HVWG Items of Interest

Our friends at the Hudson Valley Writers Guild sent along the following announcements. For more information on these and other projects from the Guild, check out their website at www.hvwg.org.

Annual Meeting of the HVWG
Monday, Nov. 5, 2007, 6:00-8:00, Colonie Town Library.  Call for all Board Members to be there to introduce yourself to our membership.  Please bring non-members who might be interested in joining, as well.   (Directions: Travel north up Wolf Road until the last light at Albany-Shaker Road, turn right, then look for library driveway on your left.)

Community of Writers - Schenectady
Mark your calendars for Sunday, November 18, 2007.   There will be an excellent program held at the Schenectady County Public Library from 2:00-4:00 pm.   Panel members include: Karen Guzzardi-James, Peter Heinegg, David Kaczynski, Ron Pavoldi, Bill Poppino, Kelly de la Rocha, Rosalyn R. Sollecito, and Jennifer Wells.   Miki Conn will moderate.   There will be a book signing from 1:30-2:00 and from 4:00-5:00.

The Schenectady County Public Library is at 99 Clinton Street.  Contact Karen Bradley at 388 4533 with any questions you may have.  Web site: www.scpl.org.  The meeting will be in the McChesney Room.   This program is sponsored by the Schenectady County Public Library, the HVWG, Hamilton Hill Arts Center and Electric City Poetry Productions with support from the Friends of Schenectady County Public Library.

Member Announcements: Nancy Klepsch, Mary McCarthy
Nancy Klepsch will be offering a limited number of poetry tee-shirts at the following locations starting this fall and holiday season:  Allblues, 199 Fourth Street, Troy, NY and The Shop at the Arts Center of the Capital Region, River Street, Troy, NY.  She is also offering soup bowls with her poem "Eat" written on it at DEPARTURES, Albany International Airport.   The tee-shirt was inspired by her poetry installation called "about this building," which was funded by an Arts Grant from the Arts Center of the Capital Region through the New York State Council on the Arts.  Twelve 2' X 3' vinyl posters with her poem "about this building" printed on them were mounted on the facade of a building on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Jay Street in Troy's North Central neighborhood, where she rehabilitated her first home about 14 years ago.  "I realized this building was here before I was born, and it will be here after I am gone. I wanted to honor Troy's architecture, and I was wondering if anybody felt the way I do. I made this tee-shirt for folks who feel like me about their homes."      The tee-shirts come in sizes small to 3XL, are long sleeve, 100% cotton and white in color.
The soup bowls were inspired by her downstate upbringing featuring her poem called "Eat."  If you are from or visit the Queens, NY area, you will be familiar with such references as The Lemon Ice King, a Queens, NY institution, which makes homemade Italian ices from fresh fruit, in this poem. The ceramic bowls are white in color and feature hand lettering in black. 

Mary McCarthy has an essay on her work for insurance reforms in the book Voices of Breast Cancer, just released by LaChance publishing.   To order a copy of this anthology, or to find out about future readings, contact Mary at mamc@nycap.rr.com or 518-465-6706.

Area Announcements: Writing Group in Scotia, Food Writing Opportunity
1.  We have a member who lives in Scotia who is looking for a peer writing group.  She writes primarily short fiction.  If you know of a group or are willing to form one, please contact her at woodswoman2003@aol.com .

2.  Michelle Bowan writes:  I am the publisher & editor of "Edible Upstate" magazine which will be launching in the upstate NY region in Spring 2008.  As proud member of Edible Communities, our mission is to transform the way our community shops for, cooks, eats, and relates to the food that is grown and produced in our area. We value local, seasonal, authentic foods and culinary traditions, and we strive to put a face on every farmer, chef and food artisan as we tell their stories and champion their efforts toward a more sustainable and safe food system.

I am looking for local/regional writers to contribute to our quarterly publication.  If you have members that are interested in writing about food and agriculture, please pass on my contact information: Michelle Bowen at Edible Upstate by phone 518.281.2918 or email michelle@edibleupstate.com