State Newsletter
Spring/Summer 2021
Inside This Issue Encouraging Youth Writing 1 Love of Writing Lives Forever 2 You Can’t Win Unless You Enter 3 Help Our Teachers Encourage Our Youth 3 It’s All How You Look at It: So Let’s Write 4 April Author Talk
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Becoming an Author through KAC Contest Entries 5 Member News 5 William Allen White Community Partnership: Call for Submissions 6 More Member News 7
Contest Issue
Encouraging Youth Writing by Connie Rae White District 5 President Tracey Anderson contacted D5 in the fall about a possible writing contest for her students. Tracey is the coordinator for “gifted in English” students at Derby Middle School and teaches two classes of sixth graders. Connie White (D5 President) advertized for judges, and together the judges agreed on guidelines for the contest, which lasted about six weeks. Judges included Sandee Taylor and Taylor Stucky (flash fiction), Gretchen Eick and Ray Racobs (short story), Connie White and Amy Ackerman (poetry). Ray Racobs sponsored the contest with prizes which included money and certificates for each genre for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and honorable mention. (We decided to use two judges per genre to involve more people from the club and to give the students the opportunity to see how judges can vary in style and opinion.) Due to Covid restrictions and time/travel constraints, most of
the Judging team were not able to attend the presentations, but Ray Racobs and Connie White had a wonderful visit with Ms. Anderson’s students. We presented the awards, spoke about how and why we write. and then had a fun time of Q&A. The students asked us to sponsor another contest next year, and we plan to offer that. Connie also sent the guidelines for the State Youth Writing Contest to Ms. Anderson with hope that some of her students will choose to enter at the State level. It is not too late for KAC members to approach their local schools and others in their community to invite them to enter the State contests. Nonmembers are welcome to enter (with a slightly higher entry fee.) We all know people who “have always thought they would write a book”. Encourage them to begin with a short story or poem in the State KAC contests, open April 1 - July 15. Meanwhile, don’t procrastinate! Send those contest entries in.
Kansas Authors Club State Newsletter
Love of Writing Lives Forever
tion, many famous writers have been counted among its members: Eugene Ware (Ironquill), Margaret Hill McCarter, William Allen White, Dr. Charles Shelton, Dr. Karl Menninger, and Senator Arthur Caper, to name a few. Today’s members are in excellent company. The Kansas Authors Club still is meeting the need. As Professor I. B. Morgan, President of Kansas Author’s Club in 1935-’36 noted—the movement has been “forward and upward.” Professor Morgan stated that the nation at that time was in need of constructive literary productions teaching the sterling qualities of good citizenship, civic responsibility, the sovereignty of the people and a keen sense of duty. People respond to writing, in whatever form, and find their imaginations stimulated, their sense of wonder awakened, and the horizons of their world pushed back just a little. It is only at the moment when a viewer responds to what is communicated by art or writing that the work becomes complete. In fact, the work is actually finished anew each time it is viewed, for no two viewers will see and respond in exactly the same way. While writing fulfills the need and desire, the challenge still is there for us today. We can sate our need and love of writing, but we are challenged to do our best. To quote a poem by Edwin Markham:
by Marie Fletcher District 7 Man has always felt the need to express himself. Not only through grunts, sign language and words, but by putting something down that will remain after he has moved on. The use of Ogam, an ancient Celtic language, has been traced back as far as 2000 B.C. Ogam is written in a series of perpendicular parallel lines similar to the bar system found on items in a modern day store. Ogam writing has been uncovered at about fifty sites along a 100-mile corridor in Colorado’ s southwestern corner and the Oklahoma Panhandle. Why did the early inhabitants need a written form of communication? Perhaps to call people together for religious reasons, trade, or to record a story of an event. One Ogam inscription is a kind of calendar that tells when a certain grain should be planted. Almost everyone is familiar with rock art, which not only is found in America and credited to Native Americans, but is found all over the world. Rock art is a very general term for pecking, incising or painting designs onto natural rock surfaces. In modern America, the most common kind of “rock” art is that which is painted on concrete and brick walls of our cities and along our highways. In modern American culture, as in all cultures, it expresses the values, attitudes, beliefs, and desires of society…the need to express ourselves. Writing is an important outlet for self-expression and the release of tensions, anxieties, and conflicts. Some individuals feel this urge to write more strongly than others. Apparently down through the years, man’s need and desire to use writing as a way to communicate and express his feelings has not changed. Because of this inherent need and love of writing, The Kansas Authors Club was organized 116 years ago in 1904. The first president was Henry W. Roby. Kansas Author’s Club is Kansas’ oldest writing organization. Since its incep-
“There is waiting a work where only your hands can avail: And so if you falter, a chord in the music will fail. Yes, the task that is given to each man no other can do; So your work is waiting: it has waited through the ages for you. And now you appear; and the Hushed Ones are turning their gaze To see what you do with your chance in the chamber of days.” Right on ! Write on! W-R-I-T-E on… . 2
Spring/Summer 2021 - Contest Issue
You Can’t Win Unless You Enter
Help Our Teachers Encourage Our Youth
by Nancy Julien Klopp District 4 Are you one of the people who enters something, or several somethings in the KAC annual writing contest? Or do you fall in the group that thinks they don’t have a chance so why bother? I’d like to address those who don’t enter with a little life lesson story. About twenty years ago, when I was a newbie member of KAC, the contest theme was ‘…where the hills meet the plains’ After a drive through the Flint Hills, I penned a poem addressing that theme. I entered it in the theme category for Poetry. Pretty brazen thing to do because I was not a poet, had never studied the writing of poetry, and had never entered a poem in a contest. Time went by, and when the Contest Winners were announced at our convention, I was overwhelmed to find I’d won first place in the theme contest for “A Heavenly Gift.” One thing winning helped me do was to pursue writing more poetry. It also taught me not to fear entering again and again. I’ve won many times, and I’ve lost, as well. I hope more members will enter both Poetry and Prose Contests. You have nothing to lose, and remember this: You can’t win if you don’t enter!
by Curtis Becker District 2 Vice President Last fall, I returned to the K-12 classroom, teaching English to 8th graders at Holton Middle School. My school mail box was immediately inundated with opportunities to enter writing contests. Mostly, I deposit these fliers made of slick card stock into the recycle bin. I love encouraging my students to enter their pieces, but I don’t have time to sift through the piles of information to decide if any of them are appropriate. By September, I was reminded of the approach that works best: a personal invitation. A gentleman from the local VFW post called to visit about their writing contest. He apologized for not being able to come in person to visit with the students, but Covid changed a lot. Immediately, I was transported back to one of my first experience with the KAC youth writing contests. I was teaching high school English and scheduled guest authors to speak to my students. Luckily, several of these people were KAC members and introduced us to what became our favorite contest to enter. My students did well and won several awards. It was great for their confidence and development and one of the reasons I got more involved with KAC. The personal connection that KAC members made with me helped me to encourage my students to enter. As the contest season begins, I challenge each of you to reach out to one teacher; reach out to one classroom. Call the school office and find out when the best time to call would be. I am certain this will increase entries in our youth contests, and, more importantly, help budding writers blossom into full-grown wordsmiths. If you have the means, consider gifting a youth membership or two, as well. Teachers love having appropriate opportunities for their students. As KAC members, we just have to cut throught the noise and offer ourselves as an option that the teacher can feel safe passing on to his/her kids. 3
Kansas Authors Club State Newsletter
It’s All How You Look at It: So Let’s Write
Club Convention—priceless. The KAC writing contest opens April 1. I wonder what I can submit? No worry, I have several pieces that with some polishing might be worthy. Or maybe I will play with words and create something completely new. I have plenty of time to write. So, think how you want. Negative, negative, negative. Or a godsend, priceless, irreplicable blessing. I prefer the latter.
by Sandee Taylor District 5 March 13, 2021: I never see my friends anymore. Limited shopping. No luncheons extended for an hour of relaxed visiting. No worshipping in person. No club meetings. No hugs. Stay six feet apart and yell at each other through masks. Use sanitizer after you touch anything with your bare hands. Don’t touch your face. It’s been a year of restrictions and isolation which excruciatingly hog-tied this independent, self-directed lady. During the recent dreary winter months, my mind turned dark. Days of record-breaking cold ensconced in dismal cloudiness exacerbated loneliness. Depressing. Negative. Negative. Negative. Mounds of negatives. But yet opportunities abounded. Before the lockdown, did you know anything about Cloudcast or Zoom? Neither did I. Once I convinced myself not to panic over the unknown, Zoom became indispensable. I visited with friends. Meetings, which I’d have to drive a half an hour or more to attend in the pre-pandemic time, only required five minutes transporting into a virtual room. For my writing self, it’s been a fabulous year. With fewer in-person events, more time to write emerged. Abundant professional growth opportunities presented themselves. Craft books which had been sitting on my shelf found their way into my hands. Writing conferences went virtual. In the last twelve months, I attended five writing conferences with an international audience. Because of nonexistent travel and lodging costs, suddenly hearing nationally known writers became possible. Attending fifteen-minute sessions with well-known industry editors and agents finetuned my writing focus. An invaluable experience. And the wonderful slate of speakers for the 2020 Kansas Author
April Author Talk: Ronda Miller, author of I Love the Child 2020 Kansas Authors Club Children’s Book Award Tuesday April 27 at 7:00 pm Please go to kansasauthorsclub.org to register to attend this virtual event. Ronda will be talking about education vs. entertainment, the importance of layered messaging, finding and working with an illustrator, inclusivity, and her objectives in writing this book.
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Spring/Summer 2021 - Contest Issue
Becoming a Writer through KAC Contest Entries
Member News Members of Kansas Authors Club are welcome to submit news for publication. Please submit to newsletter editor, Curtis Becker: curtis.becker@gmx.com. Please include “KAC Member News” in the subject line.
Former Kansas Authors Club President, Ronda Miller, had the following publications and presentations:
by Duane L Herrmann District 1 Winning KAC writing contests (as well as a few others) enables me to state that I am not only an internationally published poet, historian and author, but a “prize winning, internationally published poet, historian and author.” Over the decades, with effort, accomplishments can add up. Effort is the most important ingredient. Without effort, nothing will be accomplished. When I went to my first KAC meeting decades ago, I took my tiny list of six publihsed pieces. I was almost embarassed to show it to anyone there, I didn’t want to be laughed out of the room. One lady looked very kind, so I showed it to her. She could tell that I was hesitant. She said two things that changed my life. “Not everyone here has a list like that.” OH? That was a shocker. “That list didn’t happen by itself. You made it happen.” Well...... yes.... It gradually dawned on me that I had proof of accomplishment in my hands. If I had accomplished that much - I could accomplish even more! That tiny list of six items has now (four decades later) expanded to twenty-some pages of written accomplishments (double spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman). I need to be able to see that list because, with my dyslexia, ADHD, cyclothymia and PTSD, I forget what I’ve done and need the reminder to encourage me to keep at it. Without KAC, I would still very likely simply be hoping to be “a writer.” Now, I know I am one!
Miller had her opening chapter, “A Mother’s Suicide,” published in the anthology, The Death Project, Cedar Press, 2020. The chapter is an excerpt from her memoir: Gun Memories of a Stone Eyed Cold Girl. Miller’s poem, “Double Stuff Chicken “was read at a Thanksgiving church service in Raleigh, NC and can be heard at 34:14 here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?fbclid=IwAR1aXhNCHuln3mWMstztUK-3rO9X6pNhD68yc5-TX029YrgnbKkLXXkL8PA&v=RqMfEMVOZRo&feature=youtu.be Big Nasty Press, February, 2021, published her poem: “bleach the washcloths bucket sits by my toilet” in 2020 Hindsight. https://bignastypress.blogspot. com/?m=1 Miller hosted A Celebration of William Stafford: Living a Poetic Life, January 16th, 2021. Miller had four photographs accepted by MockingHeart Review, February of 2021. Miller read, “I’ve Known Rivers” by Langston Hughes, for the yearly Living Rivers Festival organized by Barbara Higgins-Dover, River Kings Museum, Lawrence, Ks. Lawrence Magazine, Winter Edition, interviewed Miller about her award winning Children’s book, I Love the Child: see Member News continued on page 7
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Kansas Authors Club State Newsletter
William Allen White Community Partnership: Call for Submissions an interview with Kerry Moyer District 2 KAC Newsletter: Kerry, thanks for taking the time to chat with us here at the Kansas Authors Club State Newsletter. You are a member of District 2 and the State Prose Contest Manager. Tell us a bit about you as a writer. What genres do you primarily write in? What’s your writing process like?
Moyer: William Allen White was a world renowned journalist who founded the Emporia Gazette, and as a journalist, won the Pulitzer Prize. I have been fascinated and interested in William Allen White ever since moving to Emporia in the mid 90’s. This interest eventually led to my direct involvement in celebrating and continuing the White legacy as part of the William Allen White Community Partnership. I am honored to be a board member of the organization. The W.A.W.C.P. is also involved in maintaining the White home, “Red Rocks,” which is now a state historic site.
Moyer: Well, I’m a poet. My serious writing, if one would call it that, is poetry. First person narratives are what I tend to write. I love rural themes, passions, life struggles, history, and whatever pops into my head. I tend to find music, and what are my daily ruminations, as sufficient material for putting thoughts to words. I never sit down to write. Something triggers the really good ones, or at least my favorite poems. Sometimes it’s a line that becomes a poetic sketch. I can definitely say something comes over me. I’m guessing every writer on here can relate. I also keyboard my stuff due to atrocious hand writing,
KAC Newsletter: You have organized a book project as a fundraiser for the partnership. What are you looking for? How would our readers submit something?
KAC Newsletter:. Where can we find your work? Any publications?
Moyer: Thanks for asking about that. Yes, it a book project to raise money for Red Rocks. Submissions are anything that is related to the White legacy. Pieces can be any creative writing medium. They can be submitted directly to me at kmoyer72@yahoo.com . I have received several submissions but we are taking them until the end of April.
Moyer: I have two books of poetry through Kellogg Press. In 2019, Dirt Road happened and Rust & Weeds followed in 2020. KAC Newsletter: You are also involved with the William Allen White Community Partnership. Could you tell us a bit about White and also the partnership?
KAC Newsletter: Kerry, thank you for you time. Good luck with your project. Please update us when the book is available. 6
Spring/Summer 2021 - Contest Issue
Book News from District 2 Member Peg Nichols Sidewalk Sale Across America is a charming, heart-warming story about creating a “new normal” after the Pandemic. It’s a very contemporary story. Sabrina Harkins owns a yarn shop that she fears she may have to close because of the Pandemic, but she is grateful that her husband, Harold, has a good job they can count on. Harold Harkins, who is an amateur radio ham in his spare time, fears that with offices closed and people working at home, he will lose his job with the vending machine company, but is reassured that the family will be able to survive on the yarn shop income. Of course there is a cast of other characters, including the widower neighbor, knows nothing about yarn, but volunteers to run the shop when Sabrina is in quarantine, and 12-year-old Alford, whose uncles have convinced him Covid anxieties are all a hoax. Available on Amazon as a Kindle. Paperback coming. About the Author: Informed by the entrepreneurial experiences of a life-time and living first-hand the ‘get-it-done’ ‘can-do-it’ attitude that got her parents and millions of Americans through the Depression, author, teacher, publisher, entrepreneur Peg Nichols prescribes a “Sidewalk Sale Across America” to re-launch small local businesses all across America out of the end of the Covid-19 Pandemic. What begins as Sabrina Harkins’ invention for survival could spark something that helps millions. Sabrina, the yarn shop Queen of the Sidewalk Sale Across America. The author knows whereof she writes: she is a life-long knitter of note and holds a ham radio license.
Member News Continued from page 5
https://issuu.com/sunflower_publishing/ docs/lm20wi/14?fbclid=IwAR3YN5rjv_ZX8Pl822kuRDtqgTSDf9CnnrAC7hl2JBgF8Q7QYklyOxdJPkQ Miller’s poem, Embrace, was included in the anthology, The Shining Years, Poems about Aging, Blue Wild Indigo Production, 2021. Friday, March 26th, Miller presented, Words are My World, in Topeka for students ages eight years at The Heritage Christian School in Topeka. Miller’s poem, White Patsy: Raced Racist, was released by March editor, former poet laureate Denise Low, on Monday, March 29, 2021. It can be found here: https://150kansaspoems.wordpress.com/tag/ronda-miller/
Memorials KAC Memorials can be found at this link https://www.kansasauthorsclub.org/in-memory. html 7
Kansas Authors Club P.O. Box 333 Emporia, KS 66801
Updates to the Kansas Authors Club Website All members are invited to register for the new “members only” portion of the Kansas Authors Club website. We have recently upgraded the site and have new and improved features to share. To register, please go to www.kansasauthorsclub.org, select “log in” from the menu (left side, bottom of the menu options). You must be approved before you have access to those pages. The website manager, Tracy Million Simmons, is attempting to check in at least once every 48 hours for approvals. Here are a few website highlights of our “members only” pages to check out:
Author Talks are being archived on the website. If you can’t make our 4th Tuesday presentations via Zoom, check out the recordings.
If you have a program or book talk that you would like to present to KAC members or beyond, take a moment to enter your details in our Speakers Bureau.
If you are looking for book creation assistance, check out our Resources for Writers database. Service providers are invited to add their details.
Gretchen Eick, Connie White, and Julie Sellers are serving on a task force to review the structure of the Kansas Authors Club. We are looking for volunteers to serves as consultants to provide feedback for our ideas as we develop them. If you would be interested in contributing to our work as a volunteer consultant, please contact Connie White at craepa@cox.net