A Biography of Late NC Poet Laureate Kathryn Stripling Byerin Hendersonville Author's Six Notable Women of North CarolinaA biography of the late Kathryn Stripling "Kay" Byer of Cullowhee, the first woman and longest-serving (2005-2009) Poet Laureate in the state, is featured in Six Notable Women of North Carolina by Jack J. Prather of Hendersonville, founder of the Young Writers Scholarship at Warren Wilson College. The 43-page biography includes poems selected by the poet who passed away on…See More

Marcus, in Gail Godwin’s new novel, Grief Cottage, recalls his friendship with Wheezer, whom he’d once beaten up at school because Wheezer had exposed Marcus’ shameful secret about his mom.  Now Marcus, age 10, is an orphan.  His dad has always been unknown to him; and his mom has just died in a car accident. Relocated to his aunt’s beach house, Marcus, despite the safety of the place, finds himself in trouble. He’s communicating with a ghost.  He’s having dreams about a non-existent older…See More

I Have a Coin I have a coin I deem a treasure.One side bears the sign of extinction,And the other, an instance of nature.But it’s not a coin; it’s a seal,And the meaning of this distinctionIs the unbearable sadness I feelWith experience, or with closure. It seems like a double exposure,But the knowledge of impermanenceBleeds into the ideal likenessOf mortality in its eminence—To yield a vibrant pictureOf a creature’s essential brightnessAs it burns for life without censure. --Rob NeufeldSee More