Come meet two local poets - LAURA SHOVAN (Mountain, Log, Salt, and Stone) and SHIRLEY J. BREWER (A Little Breast Music)

Date & Time: Aug. 19, 7pm

Location: Howard County Community College, Room CL 138 in the Clark Library Building
10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044
Map

Speakers: Laura Shovan and Shirley Brewers

Topic: They will read from their books, and discuss topics including: how poetry informs prose, fear and bravery in writing, reading your work to an audience, and how one goes about putting together a collection.

SHIRLEY J. BREWER. After a 30-year career as a speech therapist, Shirley pursued her Muse at the University of Baltimore, earning a Master of Arts degree in Creative Writing/Publications Design in 2005. Her first poetry collection, A Little Breast Music, was published September, 2008, by Passager Books. Shirley’s poetry has appeared in Pearl, The Comstock Review, HazMat Review, Calyx, Passager, Edison Literary Review, and other journals. Her awards include First, Second and Third Prize for Poetry in the Maryland Writers' Association Short Works Contest in 2010.

LAURA SHOVAN. Poet Laura Shovan is an Artist-in-Education for the Maryland State Arts Council. She has led children’s and adult writing workshops for the Maryland Humanities Council and Baltimore CityLit Project’s “Write Here, Write Now” program. Her articles, essays and poetry for adults and children have been published in newspapers, literary journals, and e-zines. Mountain, Log, Salt and Stone, her first poetry chapbook, won inaugural the Clarinda Harriss Poetry Prize. www.laurashovan.com.

Note: The public is always welcome to attend our meetings and join our yahoo group, but note there is a $5 fee if you've attended meetings previously without joining Maryland Writers Association. Membership costs $40 -- pay online via PayPal or mail in your downloadable application.

Looking Ahead:
September meeting is in Glenwood Library 2350 State Route 97, Cooksville Topic is Writing as a Business. The panel discussion will include an accountant, a graphics designer and marketer, and myself. We will answer your questions on how to market your books, network and accounting or tax issues. If you wonder when writing is a business according to the IRS or how to get people to know about your newly published book or how you can use your contacts to help you sell, you'll want to come to this panel discussion.

October meeting's location is still undetermined, but the topic will be on point of view. Often writers have difficulty staying with one point of view within paragraphs or even in lines. Tom Glenn will talk about how writers can stay on track within their stories and how to avoid the problems with point of view.