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Kern County’s First Poet Laureate

December 29, 2015 By Annis Cassells

Calling Kern County’s First Poet Laureate

The Arts Council of Kern is heading the charge in the county-wide search for Kern County’s first poet laureate. We, community members and poets and writers, have the chance to help choose this history-making, pride-producing appointee.

As WOKians, we have poet laureate-hood in our genes. California Writers Club’s own Ina Coolbrith was California’s first poet laureate from 1915-1928 and the first for any American state.

What’s a poet laureate?

A poet connected to an area or group who is chosen as a representative that keeps the fire of poetry alive as a literary art. The poet laureate teaches and encourages, writes and shares his own work, and promotes the appreciation of poetry throughout the region.

The Kern County poet laureate will be a recognized poet/spoken word artist with a proven history of substantial publication of individual poems or books and will demonstrate an appreciation for Kern County.

How does having a poet laureate going to benefit Kern County?

Local poet and WOK member Portia Choi believes having a laureate will “raise the visibility of poetry” in our community.

The presence of Kern County’s community of poets may be a well-kept secret from many residents, but, “We have quite an active poetry community here,” Choi said.

Since 2010, WOK member Dr. Nancy Edwards and Choi have been instrumental in organizing multiple events for National Poetry Month, which is celebrated in April. Choi said, “Many of us, including poets Nancy Edwards, LisaAnn LoBasso, and myself, have presented workshops during National Poetry Month.”

Regarding the importance of a Kern County poet laureate, Nancy Edwards said, “It’s a wonderful opportunity to encourage writers to find or share their poetic voices and feelings with the community.”

How can YOU have a voice in the choice?

Candidates will be nominated by the public. Download the nomination form and fill it out. It’ll take a bit of time and a little research on your candidate. The deadline for submitting nominations is January 31, 2016.

The honored poet laureate will be selected by a committee comprised of Kern County poets, Writers of Kern and Arts Council of Kern board members, and academia. I am proud to represent WOK on this committee.

Choosing a Kern County poet laureate to showcase poetry and its merits will have far-reaching effects. California’s newly appointed poet laureate Dana Gioia said, in a recent interview, “My life changed for the better by falling in love with poetry. It made me a better student, made me a more alert human being.”

Opening the world of poetry to a broad Kern County audience will have a positive effect right here at home.

Fill in and submit your nomination form today.

Annis Cassells serves Writers of Kern as Hospitality/Sunshine chair. She is the Writers of Kern 2013 recipient of the California Writers Club’s Jack London Award for service. After her 34-year career teaching students of all ages, kindergarten through college, Annis finished a Masters in Counseling and became a life coach and speaker. Annis’s work has been published in Bakersfield Life magazine, Bakersfield Magazine, and Bakersfield’s Wellness Quarterly as well as in professional journals and hobbyist publications. She is a contributing author in Chicken Soup for the Soul: Inspiration for the Young at Heart. Annis writes and publishes The DayMaker, an inspirational blog.

Share Your Work with Annis Cassells

November 27, 2015 By Annis Cassells

Time to Share Your Work

Showing, rather than telling, is the key to hooking readers and keeping them turning the pages. In last Saturday’s presentation at the WOK monthly meeting, Nancy Ellen Dodd encouraged us to “show.” She advised us to allow readers to see our character interacting with the world around them. Show characters’ actions and them being 27aware of their environment.

Nancy brought in the idea of storyboarding, using photos to better visualize the characters and setting. Photos can range from extreme up close to extreme wide shot, with each wider-view picture giving a more complete idea of the character’s world. She recommended we use a weather shot for more environmental information and a cutaway shot to depict another aspect of the setting, one that is away from the main character.

Setting. What is the character’s point of view? Show what she sees. This reveals details about the character to the reader. Write something that shows the scene and the character and his interactions.

Nancy made a distinction between three elements/devices writers can use:

Description: specific details
Inference: implying setting, tone, and feeling by the character’s actions or words
Metaphor: using a symbol or something familiar for comparison

For this workshop, Nancy provided four different scenarios and asked us to choose one to use as the basis for our quickly written pieces. We were to incorporate some of her “show me” principles, writing at intervals in her presentation. At the end, several attendees, members and guests, shared their short piece with the entire group. Here’s mine:

[Scenario 2: A couple, now divorced, drive together to their best friend’s funeral. Unknown to one of them, the friend is the reason for their divorce.]

Joe and Madeline ride in his flashy Corvette, crammed into the bucket seats and stuck in freeway traffic. Wet pavement and red tail lights reflect in their faces. He follows too closely. She presses her foot to the floor, putting on the brakes.” Joe! Careful! You’re following too damn close.” Then, under her breath, “As usual.” He clamps his teeth together like a bulldozer gobbling earth.

Come on, WOKians who attended the meeting. Add your paragraph in the comments section. Let’s show other members what we learned last Saturday about showing vs. telling.

Call for Submissions – Get Published in the CWC

November 25, 2015 By Natalia Corres

Get Published – CWC Call for Submissions

You likely know that the Writers of Kern is part of a larger group of writers, the California Writers Club (CWC). Once a year the CWC publishes the Literary Review. The Review reaches about 2,000 readers throughout the state. D.L. LaRoche, Managing Editor of the Review says his publication is quickly becoming a force among published anthologies. All the work included is blind-selected by a team of qualified editors.

As a member of Writers of Kern you can submit your work for publication in this magazine. Only about 30 or so pieces are selected. You have a chance to see your work published in print. If you are an associate member looking to move up to active member, you will receive credit for getting published if your submission is accepted.

So how do you submit your work? I’ll touch on the highlights here, but for the full submission guidelines visit the CWC site HERE to check the details for yourself.

You can submit up to two pieces per member. It can be fiction, non fiction, or poetry. Last year’s edition had these categories: Fiction, Memoir, Poetry, Essay, Book Extract, and Cartoon.

When received, your work is read and assessed by three qualified editors using standardized rules for grammar, structure, and story development. The editors apply their seasoned opinion — each giving comments and grade. The three grades, one from each editor, are averaged and the piece finds its way into a global ranking. The work garnering the highest grades are included in the publication, and those comments, unexpurgated, are sent to the author.

The CWC is a prestigious organization, well known in writing and publishing circles. If your work is accepted in the Club’s Review, a “juried acceptance”, you know you have earned your way. Getting published in the Review adds to your portfolio of published work.

But like they say in Vegas, “You can’t win, if you don’t play”. Time is running out. You have until December 31st to get your submission to the editors. All the information is at the CWC site. Start the new year by being published. Take your favorite piece, polish it up like a holiday apple, and submit. Let’s see some Writers of Kern members in the CWC Literary Review this year.

Don’t Tell Me Show Me

November 23, 2015 By Natalia Corres

Don’t Tell Me Show Me

With Nancy Ellen Dodd

Nearly fifty people showed up at the Clarion Hotel to hear Nancy Ellen Dodd’s presentation “Don’t Tell Me, Show Me”. It was a homecoming of sorts as Ms. Dodd was once a member of Writers of Kern. Her book, A Writer’s Compass, teaches writers to use their intuition to as an internal compass to create their story map.

The crowd learned a number of techniques to improve their writing. For example, Ms. Dodd talked about layering to build a scene. Much like you would in photography, try describing the scene from many different focal lengths. What does it look like from a distance? What details are revealed as you get closer? Of course, she also said it was important to keep in mind what we want the reader to see and what information or details the writer may want to save for the “reveal”.

Ms. Dodd pointed out that it was important to add details as your story can use them. She talked about the use of description, inference, and metaphor in writing and how their use can bring a story more depth and complexity.

She offered the group a writing exercise as her talk progressed and many writers were up to the challenge. I have enough trouble writing in a quiet room with no distractions. As many as ten people got up and read their creations at the end of Nancy’s presentation and they were all quite impressive. It was a fast-paced hour packed with a lot of information. Along with other door prizes, Ms. Dodd contributed a signed copy of The Writer’s Compass to one lucky winner.

Our next meeting is the Annual Winter Dinner Party. Check out these photos from the November meeting then register.

Nancy Ellen Dodd at November Meeting

November 16, 2015 By Natalia Corres

Nancy Ellen Dodd: “Don’t Tell Me. Show Me!”

Nancy Ellen Dodd, author, playwright, and instructor at Pepperdine University, is the featured speaker at the Writers of Kern November meeting. Ms. Dodd is author of A Writer’s Compass, a guide to help writers in all genres. She will offer writers insights into descriptive writing using inference and metaphor. She will also cover aspects that will help writers give their stories more depth and color.

Writers of Kern meets Saturday, November 21, 9:30 am-Noon, at the Clarion Hotel, 3540 Rosedale Hwy. Admission is $5 for members, $10 for non-members.

A branch of the California Writers Club, Writers of Ken offers monthly meetings, writers’ conferences, and critique groups to help published and non-published writers improve their skills.

To listen to a preview, please click the image below.

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