We
are in the back of the Nokomis Volunteer Fire Department, actually
the far west side of the building. The Sarasota Writers Group
graciously uses the academic training room of the fire department on
the side of the building farthest away from U.S. 41. We have our own
parking area right by the door, but please don't block the fire
doors or the road into the area. While it is a Florida Writers
Association meeting, it is an open meeting, welcoming non-members as
well. The only requirement for attendance is a desire to write.
We
had another great turn out as the fall season begins, with the return
of Bill Elam, Peter and Barbara Frickel, and Kerri Dieffenwierth. We
welcomed Christine Burton to her first meeting and Rod's lovely wife,
Betsy, as well. After the usual meet and greet, a basic semblance
of order fell into place and we began our second meeting of October
in earnest.
Rod
opened the meeting with comments from Jim Kelly. Jim recently spoke
with long time member Irv Newman who sends his warm regards to the
group. Irv has been active with the hospice, and the nurses, and is
keeping up with his writing.
Kerri
mentioned she will be attending the upcoming Sanibel Island Writers
Conference, November 8 through the 11th.
The only details we have at the moment is on the Sanibel Island
Writers Conference Facebook page.
George
passed out flyers for the upcoming Eckerd College Writers’
Conference: Writers in Paradise, to be held this January 19-27, 2013,
and reminded everyone the 11th
annual Florida Writers Association Conference is to be held in
Orlando this next weekend.
Rod
began the readings with a humorous piece that has been selected for
posting on the Swiss Army Knife web site, On
The Cutting Edge: The Bloody History of the Swiss Army Knife,
by our centenarian Ed Lyman. (www.victorinox.com/stories).
Ed, incidentally, has been published in every issue of the quarterly
literary magazine, the Pepper Tree. His wit and humor always draws
great responses after the readings which are handled masterfully by
Rod.
Joanne
Phillips read her next installment of Memoirs
of a Sea Hag
titled, Bite Me!
Only Joanne could tell the story of being bitten, I'm not saying
where, by her own dentures. Joanne says it was in the Bahamas...
Kitt
Crescendo read from her untitled work in progress, tentatively known
as Four One Night Only, and
will have every scrambling to look up the ingredients of the drink,
Alien Secretion. Again, Kitt shows her skill in capturing her
readers (listeners) with her writing. Glad to have Kitt in the
group.
George
Collias had everyone's rapt attention with his fascinating Sliver
of a Memory,
a personal memoir of Hemingway in Key West when George was a child
living in Miami, and again later in Ketcham, Idaho, where Hemingway
spent his last years. Some great intertwining of professional
development and coincidental meetings. A really unique seed here,
we hope George develops it further.
Kerri
read her latest work Swamp
Angels,
from her great expanding
anthology on growing up in untamed Florida. The saga of the “Owls”
continues, and again, Kerri snags the listener as efficiently and
firmly as her personal stories touch everyone. Great discussion
followed the reading, including her use of changing POV, point of
view, from 1st
person to 3rd
person effectively in the piece. Great writing from Kerri, as usual.
As
always, our poet extraordinaire, Jim Kelly again stopped the show
with two, marvelous short poems. First, Picket
Fence, and then the
timeless, remarkable Hero.
Amazingly,
they were written earlier in the day.
Really
great poetry, we are waiting for the next compilation of Jim's works.
He may not have started it yet, but we are waiting none the less.
Susan
Davis caught Rod off guard as he wanted to hear more about her recent
travels, but instead she read one of her marvelous, untitled poems,
also written shortly before the meeting. These people must really
work well under pressure! She then read a poignant piece about
death and acceptance, again, great writing.
Ed
Ellis was up next with his applause generating Heavy
Fog of Fish. He
took us all to Catalina Island as if we were there, leaving us
wondering how he did that. We're still wondering about being bologna
and cheese, or cheese and bologna. Or spark plugs. You had to be
there. It was worth the wait.
We
then took a ten minute breather, then jumped back into the wonderful
pool of writers who grace our meetings with Peter Frickel, who read
his poem Crocodile
Baking in the Sun,
and then read a passage from Langston Hughes' Raisin
in the Sun.
Peter never fails to enthrall our group of enthusiasts.
We
then were treated to the return of Bill Elam, who introduced us to
the quasi-legal term of, if I copied it correctly, of equine-anal, or
something pretty close to that. Lawyer talk. Bill then read again
in the vein of old men reflecting on their lives, and the painting
that miraculously took the colors of a pile of rust and iron oxide
brilliantly and inexplicably. It was well received in discussion by
the group.
Rod
closed out the meeting reading a chapter in his Little Skeeter story,
Soap Box Racer,
growing up in Sarasota in far less complicated times. The tight,
well written piece had the drama of a NASCAR race even though we knew
they were soap box derby cars coasting down a hill. Again, well
received and appreciated. It's good to hear Rod get to read his own writing.
Our
group of writers is an eclectic, diverse talented group of people and I look
forward to every meeting. Drop in and take a listen if you get the
chance. See you next time November 7th!
George
