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Email: miwest@uncc.edu
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Visiting the American West Via Charlotte
November 30, 2020 by Mark West
Categories: Storied Charlotte
I have lived in Charlotte for most of my adult years, but I grew up in the American West. My parents bought the side of a mountain in Colorado's Front Range back in the early 1950s, and that mountain served as my backyard until I headed off to college at the age of seventeen. Given my Colorado connections, I have long had a particular fondness for books set in the West. I am not the only resident of Charlotte who is drawn to the American West as a setting for stories. Two of my creative writing colleagues in the English Department at UNC Charlotte—Aaron Gwyn and Bryn Chancellor—set much of their fiction in the American West.
Aaron Gwyn grew up on a ranch in Oklahoma, and his familiarity with the American Southwest is reflected in many of his stories, including his new novel, All God's Children: A Novel of the American West. Set largely in Texas between 1827 and 1847, All God's Children braids together the stories of three characters: Duncan Lammons, an adventurer from Kentucky who is riddled with a sense of guilt because of his homosexual desires; Cecelia, an African American woman who grew up as a slave in Virginia; and Sam Fisk, a frontiersman from Arkansas. These three characters come together on the Texas frontier, where they form a complex relationship. Their lives are shaped by the transformation of Texas from a province of Mexico to an independent republic to becoming the 28th state in 1845.
All God's Children just came out in October, but reviewers are already praising it for its portrayal of the American West. The reviewer for the New York Times Book Review celebrates the novel for its "powerful depiction of the rough realities of frontier life." The reviewer for Lone Star Literary Life writes, "Gwyn possesses a distinctive voice that is, nevertheless, a recognizably Western rhythm," and the reviewer for Publishers Weekly calls the book "a masterpiece of Western fiction."
Bryn Chancellor spent many of her formative years in Arizona. She often sets her stories Arizona, including her debut novel, Sycamore, which came out in 2017. The title is the name of the small town in Arizona where the novel takes place. Told from the points of view of multiple residents of the town, this novel focuses on a young woman who mysteriously disappeared from the town in 1991. Sycamore garnered starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, O: The Oprah Magazine, The Library Journal and many other influential periodicals at the time of its publication. Bryn is now writing two more books set in Arizona. I recently contacted her and asked for more information about these new works. Here is what she sent to me:
I am working on two books both set in the American Southwest, where I lived for thirty-five years and where my family still resides. The first is People of Earth, twelve linked short stories (sometimes called a story cycle or composite novel) set in the same downtown Phoenix neighborhood. The second is Soon, Mercy, an epistolary novel set in Oak Creek Canyon north of Sedona, Arizona. Both projects align with my longstanding storytelling interests: working- and middle-class characters who sometimes go unnoticed in the world and in literature, along with the unexplored corners and unusual geologic landscapes of small-town and urban Arizona, from the heat-baked low-lying Sonoran Desert to a dormant volcano above the treeline at 11,000 feet. As Joan Didion did with California or Kent Haruf with Colorado, I hope to bring my Arizona into focus as more than myth or stereotype, to show the complexities of the place and its people.
I am proud that both Aaron and Bryn teach in UNC Charlotte's English Department. As creative writing professors, they contribute to the educations of countless students. As fiction writers, they contribute tales of the American West to the ever-expanding library of books that make up Storied Charlotte.
Tags: American Westbooks set in the Westfiction
Group Word Play
We often think of writing as a solitary activity. When we picture a writer at work, we might think of Emily Dickinson composing her poems alone in her garret, or Jo March from Little Women writing her stories in the corner of an attic, or the reclusive J.D. Salinger writing in a secluded house in rural New Hampshire. Although the stereotype of the solitary writer is deeply rooted in our culture, it, like so many stereotypes, does not always match reality. Many writers actually seek out company. They might lug their laptops to Starbucks so that they can write in the presence of others. They might meet regularly at a favorite pub like J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and some of their writer friends did for many years. Or they might take writing classes and workshops together.
Charlotte area writers occasionally ask me about where they can go to meet other writers or to sign up for workshops. I always refer them to Charlotte Lit and the Charlotte Writers' Club, both of which offer excellent writing classes and workshops. I recently learned, however, about another opportunity for area writers from Nancy Stancill, an author I featured on my Storied Charlotte blog a few weeks ago. Nancy mentioned that she took a helpful writing course from Maureen Ryan Griffin. I knew about Maureen's poetry books, but I didn't know about her work as a writing teacher and coach. I did a little research and discovered that Maureen is the author of a writing book titled Spinning Words into Gold: A Hands-On Guide to the Craft of Writing. She also has a business called WordPlay and her own website: https://www.wordplaynow.com/spinning-words-into-gold-guide
I decided to contact Maureen, and that's when I found out that she is collaborating with the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library to offer a free Zoom workshop titled "How Writing Can Help Us Cope, and Even Thrive—Through the Pandemic and Beyond" on Wednesday, December 2nd. Well, this prompted me to send her a follow-up email in which I asked her if she could send me a few paragraphs about her approach to helping people with their writing and her ideas about the value of writing in terms of coping with our current pandemic. Here is what she sent to me:
When I decided, twenty plus years ago, to shift from being a poet and writer of personal essays who occasionally taught creative writing classes to one who had a bona fide business as a writing teacher and coach, I named my business WordPlay. My tagline was "Take your dreams seriously – play with them." I fervently believe that we human beings learn best through play. And I seriously believe that every human being deserves the joy and fulfillment writing has to offer.
While I don't remember learning how to read (it has always felt to me that I was born knowing, due, no doubt, to the good fortune of having a mother who read to me with great expression and delight and kept me well-stocked in library books—no small feat given the speed at which I devoured them), I have a number of specific memories of struggling to get the beautiful string of words spooling through my brain onto paper without losing their magic. So I guess it's no wonder that my favorite question, every time I read words that transported me, through their magic, to worlds I loved dwelling in, was "How did the writer of these words do that?" I've spent countless hours of my life exploring answers to that question. I brought the knowledge gained paired with my education and experience teaching brilliant children with various learning disabilities to use their strengths to circumvent their weaknesses, to my own writing, and to supporting my students as they wrote. Once I began teaching creative writing to adults, I added a new question: "How can I help my students write better, with more ease, grace, and enjoyment?" The result has been to develop a number of wholistic writing tools and practices to support an array of learning styles, preferences, and temperaments. I can't tell you what a joy it is for me to provide services—from workshops to classes to retreats to one-on-one coaching—that engage participants' hearts, minds, bodies, and spirits and allow words to flow freely for each of them. We all have different brains, which process information in their own ways. I don't believe in one size fits all or one writing style or method that is best for everyone.
I also don't believe I've ever led a writing event that hasn't included laughter. And I'm always grateful for the attendees who share the gifts of vulnerability and tears. Open hearts write best. And it's an opportunity to share a bit of the wisdom of poet Robert Frost: "No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise for the writer, no surprise for the reader." My experience of sharing the writing tools I've learned, adapted, and created is that, like screwdrivers, wrenches, hammers, and pliers, they have vast utilitarian power. I've received dozens upon dozens of thank you notes from students, sometimes years after working with them, saying what a difference the tools have made.
Along with my delight in wordplay, in the sheer fun that writing often is for me, I have always been drawn to the power words have to heal us, to allow us to craft our own beliefs and shape our own destinies. I believe I first learned that language could do this for us in high school, as I read Viktor E. Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and encountered these words: "The last of the human freedoms: to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. And there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you become the plaything to circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity…"
I cannot tell you how much these words move and inspire me each time I read them. You've asked me to speak to the value of writing in terms of coping with our current pandemic. It comes down to this: Writing provides release when we are sad, stressed, scared. It allows us different, often larger perspectives on our situation. Writing allows us to name and claim the good in our lives "in any given set of circumstances," as well as the opportunities and benefits available. Writing enables us to shape our experience into a story, and to deliberately choose this story's power, value, and meaning, however grim our circumstances may be.
For anyone who is interested in taking Maureen's upcoming workshop, here is the registration information:
"How Writing Can Help Us Cope, and Even Thrive – Through the Pandemic and Beyond."
Grief, pain, and loss are a part of each of our lives, especially in this time of Covid-19. What healing benefits can writing provide – physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually? Are some writing strategies more helpful than others? In this introduction to Dr. James Pennebaker's ground-breaking work, you'll learn three concrete methods of using writing as a transformational tool. And, if you're interested, you may find the genesis of new poetry, creative nonfiction, and/or fiction. Warning: Laughter likely. Inspiration guaranteed.
WHERE: Via Zoom, in the comfort of your own space
WHEN: Wednesday, December 2nd, 6:30 – 8 p.m.
TO REGISTER: Register through the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County here.
For area writers, Maureen's upcoming workshop, like the writing workshops and classes offered by Charlotte Lit and the Charlotte Writers' Club, can provide encouragement and helpful advice. Just as important, however, is the sense of community that the participants in such workshops and classes often experience. After all, Storied Charlotte is not just about stories—it's also about a community of readers and writers.
Tags: writing coachwriting teacherwriting workshop
A Black Girl Magic Book
During the nearly eight years that I served as the Chair of UNC Charlotte's English Department, I got to know the other department chairs since we attended so many meetings together. That is how I got to know Julia Jordan-Zachery, the current chair of the Department of Africana Studies. She came to Charlotte in 2018 after serving as the Director of Black Studies Program at Providence College for ten years. I remember when I first met Julia, we talked about her daughter and the experience of raising children in Charlotte.
Since then Julia has published a new book titled Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag. I recently contacted Julia about this book, and she informed me that the book is tied to conversations she had with her daughter. Intrigued, I asked her if she could send me more information about the book. Here is what she sent to me:
Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag is a work that was birthed as a result of conversations with my daughter. She pushed me to rethink my understandings of Black women's activism and processes of self-articulation. A bit of this is captured in the final chapter which is a conversation we had on #BlackGirlMagic. It's important to understand the wellspring of this work as it speaks to the core of what this book is about—Black women in relation. Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag is about Black women in relation to structures, to each other, and themselves. In the book we analyze how Black femmes, girls and women do the work, the real hard work, of making themselves real in a society that often makes them invisible.
We argue that the work of making themselves real is captured in four elements: 1. Community Building; 2. Challenging dehumanizing representations vis-à-vis self-representation; 3. Engaging in a project of visibility; 4. Restoring what is sometimes violently taken. These four elements afford Black femmes, girls, and women the opportunity to engage in a practice, invoking #BlackGirlMagic, to make whole from fragments (that result from race-gender oppressive structures), exist in a space that is neither sacred nor secular, and deploy speculative freedom. Black Girl Magic becomes a rallying cry that cuts across age and location.
As we experience COVID-19, anti-Blackness and an economic down turn, we see elements of the essence of Black Girl Magic in the streets of Charlotte. The murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor alongside the gun violence in Charlotte gives us an opportunity to see how Black women do the work of making themselves real. I think of two organizations that embody the basic premise of the work—Sanctuary in the City and Mothers of Murdered Offspring. The mission of Sanctuary in the City reads, "Sanctuary in the City is a black led, woman led organization founded with the awareness of the need for accessible, safe, and affirming healing spaces for Black Indigenous people of color". Mothers of Murdered Offspring was co-founded by, Dee Sumpter in 1983 after the murder of her daughter. These two organizations are doing the work that we describe in Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag. They embody the four elements that we describe by articulating a positionality for Black women to enter into when the world seeks to erase them.
For readers who are interested in learning more about Black Girl Magic Beyond the Hashtag, the publisher (University of Arizona Press) has additional information on its website: https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/black-girl-magic-beyond-the-hashtag
When I asked Julia if she could send me a statement about her book, I was not sure she would be able to take the time to write something for me. As a former department chair, I know that Julia is swamped with the many challenges of running a department during these difficult times. Needless to say, I am grateful that she took the time out of her busy schedule to share her reflections on Black Girl Magic with Storied Charlotte.
Christmas Stories by Charlotte Writers
There is only one movie that I watch at least once every year and that is A Christmas Story, the 1983 comedy based on Jean Shepherd's book In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash. For me, Christmas would not be Christmas without revisiting Ralphie and the other members of the Parker family. My favorite character is the father, generally known as the Old Man. In some ways, this character reminds me of my own father. Like Mr. Parker, my father sometimes seemed a bit on the gruff side, and he could easily match Mr. Parker in the swearing department. However, he and Mr. Parker both understood the importance of honoring family holiday traditions.
My father came from a long line of Polish Jews, so he did not grow up celebrating Christmas. My mother, however, came from an equally long line of Swedish Lutherans who always celebrated Christmas. For my mother, Christmas presented an opportunity to celebrate her Swedish heritage. My brother, sister, and I wholeheartedly joined in the Swedish merriment. We baked Swedish Christmas cookies, listened to Swedish Christmas music, and put Swedish decorations on our fourteen-foot Christmas tree. My father half-heartedly went along with our Swedish Christmas doings, but he must have felt a bit like the odd man out. Eventually, however, he found a way to make his own contribution to our family's Christmas traditions.
Throughout my childhood, my father read aloud to us kids every night after we finished our homework. We had no television, so listening to Dad read was our main form of evening entertainment. One of my father's favorite authors was Charles Dickens, and he read to us a number of Dickens's novels. One Christmas Eve, he took Dickens's A Christmas Carol off the shelf and read it to us. Usually Mom didn't listen to Dad read aloud, but that night she joined us in the living room. The reading of A Christmas Carol became an annual ritual. Ever since then, I have taken an interest in Christmas stories. Thus, I am pleased to report the recent publication of several appealing and diverse Christmas stories by Charlotte writers.
Darin Kennedy, a Charlotte physician and author of a half-dozen fantasy novels, has just released a young-adult novel titled Carol. This novel has many connections to Dickens's A Christmas Carol, but Darin takes the story in a new direction. I recently contacted Darin and asked him for more information about Carol. Here is what he sent to me:
Carol is the product of a seed of an idea that woke me from a dead sleep a few years ago, much like one of the Spirits of Christmas Past, Present, or Future. "A young adult version of A Christmas Carol!" I believe were my exact words before I'd fully even woken up. This book has been finished for years but, though near and dear to my heart, never found a publishing home. Then, 2020 happened and this story called out to me and said, "This is the year. Just make it happen." With awesome editing and layout by the incomparable Melissa McArthur and a gorgeous cover from the extremely talented Natania Barron, I self-published my version of the Dickens's classic under my own imprint, 64Square Publishing and it's now available just in time for the holiday season.
Carol is the story of Carol Davis, a "mean girl" if there ever was one, who is surprisingly bitter for a seventeen-year-old who is about to come into a lot of money for reasons the book makes clear. Sharp-tongued and self-centered, she looks out for number one, and steps over or on anyone who gets in her way, be it her best friend, a boy she's known forever, or the aunt and uncle who took her in after a family tragedy. Visited by the ghost of her mentor in the ways of ruling the school on the anniversary of her December drowning, Carol learns that a horrible fate awaits her on Christmas Eve if she doesn't turn her life around in the three days left before Christmas Day. Each night, a Spirit of Christmas Past, Present, and Yet to Come appear to help Carol find her way, but as her life spirals further and further out of control, one fateful decision will determine whether or not she's too far gone to save from her terrible destiny.
Landis Wade, a former trial lawyer and founder and host of Charlotte Readers Podcast, is also the author of The Christmas Courtroom Trilogy. The third and most recent book in this trilogy is The Christmas Redemption. I contacted Wade and asked him for more information about A Christmas Redemption. Here is what he sent to me:
I have always loved Christmas, so when I decided to write the first book in The Christmas Courtroom Trilogy as a gift to my family, I combined my love of the secular holiday with my experience as a trial lawyer to find out what would happen if belief in Santa Claus was put on trial in the modern day. In each of the three books, the final verdict in the courtroom and for the characters is at the heart of the story, but I also had fun imposing modern day challenges for Santa's enterprise outside the courtroom. The "what if" in book one relates to problems imposed by keeping the naughty and nice list on a stolen flash drive, the "what if" in book two relates to problems associated with an experimental but defective delivery system and the "what if" in book three–The Christmas Redemption–explores what could happen to the North Pole and the future of Christmas when there is an international conspiracy affecting the environment.
All the books have a light, humorous side to the courtroom action, because it's not every day that a verdict depends on belief in Santa Claus. That's why my favorite review is the one that calls my books a cross between My Cousin Vinny and Miracle on 34th Street. And in The Christmas Redemption, I take the courtroom fight to three venues, a class action civil lawsuit over the most popular Christmas present in 50 years, a federal criminal courtroom and a trial before the Elf High Council. I also reveal the true character of the evil-doer, the little man with eyes as black as coal who sought in books one and two to undermine the lawyers who wanted to save Christmas.
They say a good trial lawyer never asks a witness a question if the lawyer doesn't know how the witness will answer it, but for the writer in me, that was half the fun, putting witnesses on the courtroom witness stand and being surprised at the answers they gave. In the end, I became a True Believer all over again.
Gail Z. Martin and Nancy Northcott are both prolific Charlotte writers, and both of them have stories in Christmas at Caynham Castle, a collection of seven romance novellas connected by a holiday ball. Set in an ancient castle in a charming old town on the Welsh border, they're laced with adventure, history, mystery, and ghosts, as well as romance. I contacted Gail and Nancy and asked them for more information about their contributions to this anthology.
Here is what Gail sent to me:
Crewel Fate was inspired by the many embroidery samples I've seen when touring historic homes. When Teag Logan and his fiancé Anthony Benton travel to England to celebrate their engagement, Teag's magic and supernatural experience hone in on restless ghosts, an old scandal and century-old secrets that could turn deadly. Can Teag and Anthony solve the mystery and settle the ghosts before the Ball, or will more people join the ranks of the castle ghosts? Crewel Fate is part of my Deadly Curiosities urban fantasy series, and falls immediately after the newest novel, Inheritance.
Here is what Nancy sent to me:
The Last Favor, part of my Arachnid Files spy series, was inspired by my experiences and those of friends in dealing with loss at the holidays. Grayson Kane, the hero, comes to Caynham Castle to pick up an award for his late father. Dealing with his loss amid the families celebrating the holiday makes him question his solitary life as a covert agent. His partner, Laurel Whitney, joins him to protect Gray from an assassin. As the long-suppressed attraction between them flares anew and a killer closes in, she must decide whether she has the courage to seize what she has always wanted.
James (Jim) Nettles, who writes under the pen name of James P. McDonald, is a founding partner of Author Essentials, a Charlotte-based firm that provides marketing and other professional services geared to writers. He is also the author of numerous science fiction and fantasy books. He recently published a young adult fantasy novel titled The Krampus Clause. In this novel,he draws on the central European folklore about Krampus, a demon-like character who is sometimes seen as Saint Nicolas's arch nemesis. I recently contacted Jim and asked him for more information about The Krampus Clause. Here is what he sent to me:
Ten-year-old Gabriella's brother is a jerk, and his best friend and their neighbor is worse, Daddy just brought home a Nancy in the Nook doll that's even creepier than her partner Ned, and all she wants is to protect her back-yard domain and survive gymnastics. Now, Grandmother is visiting from her Austrian village to visit for the holidays, bringing heirloom decorations, her famous stöllen recipe, and a family legacy. When her grandmother gives her a special gift, will she use it to save her brother, or follow an ancient power in a red suit?
Inspired by Victorian ghost stories in the spirit of A Christmas Carol and dark but fun holiday traditions like The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Krampus Clause is a fun young adult holiday horror to be read around the Yule Log as the days grow short, the nights grow cold, and the elves come to see how naughty you've really been.
The aforementioned Christmas stories both honor and deviate from the traditions and expectations that we associate with Christmas, and that is as it should be. In the conclusion of A Christmas Story, the Parker family is unable to have their traditional turkey dinner on Christmas since their neighbors' dogs ate the turkey. However, the Parkers make some adjustments, and have their Christmas dinner at a Chinese restaurant instead. During this holiday season, many of us will have to make adjustments to our holiday plans on account of the current pandemic. We might not be able to share a dinner together with all of our relatives, but we can still share stories. Charlotte's writers are serving some great new Christmas stories for everyone to enjoy as we celebrate the holiday season here in Storied Charlotte.
The Story of a Tall Girl Who Became an Investigative Journalist
For long-time readers of The Charlotte Observer, Nancy Stancill's name might seem familiar, for she worked as an award-winning investigative reporter and editor for the Charlotte paper for fifteen years, beginning in 1993 and ending in 2009. Although she retired from her career as a journalist, she has never stopped writing. In 2013, she published the first of two mystery novels set in Texas, where she lived before moving to Charlotte. This month, her publisher, Black Rose Writing, is releasing her memoir. Titled Tall: Love and Journalism in a Six-foot World, this fast-paced memoir explores how Nancy's status as a six-foot tall woman has impacted her journalistic career, her relationships, and her sense of self. For more information about Tall and Nancy's other books, please click on the following link: http://www.nancystancill.com/
One might assume that the process of writing a memoir would be a solitary endeavor, but not for Nancy. While writing Tall, she found support from former colleagues who worked with her at The Charlotte Observer, various writing teachers and mentors, and fellow writers she has met in classes and workshops. Nancy sees herself as a member of a community of writers. I recently contacted Nancy and asked her how this community of writers contributed to the writing of her memoir. Here is what she sent to me:
My biggest help in getting Tall done was a weekly class I took several times called "Under Construction." The class is offered by Maureen Ryan Griffin each fall and spring with a few sessions in the summer. Maureen is a longtime prize-winning writing teacher who is also a gifted poet and writer. The classes usually consist of 6-8 advanced writers who are working on long-term projects. What Maureen's class did for me was to give me deadlines. I knew that once a week I had to present a new or revised chapter to the class. My fellow classmates would offer valuable, gentle feedback. That was enormously helpful.
Since I'm a former Charlotte Observer investigative reporter and assigning editor, I use my former colleagues to get good feedback as well. I normally meet with two writers every week where we do parallel writing. That means essentially that we sit at a table and work on our own projects, stopping to talk occasionally.
I also have several excellent mentors. Poet Dannye Romine Powell has been an invaluable help on my two published novels set in Texas as well as my memoir. She has read all of them and given generous feedback. Another wonderful source has been former Observer copy editor Steve Johnston. Steve copyedited Tall and also takes care of my website. I don't know what I would do without him.
There is plenty of help available to writers in Charlotte. I took a poetry class offered last spring by Charlotte Lit. Dannye Powell was teaching it. Charlotte Lit is also a great source for daylong seminars and for long-term programs for writers looking to start or finish novels or memoirs. The writers' organization offers high-quality programs and will send out notices to members. Membership is low-cost and well worth it.
Tall tells the story of my life, but many people played a role in the writing of my memoir.
With the publication of Tall: Love and Journalism in a Six-foot World, Nancy joins several other Charlotte writers who have recently published memoirs. This group includes Judy Goldman, the author of Together: A Memoir of a Marriage and a Medical Mishap; Patrice Gopo, the author of All the Colors We Will See: Reflections on Barriers, Brokenness, and Finding Our Way; Molly Grantham, the author of The Juggle Is Real: The Off-Camera Life of an On-Camera Mom; and Tommy Tomlinson, the author of The Elephant in the Room: One Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America. Like these other Charlotte memoirists, Nancy shares a personal story, but in the process, she and her fellow memoirists contribute to the varied narratives that make up Storied Charlotte.
Tags: investigative reportermemoirmystery novels