a high school English teacher, and he is
also minoring in Sociology. He has been published in Old Mountain Press four
times and has also been published in the American Library of Poetry. His
main goal is to continue writing while inspiring others in the classroom.
James Gibson, Northville, Michigan,
featured Native American culture in the five novels in his "Anasazi
Quest" series. His new novel, Searching with Pei for the Meaning of
Life was published in August, 2016. Review all his books at
www.PentacleSPresS.com. Two of his "Anasazi Quest" novels, Anasazi
Princess and Anasazi Journey are now available as E-Books on Amazon.com.
Marian Gowan is author of Notes from the
Trunk, published by Old Mountain Press. Her work has appeared in several
Old Mountain Press anthologies and southern regional publications. Most
recently, she contributed to It’s All Relative: Tales from the Tree,
edited by Celia Miles and Nancy Dillingham. She retired to the NC mountains
from western NY in 2001, but recently returned to NY to be near family.
(mariangowan1@bellsouth.net)
~H~
Kerri Mai Habben lives in Raleigh, NC. A
graduate of Peace College and North Carolina State University, her work has
appeared in literary journals, The News and Observer, and is
regularly
included in publications throughout the
United States and Canada. Kerri has a manuscript of essays she is seeking to
publish and a completed novella.
MaXine Carey Harker and husband Berkley,
have lived 60+ years in the little one-stop-light town of Grifton, NC,
reared 5 children who have produced grandchildren and great grandchildren in
far-flung places. Published in national, state, and local publications, she
prefers non-fiction, sonnets, and haiku. She’s taught Writing for
Publication for 35+ years at 2 Community Colleges, now Rec Center in New
Bern. MaXine is 89.
Joseph Haymore is a retired US Army NCO. He
lives and writes in the Fayetteville, NC area. He writes both poetry and
prose and numbers among his friends many of the best of North Carolina's
poets and writers. His tours in Vietnam left lasting memories some humorous
and some less pleasant.
~K~
K. D. Kennedy Jr. has published four (4)
books of poetry, short stories, and essays: Our Place In Time, Waiting
Out In The Yard, For Rhyme Of Reason, and Progenitors: A Kennedy
Genealogy. He has also published works in over twenty anthologies and
periodicals. He has served as Chairman of the following: The Board of
Trustees of Barton College, the North Carolina Board of Ethics, the North
Carolina Theater, and the Building Committee of the Duke Power Performing
Arts Center.
Jo Koster spends too much time on
administrivia and not enough time writing, but that happens to a college
professor. Her next chapbook will be finished in 2017 or heads will roll.
While she and her two cats, Max and Neville, live full-time in Rock Hill,
SC, her grandbeagle Oliver is currently residing in Iowa.
~L~
Susanna Lang’s most recent collection of
poems, Travel Notes from the River Styx, has recently been published
by Terrapin Books. Her last collection was Tracing the Lines (Brick
Road Poetry Press, 2013). A two-time Hambidge fellow, she has published
original poems and translations from the French in such journals as Little
Star, New Letters, December, Blue Lyra Review, Prime Number Magazine and
Poetry East. She lives in Chicago, and teaches in the Chicago Public
Schools.
Blanche L. Ledford lives and writes in
Hayesville, NC. Her work has appeared in many journals and Old Mountain
Press anthologies. She enjoys gardening and quilting. She looks forward to
the total solar eclipse coming to the Blue Ridge Mountains this August,
2017.
Brenda Kay Ledford resides in Hayesville,
NC and writes about her Southern Appalachian heritage. Her work has appeared
in many journals and over 30 Old Mountain Press anthologies. She blogs at:
http://blueridgepoet.blogspot.com.
~M~
Celia Miles, a Jackson County native,
taught at Brevard College and retired from AB Tech; she lives, edits, and
writes from Asheville, NC. She has published eight novels, two short story
collections, and four co-edited anthologies of WNC women writers. Her
interests are traveling, photography, grist mills and neolithic sites. Her
latest novel (fall, 2016) is The Body at StarShine Mill: A Marcy Dehanne
Grist Mill Mystery. www.celiahoopermiles.com
~O~
Beverly Ohler’s life has been focused on
the theater, teaching, designing, producing festivals, creating art in one
form or another. Growing up in the Northeast, her adult life has primarily
been spent on the campus of Warren Wilson College, Asheville, NC, where she
is a member of the Theater Department. She has written four books, is
published in magazines and anthologies, and lives in Black Mountain, NC.
Karen O’Leary is a writer and editor from
West Fargo, ND. She has published poetry, short stories, and articles in a
variety of venues including, Frogpond, A Hundred Gourds, Haiku Pix, bear
creek haiku, Now This: Contemporary Poems of Beginnings, Renewals and
Firsts, Creative Inspirations and cattails. She edited an online
journal called Whispers from 2013-2017. She enjoys sharing the gift
of words.
Martha O’Quinn is a regular contributor
to OMP anthologies. She writes poetry and creative non-fiction centered
around her life, family folklore and a true southern heritage. Her work has
also appeared in four WNC women anthologies edited by Celia Miles and Nancy
Dillingham; Longest Hours: thoughts while waiting, published by
Silver Boomer Books, Abilene, TX; plus a number of regional publications.
Martha and her husband are great-grandparents to Penny and Josie and live in
Hendersonville, NC.
~P~
Michael Potts is Professor of Philosophy,
Methodist University, Fayetteville, NC. He has authored two poetry
chapbooks, three novels, and has short stories and poetry published in
various literary
journals. He lives with his wife, Karen,
and their four cats in Coats, NC.
~R~
Mary Ricketson, inspired by nature, is
published in Wild Goose Poetry, Future Cycle Press, Journal of Kentucky
Studies, Lights in the Mountains, Echoes Across the Blue Ridge, her books, I
Hear the River Call My Name, and Hanging Dog Creek, and a monthly column in
The Cherokee Scout. She won first place in 2011 Joyce Kilmer Memorial Forest
75th anniversary national poetry contest. She is a mental health Counselor
and blueberry farmer.
Dwight Roth grew up in Southwestern
Pennsylvania. He taught elementary school in Eastern North Carolina before
retiring after 29 years. Now he lives with his wife Ruth near Monroe, NC,
and spends his time painting and writing. He has self-published several
books that are found on Amazon Kindle. He is also published in past OMP
Anthologies. A book of poems called Ebb and Flow and a children’s book on
Alzheimer’s are his latest creations.
~S~
Dr. Lynn Veach Sadler, a native North
Carolinian, lives in Burlington, NC. A former college president, she has
published 5+ academic books and 72 articles, edited 22 books/proceedings and
3 national journals, and writes 2 newspaper columns. Her creative writing
publications are 11 poetry chapbooks and 4 full-length collections, 125+
short stories, 4 novels, a novella, 3 fiction collections, and a nonfiction
collection; she has written 41 plays. She was a Gilbert-Chappell
Distinguished Poet 2013-2015.
Marian Kaplun Shapiro, of Lexington, MA, is
the author of a professional book, Second Childhood (Norton, 1988), a
poetry book, Players In The Dream, Dreamers In The Play (Plain View
Press, 2007) and two chapbooks: Your Third Wish, (Finishing Line, 2007); and
The End Of The World, Announced On Wednesday (Pudding House, 2007). A
psychologist, she was five times Senior Poet Laureate of Massachusetts, and
was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2012.
Sybil Austin Skakle’s publishing credits:Searchings,
poetry, 2001; Confessions of an Outer Banks Filly,stories about
growing up on Hatteras Island;Valley of the Shadow, a memoir about
loss, 2009; What Came Next, memoir between 1982-1992,2014.She
compiled, edited and was a contributor to The History of Amity United
Methodist Church,published by Righter Publishing Company, 2017. After
she retired from hospital pharmacist position, her work appeared in various
periodicals, and in poetry and prose anthologies. Sybil currently resides in
Chapel Hill, NC.
Tonya Staufer: When Tonya moved to the
mountains, she found fresh writing ideas waiting. Her prose often conveys
powerful messages, which invites exploration by her readers. She’s
enthusiastic about crafting beguiling characters, dashes of snappy humor,
and engaging dialogue. Both her fiction and non-fiction stories have
appeared in e-magazines, local press, numerous anthologies, and and literary
magazines.
~T~
Barbara Tate is an award winning artist and
writer. A member of the Haiku Society of America and the Gulf Coast Writers
Assoc., her work has been published in Storyteller Magazine, Santa Fe
Literary Review, Modern Haiku, The Heron’s Nest, Frogpond, Cattails, Bear
Creek Haiku, Contemporary Haibun Online and both Clark Street Review and
Backstreet Review among others. Originally from Akron, Ohio she
currently resides in Winchester, TN.
Rebekah Timms resides in Greenwood, SC
about fifteen miles from where she was born. She has contributed to two
previous OMP anthologies. She has published a memoir entitled Effie, Her
Life, Her Love, Her Legacy and plans to publish a collection of her
poems.
~W~
Elizabeth B. Watson - a.k.a. Betty - lives
with Doug in Greenville, SC, where she takes advantage of Olli classes,
music performances and sports at Furman Univ. and up-and-coming Greenville.
She’s pleased to be published in many Old Mountain Press anthologies, Moonshine
Review, Western NC Women and other single collections of short
stories. She and Doug are the proud parents of four accomplished daughters.
They also boast about four sons-in-law and six fabulous grandkids.
Evelyne Weeks is a writer of both poetry
and prose. Her work has been published in The Hollins Critic, Appalachian
Heritage, and Out of the Rough: Women’s Poems of Survival and
Celebration. Today she lives in Rock Hill, South Carolina, where she has
taught English at Winthrop University since 1989.
Glenda S. Wilkins grew up on a North
Carolina tobacco farm, and believed she’d never live beyond the county
line. Decades later, she moved with her husband to Europe for a dozen years.
Her poems have been published in Europe, Great Britain, & North America.
Thus far, she appreciates several poetry awards. She lives on an air strip,
Winterville, NC.
Barbara Ledford Wright’s work has
appeared in several Old Mountain Press anthologies. She has been published
in many other anthologies and journals. Since retiring from teaching she
researches the family history, and records her ancestors stories. Barbara
presently lives in Shelby, NC, but calls Hayesville her home.
~Y~
Joseph Youngblood lives in Fayetteville, NC
where he writes for pleasure about things that inspire him. His work has
appeared in many previous anthologies.
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