• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Writers of Kern

Everything Writers Need | Writers of Kern

  • About Us
    • History
    • Membership
    • Newsletter Archive
    • Officers & Chairs
    • Overview
  • Upcoming Events
  • Jump In
    • Attend a Workshop
    • Become a Member
    • Get the Guide: The Best Places to Write in Bakersfield
    • See Upcoming Events
    • Submit a Speaker Proposal
  • Blog
  • Members
    • Books by Members
    • Join a Critique Group
    • Pay Dues
    • Request a Sunshine Card
  • Become a Member
  • WOK Press
  • Contact
    • Stay Connected
  • Donate
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Uncategorized

16 April 2020 | NPM Poetry Webslam

April 16, 2020 By Annis Cassells

When the Going Gets Tough
by Sandy Sanford


When the going gets tough,
the tough get softer.
They have less to protect, as
all around them have their defenses down.
 
When the going gets tough,
the tough can care, be strong for others,
reach out and be there.
The tough weather the storm with those endangered.
 
When the going gets tough,
the tough take off their boxing gloves,
reach out a soft hand,
warm others with a kindness.
 
When the going gets tough,
the tough shave their calluses
on real fear, and offer joy
and hope to those in despair.
 
When the going gets tough,
the tough stay strong, so
when those around melt down,
they do not disappear.
 
When the going gets tough,
the tough can be vulnerable.
They know they are strong.
They’ve practiced their fight song.

Sandy Sanford, a Bakersfield native, left town for thirty years to see the world.  When she returned in 1999, she surprised mostly herself, and stayed.  The world now comes to her.  Dozens of International Students from CSUB have found her home, their home away from home.   

Known as an adventurer, challenger, connector, participator, friend; she loves travel, photography, scuba diving, a good story, journaling and synchronicity.

8 December 2019 | Jenny Estes Book Signing and WOK Bookfair Fundraising Event at Barnes & Noble

November 7, 2019 By Natalia Corres

Barnes & Noble is holding a book signing for author and WOK member Jenny Lynn Estes. On December 8th from 2:00-4:00 pm, Jenny will have copies of her book: The Anglican Rosary: Going Deeper with God-Prayers and Meditations with the Protestant Rosary, as well as sample Rosaries, available for personalization at the bookstore on California Avenue.

This event is coordinated with a Writers of Kern Bookfair Fundraising Opportunity. A percentage of net proceeds from Barnes & Noble sales on December 8 (instore and online) will be donated to Writers of Kern. This is a wonderful opportunity to shop for Christmas gifts and support our organization.

BARNES & NOBLE is located at 4001 California Ave., Bakersfield and open on Sundays from 10:00 am – 8:00 pm

Calling all Horror Writers Opportunity Knocking!

August 5, 2019 By Natalia Corres

War Monkey Publications, LLC
is pleased to announce open submissions for our upcoming anthology:

FROM THE YONDER

A horror, short-story collection of regional legends and tall-tales from around the World.

We are seeking short story submissions (1000-7500 words) for this anthology. The stories must be based upon a regional/cultural legend or tall tale from any location or culture in the World. “Regional” can be a specific place (Loch Ness) or a larger region (Bigfoot in the Pacific Northwest).
We are seeking stories in the horror genre. Inclusion of elements of other genres is welcome, so long as, overall, the story is an horror story. The subject of the story can be based on any legend, so long as it has a horrific flavor. Ghosts, hauntings, alien abductions, monsters, demons, spirits, witches, etc, all are acceptable, as long as the subject is based on an actual legend or tall tale.

Submissions are open between 1 August and 19 September 2019. 
Submission info will be posted on our website: https://warmonkeypublications.com/submissions

The Submission Deadline is:
Talk Like a Pirate Day, 19 September 2019, at 11:59PM MST
Submit via Email to: 
warmonkeysubs@gmail.com

Author Recognition

July 10, 2019 By Natalia Corres

Writing is a lonely job…

WOK is calling all published and self-published authors to share their books on a new page of the WritersofKern.com website called “Books by Members“.

To have your book included on this page, you must be a member in good standing and provide us with a link to where your book is currently available for sale, for example the Amazon link.

If your book is only available through your own website, then please provide the link to the page on your site.

If you aren’t sure how to send the link – send the complete title of your book and we’ll get back to you if we have questions!

Send your information in an email with the subject: 

Books by Members 

to Webmaster@writersofkern.com

30 April 2019 | National Poetry Month WebPoetrySlam

April 30, 2019 By Annis Cassells

 Woman roar
 
 
I am woman and you will hear me roar
My thunder won’t be overlooked no more
I have given you chance enough
I have given you opportunity enough
I have given you time enough
But you refuse to open your eyes
Refuse to identify a Queen for what she is
A force to be reckoned with
A lightning bolt on the mountain of injustice
Cracking open the peak and revealing the truth of your nature
I am woman and you will hear me roar
The news can’t prepare you for my storm
Your institutions and man-caves
can’t protect you from my storm
My tornado has shaken even the most prejudiced of souls
My tornado has shattered
fragile masculinity time and time again
My tornado has shredded
unlawful laws to pieces
My tornado has broken
the knees of those bowing to false beliefs
My tornado has led chained brothers through the tunnels of hell
All the way to freedom
My tornado has awakened the vocal cords of fellow sisters
and from them came hymns of pure beautiful power
I am woman and you will hear me roar
You will have no choice but to look into the eye of my storm
This tsunami that has been building inside me
Is far more justified than your wall
And will crash through each and every last brick
The brick of inequality
The brick of misogyny
The brick of racism
The brick of sexism
The brick of prejudice
The brick of sexual assault and abuse
The brick of discrimination
The brick of homophobia
The brick of bigotry
The brick of hatred
And even that seemingly unmovable brick of silence
My waves will tear down all this injustice
And with them
Will come a sea of change
I am woman
I am my roar
 
~ Z

Hello, I’m Zainab, but you can call me Z. I’m just a 19-year-old girl blessed with hazelnut skin, an electric Brain, and a love for life, trying my best to write about what I know to be true.

  • « Go to Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 4
  • Page 5
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Go to Next Page »

Copyright © 2025 · Writers of Kern · Website by Hypist

  • Advertise
  • Submissions
  • Speakers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Policies & Procedures
  • Contact