tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79092509137757307162024-02-06T23:14:40.773-05:00North Carolina Literary Map BlogNorth Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.comBlogger177125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-54629848437297765702022-11-16T13:56:00.000-05:002022-11-16T13:56:14.424-05:00An Interview With The Roasted Bookery <p>North Carolina Literary Map was given the opportunity to interview The Roasted Bookery! They are the only Black-owned independent bookstore in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Roasted Bookery is owned by Jerry and Erin Jones, and actively works to spotlight inclusive/diverse Young Adult and Children's literature. Read more about Jerry and Erin's venture in this interview!</p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtoFskFQF4fp7MTaP8P5QtvMBhbw0G7lZ_Rr15gtAlS7U6VU1JLJh1pyiQP1v4ROkbqmoCOCIMuvW01UzfX4eiaVO3KVGdhrNfCkQKHmg-8PpskLWTUWPOi2G40KQbBd9H3BK4JaPgS3p-KWQ-tqZQaqa2rKrZn1_IbVcpZXpn0GJbuxtT0eHYOGv2bg/s1280/roastedbookery.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="1280" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtoFskFQF4fp7MTaP8P5QtvMBhbw0G7lZ_Rr15gtAlS7U6VU1JLJh1pyiQP1v4ROkbqmoCOCIMuvW01UzfX4eiaVO3KVGdhrNfCkQKHmg-8PpskLWTUWPOi2G40KQbBd9H3BK4JaPgS3p-KWQ-tqZQaqa2rKrZn1_IbVcpZXpn0GJbuxtT0eHYOGv2bg/s320/roastedbookery.png" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: left;">https://theroastedbookery.com/</span></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Why do you think the North Carolina Literary Map is important for bookstores?</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Digital information by its very nature is fragmented and siloed. More often than not, a trusted source of information is necessary to collate that information and present it in a neutral and non-biased format. This is even more true for independent bookstores as we typically don’t have the resources to blast our presence across all digital platforms and really rely on word of mouth and relationship based conversions. The NC Literary Map serves the purpose of gathering all of this information and planting it in one, trusted location so that we (indieshops) can be found. Plus, it has the added bonus of amplifying our presence. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tell us more about your store, including its history and location. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><b style="color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why did you choose North Carolina?</b></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jerry and I are both former teachers who left the profession last year. We decided to make the jump into small business and fulfill a dream of owning a bookstore. We started as an online only and have moved to pop ups around our town, Wilmington. We are looking for a brick and mortar as well in order to complete our dream. This has proved challenging, but we really love being in the community with our pop ups and feel we will have a strong following by the time we do move into a building. Wilmington has been our home for almost 22 years and we don’t see leaving in the near future. We are both from North Carolina.</span></p><p><b><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is unique about your bookstore? Also, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">what types of books does your store stock and specialize in?</span></b></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have a carefully curated selection of books that highlight BIPOC and LGBTQ+ characters and authors. We believe that representation matters in life and in literature. People who see themselves, and really see people who are not like themselves, as protagonists in books allow for stronger connections to community and greater critical thinking skills. </span></p><p><b style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s your favorite section of the store?</b></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jerry - My favorite section of the store is our science fiction and fantasy collection. Fundamentally, I’ve almost always preferred books that talk about what the world </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">could</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> be like. I read stuff like Tolkien, David Eddings, Glenn Cook, etc. Of course, I devoured </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Wheel of Time</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, though when I first started that series there were only…5 or 6 books out, maybe? That is what I had access to in our local library in Bladenboro, NC where I grew up. Finding a world of fantasy and science fiction where the authors looked like me and the characters authentically sounded like me was mind-blowing. I love books steeped in west African mythology and Afrofuturism. Okorafor and Adeyemi come to mind. “Next” on my TBR is the work of Nalo Hopkinson whose work is rooted in the Afro Caribbean diaspora. Rooted in the African American experience is a work like </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Song Below Water</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Bethany Morrison. Love, love, love. I know that I’m missing a ton but those are the works that are top of mind for me. Oh, how could I leave what I’m currently reading? I’m finishing </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cazadora</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> by Romina Garber. It is contemporary fantasy duology that tackles immigration/emigration, gender roles, patriarchy all set against a backdrop of Argentenian folklore. I had just finished Jemisin’s </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Inheritance</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> trilogy, and I needed something different (I almost wrote lighter but that’s the wrong word).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Erin – This is the hardest question. I primarily read YA fiction and love it all. I live compilations of short stories (currently: </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Phoenix Must First Burn</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">) because you get a taste of many different authors. I also trend toward dystopian fiction. This is both a good and bad thing. Seeing a world that may not be too far off in the future can be terrifying, but also can give a sense of hope (currently listening: </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our Missing Hearts</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">). Books that add a little supernatural or cultural lore to their stories also intrigue me. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Skin of the Sea</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> flawlessly executes the lore of mermaids this way and takes you into a place of magic. I like books that have messages but aren’t too “preachy”. This can be found in nonfiction books like </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Rise Up </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Stamped</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as well as in fiction like </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sanctuary</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">A Song Below Water</span><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In all of these books, the messages are clear and allow the reader to learn while reading without the feeling of being taught. It is very hard for me to pick a specific genre, other than YA, as I think there is so much to offer. If I can get lost in a book or learn something from it, I am 100% in. </span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to your business?</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">As a virtual and pop up shop, currently, we work a lot. I would say we put in at least 40-50 hours a week each. I am sure this amount of time will increase when we have a brick and mortar, especially in the beginning. We strive to have a work/life balance since this was one of the reasons we left teaching. With flexible hours, we are able to spend the time we want with the kids and doing things around the house while balancing our time with the business as well.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Do you think it’s important for a bookseller to be actively involved in the community? If so, how are you involved in your local community?</b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">100000%. Community is vitally important! We believe that everyone should be seen and heard, and what better way to live that than by being in the community. We work to balance our markets at a variety of venues around town. We work with local businesses and organizations that we feel fit into the culture we strive to promote. We volunteer at community events and attend small business gatherings offered in town. We also talk to anyone who walks into our booth, both about books and community issues. We continue to push ourselves, as we are both homebodies, to be out and about and make community connections and relationships. This will only help our business to grow.</span></p>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-63633307606478826882022-03-09T00:30:00.000-05:002022-03-09T12:04:27.346-05:00An Interview with Dog-Eared Books<p><span style="font-family: times;">In honor of Women's History Month, the NC Literary Map had the opportunity to interview a female-owned online bookstore that is located in Raleigh, NC. Dog-Eared Books was co-founded and owned by <span style="background-color: white; font-weight: var(--primary-font-weight,400); letter-spacing: -0.311296px;">Stephanie Stegemoller. In interviewing Stephanie, she shows flexibility, determination, and creativity independent bookstore owners have in the face of the COVD-19 pandemic.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: times;"><b><span style="color: #222222;">1. </span><span style="color: #222222; white-space: pre-wrap;">Why do you think the North Carolina Literary Map is important for bookstores?</span></b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>North Carolina Literary Map is important for bookstores because it's another avenue for customers to find independent bookstores to support. </span></span></p><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><b><span style="font-family: times;">2. </span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: times;">Tell us more about your store, including its history and location. Why did you choose North Carolina?</span></span></b></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>My friend Caitlynne and I (Stephanie) started Dog-Eared Books in Raleigh in the spare bedroom of her house, in August 2016. We sold on Amazon and went to the NC Fairgrounds once a month selling books for $1 to build our social media presence. In April 2017, we opened our brick-and-mortar. During COVID, we had to close our brick-and-mortar, but started selling books on our own website <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://dogearedbooksnc.com&source=gmail&ust=1646763172527000&usg=AOvVaw1WMbxaMDJ4HpZWmT8xMXcA" href="http://dogearedbooksnc.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">dogearedbooksnc.com</a>. Caitlynne left the business in December 2021. Our brick-and-mortar is still closed, but we sell online through our website, Amazon, Biblio, Bookshop, and Libro. Orders can be picked up or shipped nationwide. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>3. <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is unique about your bookstore? Also, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">what types of books does your store stock and specialize in?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;">Our bookstore is women-owned and operated. We're exclusively an online seller with thousands of titles on our website, Amazon, and Biblio. All orders placed through these avenues are picked, packaged, and shipped by members of our team. Our most popular sections are adult fiction and kids books of all types. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>4. <span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you had infinite space what would you add?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>Infinite space for us would mean more room for our online inventory. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>5. W<span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">hat’s your earliest/best memory about visiting a bookstore as a child?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>There was a small library in my hometown that we would occasionally visit. I don't remember a specific visit, but memories being there remind me of the smell and the sound of the creaking floors as I walked through the shelves. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>6. <span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s been the biggest surprise about running a bookstore?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>Owning a bookstore is a lot less romantic than it's described in books. There is a lot of physical labor involved (books are heavy!) with unloading our shipments of new inventory, and shelving, packaging, and shipping our orders. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>7. <span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you weren’t running or working at a bookstore, what would you be doing?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>I often think about this question and right now, I'm not entirely sure. I've loved my life these past few years and the lifestyle I've been able to have while owning a bookstore. I used to do more acting (I did some training a few years back), so maybe I'd try to go on more auditions. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>8. <span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What characteristics do you think a person needs to be a successful independent bookstore owner? What has been the key to your success?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>The most important part of owning any business is motivation. You have to be self-motivated. You have to understand that just because you "can" miss work doesn't mean you should. No one is holding you accountable, but yourself. On the same note, it has always been very important to me to take the time when I need to especially when it involves family (holidays, family vacations, etc.). If you don't allow yourself some time off, you'll burn out. Finding a balance between hard work and taking time off is key.</span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>9. <span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to your business?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"> </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>I usually work from about 8a-2p everyday. I take one 15 minute lunch break. The first hour is usually catching up on emails, messages, bills. After that, I'll go through my supply sorting into different categories for further processing which my staff handles. The rest of the day is spent adding new inventory to our online platforms. Every other Wednesday I'm out picking up more books from my supplies. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>10. <span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you think the future looks like for independent booksellers? </span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>COVID did a real number on many small business. Those that survived had to adapt to this new environment. I believe that if independent brick-and-mortar bookstores have made it this far, they will be just fine. Even though we had to close our brick-and-mortar, I feel lucky to have remained "open" for my customers so they still have access to cheap books. There is something special about holding a book in your hand and reading it and I believe enough people recognize that. The push to "shop small" and "support local" is encouraging to independent bookstores. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>11. <span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Do you think it’s important for a bookseller to be actively involved in the community? If so, how are you involved in your local community?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>I think being active in the community is important for booksellers. We've been donating to local schools and non-profits since we started. It helps to get your business's name out there, but also spreads the love of reading. I love knowing where our kids books go because if you can get a child to fall in love with reading, it will change their life. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>12. <span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Who is one author you’d like to have dinner with, dead or alive?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>Lemony Snicket would be an interesting person to have dinner with. I loved The Series of Unfortunate Events as a child and it always intrigued me that he never had a picture of himself in the "about the author" section or if there was, his back was turned. </span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><b>13. <span style="font-size: 12pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Is there anything else you’d like our followers to know?</span></b></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span> </span>Our bookstore is located in Raleigh, NC. If you're looking for cheap, gently used books, we're a great option. We offer free porch pick-up for the locals or shipping nationwide. I also created a couple of videos to teach customers how to support small businesses while shopping on Amazon and Biblio. Both videos can be found on the website <a data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://dogearedbooksnc.com&source=gmail&ust=1646763172527000&usg=AOvVaw1WMbxaMDJ4HpZWmT8xMXcA" href="http://dogearedbooksnc.com/" style="color: #1155cc;" target="_blank">dogearedbooksnc.com</a>. </span></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYC14w1PIe7zkavw3I6y03u-WUvcT-b0860kKkYdeKeMe2c1vxD0qAvFbKA6-j5RVSKwX22whXrBrX7GkdQh4GzDZDswf-Fbe9qgMrHVOZBmVoF8oH5i3aZeym-LRMNOLQE9naEPeEbAyaW5R9CTnGWYLDVDQLJSXlF6j3K-ViQT3rqyWU7xP4uWW4ng" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="1117" data-original-width="994" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhYC14w1PIe7zkavw3I6y03u-WUvcT-b0860kKkYdeKeMe2c1vxD0qAvFbKA6-j5RVSKwX22whXrBrX7GkdQh4GzDZDswf-Fbe9qgMrHVOZBmVoF8oH5i3aZeym-LRMNOLQE9naEPeEbAyaW5R9CTnGWYLDVDQLJSXlF6j3K-ViQT3rqyWU7xP4uWW4ng" width="214" /></a></div><br /><br /></div>Thank you again Stephanie for allowing the NC Literary Map to interview you and please check out Dog-Eared Books for your next book!<br /><br /><p></p>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-30817845559745484182022-02-25T10:50:00.002-05:002022-02-25T10:50:39.549-05:00An Interview with Golden Fig Bookstore<span style="font-family: verdana;">Greetings and Happy Friday! The pandemic has impacted all of us, especially small businesses. The NC Literary Map will be utilizing the blog to interview independent bookstores in NC. The first of these bookstores we will be interviewing is Golden Fig Books, located in Durham NC. The store has been around since 2019 and owner, David Bradley, took time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions. Thank you David!</span><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSRHZFqUfXRA_oCXWYj9TXxzcCyHMfhEQxk_suJMx33Q4ydaI2X_EtJV3LRq7xgExHB0qnv_mG9zjsZxzqeoGfKNmT0R2FUzBB1UfLdHsZgeQkqoQw16TBNy3KBtWKVSfL-eYLtHcaQh3brO0z-kK6xmxCS7ouPAGybtK1ZtlbOOKEBxJS07PTOvPQBA=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3024" data-original-width="4032" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjSRHZFqUfXRA_oCXWYj9TXxzcCyHMfhEQxk_suJMx33Q4ydaI2X_EtJV3LRq7xgExHB0qnv_mG9zjsZxzqeoGfKNmT0R2FUzBB1UfLdHsZgeQkqoQw16TBNy3KBtWKVSfL-eYLtHcaQh3brO0z-kK6xmxCS7ouPAGybtK1ZtlbOOKEBxJS07PTOvPQBA=s320" width="320" /></a></div></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Why do you think the North Carolina Literary Map is important for bookstores?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I think the NC Literary Map is important for all book lovers! But particularly for bookstores because it's another way for people to find us if they want to support independent bookstores but don't quite know where to start. It's also a great way to see the deep literary history of our state!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Tell us more about your store, including its history and location. Why did you choose North Carolina?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Golden Fig is located right in the heart of Durham in the same building as the renowned bakery and restaurant Guglhupf! I went to UNC for college in 2007 and fell in love with the Triangle, so it's been where I've worked and lived for over a decade now and I knew it would be the perfect place to open up a bookshop. Golden Fig's primary focus is on gently used books, but we also highlight a selection of new books and children's books. We're a small shop (about 1,000 square feet) so we focus on filling our shelves with a highly-curated selection of titles we love. I opened the Fig in May of 2019, so we were not quite a year old when the pandemic hit. Thankfully, though, I had our website up and running before the store opened and customers ordering new books and browsing our entire used book selection on our website was instrumental in getting us through the months when we were closed for browsing. Now we're open for browsing again and are hoping to start having author readings and other events as we get the pandemic under control (fingers crossed).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>What is unique about your bookstore? Also, what types of books does your store stock and specialize in?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The Fig is unique in our selection and display of used books. We specialize in gently used books so a lot of the time people don't even realize our books are used until they check the price and see that it's half what they were expecting! We go to great lengths to find books for the store, so even though we are pretty picky about the condition of books we bring in, we still make sure we have a diverse and interesting selection of titles for people to peruse.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgBq78IkHcMe6V6Ci9edkNJkLjvE82IUpK4vwyeyDIFfj-tKuM2DbBYaPqmPEEhqcbQudLapXDbdYqbTVBap-343czsddmkrbKMbkL6A4jiVPyG1zR4pcudTZY2cYNBbYxaoCQ3tRprtfn060ZOw4z6KoyCg23H20blqa_mBo9R05l6b7ulDQSAJbzeQ=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center; text-indent: 0px;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgBq78IkHcMe6V6Ci9edkNJkLjvE82IUpK4vwyeyDIFfj-tKuM2DbBYaPqmPEEhqcbQudLapXDbdYqbTVBap-343czsddmkrbKMbkL6A4jiVPyG1zR4pcudTZY2cYNBbYxaoCQ3tRprtfn060ZOw4z6KoyCg23H20blqa_mBo9R05l6b7ulDQSAJbzeQ=w240-h320" width="240" /></a></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>What’s your favorite section of the store?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I almost feel like I should say the Children's section as that was where I slept in the weeks leading up to the store opening when I had too much to do to go home for the night. But my favorite section to look through is probably SciFi/Fantasy as that's one of my favorite genres to read and it's also right next to our curved wall of used fiction which might be my favorite physical feature of the store.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">5.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>If you had infinite space what would you add?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>More books, obviously! We certainly use the Fig's smaller stature as a strength by curating and selecting as well as we possibly can but, as a book lover with hundreds and hundreds of books in my house, I will always have a desire for more books. Throw in a pizza oven and I probably wouldn't ever leave the shop.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">6.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>What’s your earliest/best memory about visiting a bookstore as a child?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>This is tough because my brain has not done a good job of retaining childhood memories, so I'm going to cheat and say it was my post-college bookstore road trip where I visited 44 independent bookstores across the country. I partnered with Algonquin Books (a publisher right in Chapel Hill) and wrote little feature articles about the bookstores I visited. It was this trip that really cemented my love of independent bookstores and my desire to be a bookseller which eventually led me to opening Golden Fig Books!<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">7.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>What’s been the biggest surprise about running a bookstore?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>The community! If you had told me that there'd be a pandemic within the first year we opened I honestly would not have expected to still be here. But the support from the community has been absolutely amazing and that's honestly the only way that we've been able to survive. Durham is an incredible city and seeing how many people have gone out of their way to lend us support and encouragement has really blown me away.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">8.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>If you weren’t running or working at a bookstore, what would you be doing?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Haha, this is the hardest question on here. I've been so focused on working in bookstores, saving up for the Fig, or actually opening it that I kinda can't imagine my life without it. I'll say that, without bookselling, I would have really honed my super rusty juggling skills and joined Cirque Du Soleil.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">9.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>What characteristics do you think a person needs to be a successful independent bookstore owner? What has been the key to your success?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I'm not sure that I'd say I've had success yet, honestly. I think the Fig is in a good place and heading in a good direction, but I don't think I'll call it a success until I'm able to pay myself and my employees not just a living wage, but a robust wage, while still providing the kind of customer service and community events that I envisioned when I first opened the store. Of course, like everything, the pandemic has had a major effect on what has been possible for us in these first few years so I'd say that the most important characteristic for independent bookstore owners to have is flexibility and a willingness to roll with the punches when the unexpected occurs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">10.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>What is a typical workday for you and how many hours a day (or week) do you devote to your business?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Well the first two years I was the only one working at the shop, so I would be manning the counter for all 50+ hours the store was open each week and then would spend a lot of my free time working on the website, cleaning the shop, responding to emails, and searching everywhere for good used books to stock our shelves. Fortunately I now have a store manager, Es, who is a superstar and has helped me live a more balanced life. So now I spend closer to 30 hours a week at the shop and then do another 15-20ish hours of the more behind-the-scenes administrative work.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">11.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>What do you think the future looks like for independent booksellers?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>After the way the last two years have gone I don't feel confident at all in making predictions about the future, but overall I think things are in a really positive place for independent bookstores. Not many people know but, prior to the pandemic, the number of independent bookstores in the country had grown for 8 or 9 consecutive years. I think people have come to realize that bookstores can be magical places of discovery and are important for creating and nurturing a community so they've really shown up to support the stores they care about. And Durham is a great example of a community doing exactly that.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">12.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>What advice do you have to offer to an author who would like to conduct an event at your store?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Well first I guess I'd say wait until the pandemic is under control enough for us to be comfortable doing events. But, aside from that, the biggest thing for us is that the author is interested in developing and maintaining a relationship with us and with the community. The Triangle is such a creative and artistic place so we have the good fortune of lots of local authors but that also means we have to be quite selective about the events that we host. So we're always going to be more likely to work with an author who has shown interest in us or in our community beyond just having their book featured. I'm actually in the midst of reading Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer which speaks so much about the ideas of giving and reciprocity, and that's very much how we like to operate with our local authors. It's about building relationships and community rather than simply selling a few books on a particular night.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">13.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Do you think it’s important for a bookseller to be actively involved in the community? If so, how are you involved in your local community?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>So this is actually a tricky question to me. The short answer is that, yes, it always helps for booksellers to be involved in their community as that exposes us to more people and ideas, which allows us to bring in books that speak to the specific problems our community may be facing.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>However, I also think an expectation of community involvement outside of the job, especially in any specific capacity, is a rather dangerous prospect. Our store manager, Es, recently told me about the concept of Vocational Awe, which specifically relates to librarians but I feel has a fair amount of crossover to booksellers as well. It's the idea that, by considering libraries sacred places of inherent good, librarians become emotionally invested in their work as their primary sense of identity and feel encouraged to always do more and more and more for their jobs, despite low pay and at the expense of work/life balance. In the end, being a librarian or a bookseller is a job. It's a job that I love and believe is very valuable, but there shouldn't be anything required of booksellers beyond doing their job well.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">14.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Who is one author you’d like to have dinner with, dead or alive?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I'm going to have to go with Sylvia Plath. The Bell Jar had a huge impact on me when I was in college and struggling with depression without knowing what it was. It was the book that helped me understand what I was going through and figure out who I am, in a way. Plus I think Plath's writing is so beautiful, I could probably read anything by her and be amazed, so I'd love to know what she was like in person. The Bell Jar was also the inspiration behind the store's name so I'd love to share that with her.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">15.<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>Is there anything else you’d like our followers to know?<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-left: 1in; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span>I think I've rambled on quite long enough so I'll just say thanks for taking the time to read this and thanks to everyone who's supported the Fig in these turbulent times!</span></p></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;">Would you like to visit Golden Fig? They are located at <span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">2706 Durham-Chapel Hill Blvd </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;">Durham, NC 27707. On their website, you can view the books they are selling, so if you can't make it in person, you can buy from them online. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="background-color: white;"><a href="https://www.goldenfigbooks.com/" target="_blank">Golden Fig Website</a></span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRbEycTw6A1mTg0jF0XL6ic7SvvHii5mWpyER_N2MQJsOt9TJ6SoUdD-SpEezqaE6kfwdS8VmLtnfgHbBUbsjcIq2VLic3lo8-nSrbWgDY7WNqzUZM9mqwqxI7AyIjXpQiqJseMD-EwskytOO8YA8O9CD-YG7Ovi2rvypap5fOCgeQkPXb3x1csc1TMg=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiRbEycTw6A1mTg0jF0XL6ic7SvvHii5mWpyER_N2MQJsOt9TJ6SoUdD-SpEezqaE6kfwdS8VmLtnfgHbBUbsjcIq2VLic3lo8-nSrbWgDY7WNqzUZM9mqwqxI7AyIjXpQiqJseMD-EwskytOO8YA8O9CD-YG7Ovi2rvypap5fOCgeQkPXb3x1csc1TMg=w240-h320" width="240" /></a></div></div><div><div><p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;"><br /></p></div></div></div></div>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-24964166703769495012021-04-19T11:30:00.000-04:002021-04-19T11:30:00.208-04:00 “It Becomes Its Own Living Thing”: An Interview with North Carolina Poet Terry Kennedy<p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"><i>by Emma Bornstein (Social Media Intern)</i></span>
In celebration of National Poetry Month, I had the honor of meeting with North Carolina poet Terry Kennedy. He is the author of a poetry collection, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New River Breakdown</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which is hailed by poet </span><a href="http://www.unicorn-press.org/books/Kennedy-New-River-Breakdown.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kelly Cherry as “an elusive and haunting narrative of loss, love, and recovery.”</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> While Kennedy grew up moving around the country, he has called North Carolina “home” for the last 20 years. More precisely (with his flair for writerly homages): “As Fred Chappell says, I’ve ‘put my roots down in Greensboro.’” Kennedy is the Director of the MFA Writing Program at University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and editor of </span><a href="http://greensbororeview.org/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Greensboro Review</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and </span><a href="http://storysouth.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">storySouth</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>.
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</i>With its sprinklings of writer trivia, humor, and shape-shifting poems, I hope you enjoy this conversation with an enchanting local poet!
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</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">(This interview is edited for length and clarity.)</span></p><span id="docs-internal-guid-5e52f10f-7fff-86e9-8cf4-82483b8c0a61"><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We like to ask all our author interviewees this question: Why do you think the North Carolina Literary Map is important for authors? </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Terry Kennedy: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Outside of its natural archival and teaching purposes, I feel like the NC Literary Map is important as a record of North Carolina’s changing landscape and culture. If you dig into the work of Doris Betts, Fred Chappell, Jacki Shelton Green, Randall Kenyan, Jill McCorkle, Reynolds Price . . . you’re not only reading great literature, you’re learning about the landscape, how places and things looked, what people ate, how they talked. These things get lost over time. But with the Map, they are, in many ways, still living. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you could pick any poet to eat dinner with, dead or alive, who would it be?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kennedy: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Since we’re talking about the Lit Map, I would say I’d love to have another dinner with Robert Watson. Bob was a great storyteller. And not just stories about the other interesting poets and writers he met and hung around with. He and his wife, the painter Betty Watson, traveled all over the world. His baby doctor was William Carlos Williams. One time, some of the kids from the Manson family brought him and Betty a plate of homemade cookies. Of course, they didn’t know who they were at the time. They thought they were just these nice hippie kids that lived on the farm down the road.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What does your writing process look like? How long does it take you to write a poem?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kennedy: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m a </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">very </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">slow writer. I might work on a poem for 5-10 years before I send it to a literary magazine for consideration. And even then, I would probably tell you that it’s not finished. There are poems in my first book, </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New River Breakdown</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, that I’m still editing. But back to the first part of the question: it’s important for me to move between mediums while I’m drafting a poem. I always start by writing longhand in some notebooks my wife makes for me. And then I move to my Uncle’s manual typewriter. It’s a 1950’s Royal Portable. I have several typewriters, but that one is my favorite. And then I’ll move back to longhand again. That switching around forces me to think about the poem in different ways. Interesting things happen subconsciously when you write by hand. And the typewriter forces you to really think about the terminal edge of the page and, by association, the length of the lines in your poems. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s the biggest myth about writing or reading poetry?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kennedy: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For me, the biggest myth about poetry is that it’s hard to understand; that there’s some magic key to unlocking a poem's </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">meaning</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Poems are not mysteries to be unlocked. And outside of the completely artificial world of academia, they do not have any more inherent meaning than the redbud tree outside of my office window. An author might have a specific idea or intent when writing a poem, but once it leaves the author's desk and goes out into the world, it becomes its own living thing. And a thing that changes with each person it encounters. When I read a poem, that poem mixes with all of my expectations and experiences and becomes something new. The same thing happens when you read that same poem. Your expectations and experiences change that poem yet again. This is how poems travel through time; why something written by Shakespeare or Emily Dickinson can still be relevant in 2021.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Where do you get your inspiration or ideas for your poems?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kennedy: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The poems in my new manuscript use the natural world as a vehicle for describing the inner world of the speaker. Nothing new there, but, while working on the poems, I did spend a lot of time looking at the landscape. How the light changes as it sifts through the trees across the day. What the grass looks like after a quick summer rain. And also thinking about how the landscape has changed over time. How a hill that has been stripped bare because of construction, fills back in. And along those lines trying to remember what it looked like before. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What advice do you often give to new writers?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kennedy: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The most important thing for new writers to do is read. Read everything. And read widely. Read </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Norton Anthology</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, read collections of poems (from both the small and micro presses as well as the big houses), read literary journals. It’s important to understand the range of what is being written as well as what has been written. In the very big picture, poetry is a conversation. You can’t be a part of the conversation without knowing what’s being said.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What, in your opinion, makes a good poem?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Kennedy: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">That’s an easy one. If it physically moves you—you know, you feel something in your stomach—it’s a good poem.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">---</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XE0Zpxt1jd7WuawsV4_aLSJ1f_JKsYJRsnSqXysU-1Py3q9hjmlQqHnEF6PfQNEsnq-CSPfBLaMaUf2o2dQ49saxQZU5aRuix5mqrYH4h0MqwwiBn1OSWDRMNB3l9ibnGFTx0P2huAJr/s201/timthumb.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="201" data-original-width="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6XE0Zpxt1jd7WuawsV4_aLSJ1f_JKsYJRsnSqXysU-1Py3q9hjmlQqHnEF6PfQNEsnq-CSPfBLaMaUf2o2dQ49saxQZU5aRuix5mqrYH4h0MqwwiBn1OSWDRMNB3l9ibnGFTx0P2huAJr/s0/timthumb.jpeg" /></a></div><p></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Terry Kennedy’s book, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">New River Breakdown</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, is published and distributed by </span><a href="http://www.unicorn-press.org/books/Kennedy-New-River-Breakdown.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Unicorn Press</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. You can also find him on the <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/#">Map</a>.</span></p></span>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-32048872596458205602021-03-04T19:42:00.002-05:002021-03-04T19:44:47.404-05:00Your Tour Guides to Fictional Places: Watch the Quarantine Tour's Launch Reading<p>Last month, in partnership with the NC Writers’ Network and <i>North Carolina Literary Review</i>, we launched the <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/tours/details/NCLHOF/">NC Quarantine Literary Tour</a>—a virtual tour of fictional places created by nine North Carolina authors.<br /><br />During the <a href="https://nclitmap.blogspot.com/2021/02/introducing-north-carolina-quarantine.html">February 18th launch event</a>, attendees were treated to a whirlwind reading by accomplished writers across the state, excerpting their or others' work in imaginary landscapes. From Leah Hampton's peaceful dip into Wilma Dykeman's Thicketty Creek; to Carole Boston Weatherford's disquieting look into Charles W. Chesnutt's insurrectionary Wellington; to Clyde Edgerton's hilarious portrait of Listre residents—it was a night to remember!<br /><br />If you missed the live event, we have good news: a recording of the reading is now available! Now you can explore the Quarantine Tour with our brilliant tour guides anytime. Access the <a href="https://www.ncwriters.org/whitecross/2021/02/24/quarantine-tour/">video of the launch reading here</a>.<br /><br />And don't forget: you can always take the Quarantine Tour solo <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/tours/TourIndex.aspx">on the Map</a>!</p>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-84117075742978214632021-02-16T12:33:00.000-05:002021-02-16T12:33:09.773-05:00 Introducing the North Carolina Quarantine Literary Tour: An Interview with Ed Southern of NC Writers’ Network<span id="docs-internal-guid-e7aba290-7fff-155d-f92c-2354ec58f69b"><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: times;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>by Emma Bornstein (Social Media Intern)</i></span></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s almost a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, and many of us are still stuck at home. So if we can’t tour North Carolina’s literary sites in person, why not visit the places that aren’t really there?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In partnership with the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame and</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> North Carolina Literary Review</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, we’re thrilled to announce the new <b>North Carolina Quarantine Literary Tour</b>—a virtual tour of fictional places created by nine North Carolina authors. This unique experience will be available directly from our website, on our Literary Tours page.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On <b>Thursday, February 18th at 7pm (ET)</b>, the North Carolina Writers’ Network is hosting a free online reading to launch the Quarantine Tour. </span><a href="https://ncwriters.org/index.php/our-members/network-news/11822-qt-2021" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">According to NCWN: </span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“During the February 18 event, the Quarantine Tour will ‘stop’ at each site through an excerpt by the place’s creator”—read by a “cross-section” of North Carolina writers—”describing their fictional setting.”</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This week, I met with Ed Southern, author and Executive Director of NCWN, to discuss the Quarantine Tour and Thursday night’s reading.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">---</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">(This interview is edited for length and clarity.)</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Emma Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Tell me about your involvement in the North Carolina Quarantine Literary Tour.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ed Southern: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The way I got involved is that the North Carolina Writers Network oversees the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame [NCLHOF], and I serve on the advisory board for the North Carolina Literary Map. Representing the NCLHOF, I approached the Map about doing this [virtual tour]. And then we brought in Margaret Bauer, [Editor] from North Carolina Literary Review, as a resource for suggestions of places [to include], and also of information about some of these authors and the works in which these places are featured.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Could you tell me a little about the Tour? How did it get started?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Southern: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Back in the spring [last year] when we first went into lockdown, we thought it would be fun to present a literary tour to places you can’t actually go, since you weren’t supposed to go anywhere anyway. Fictional locales that were created by authors who have been inducted into the NCLHOF. You can’t really visit Tims Creek, or Altamont, because it doesn’t really exist. So we thought it would be a fun [thing] since people were stuck online.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Honestly, we weren’t able to get it together quickly enough, and we thought: “Well okay, we won’t worry about it, because surely we’ll be out of quarantine in another month or two.” Ha. Then in the fall, when it became obvious that we’re not getting out of lockdown anytime soon, we decided to pick it back up again and put it together.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">To reiterate, we hope it’s a fun way to visit the state when you can’t really visit the state.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You talked about the decision behind selecting fictional locations as opposed to real locations. What was the process for deciding which authors to include? Was there anything in particular that drew you to these nine authors?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Southern: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The two criteria were that they had created a fictional North Carolina locale for use in their work, and they were inducted into the NCLHOF. But these were all folks [who] came quickly to mind. Most of these locales were fairly famous—even though they’re not real, they’re well-known from these authors’ works. All of Margaret Maron’s Deborah Knott mysteries are set in Colleton County. Several of Clyde Edgerton’s books are set in Listre. Thomas Wolfe is famous for creating Altamont, which is very obviously Asheville but not really.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re familiar with North Carolina literature, these were fairly easy to come up with.</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You mentioned that one of the initial challenges was not knowing how long we were going to be in quarantine. Were there any other challenges that came up when the Tour was being developed, or when you were planning the launch event?</span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Southern: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I think the biggest challenge was finding the time to do this. Everyone was so busy trying to adapt to the changed circumstances. But all of the authors who we contacted were very eager to contribute an excerpt or allow us to use an excerpt. I’m glad to have a couple of them actually reading with us at the Thursday event—Clyde Edgerton and Jill McCorkle will be reading.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">But then we have other Hall of Fame inductees like Bland Simpson and Carole Boston Weatherford, who will be reading excerpts by other authors as part of this Tour. </span></p><br /><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What is something you personally find interesting about the Tour?</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Southern: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I had a lot of fun looking at the ways that these authors describe these places. Rarely do they stop the narrative to describe the physical setting. Obviously, they’re all in the North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame, they’re all accomplished authors, they’re all good at what they do. And it was sort of a master class in itself to watch how they work descriptions into the course of the action, and how oftentimes you’d then have descriptions that weren’t physical or geographic. Instead, they were describing people. Randall Kenan, in the excerpt we used from him, he’s describing the food that people cook and eat in Tims Creek—which in some ways is a much more visceral and evocative description than if he had laid out the map of the town.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So it’s very much speaking to the imagined culture, rather than focusing just on the geographical aspect.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Southern: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Very much so. It’s wonderful to watch how each of the authors did that. How each of the authors—and this is kind of a cliché—made the reader see the place from their words on the page.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Bornstein: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What do you hope people will walk away with from this Tour and Thursday night’s reading?</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Southern: </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I hope they will feel like their imaginations, at least, have journeyed around the state, even if their bodies are stuck at home for a little while longer. I hope, beyond that, that people get a new or renewed interest and appreciation for the breadth and depth of North Carolina writing.</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">---</span></p><p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">You can register to attend the North Carolina Quarantine Literary Tour launch via </span><a href="https://ncwriters.org/index.php/our-members/network-news/11822-qt-2021" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NCWN’s website</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The deadline for registration is Thursday, February 18 at noon.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /><br /></span></p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can’t attend the reading? A recording of the event will be available at a later date, and you can take the Tour “solo” anytime </span><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/tours/details/NCLHOF/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">on our website</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></span><p><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Sources: “See the State by Not Going to Places that Aren't Really There: Take the North Carolina Quarantine Literary Tour” (8 Feb. 2021). </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">NC Writers’ Network. </span><a href="https://ncwriters.org/index.php/our-members/network-news/11822-qt-2021" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">https://ncwriters.org/index.php/our-members/network-news/11822-qt-2021</span></a> </p>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-87412692486499625422020-07-21T16:47:00.001-04:002020-07-21T16:47:22.260-04:00Between the Covers Bed & Breakfast Literary B&B<div>Today's bookstore highlight is <a href="https://www.oldbooksonfrontstreet.com/#/">Old Books</a> in downtown Wilmington, NC. Old Books is another personal favorite of mine! I lived in Wilmington, NC for 24 years and visited Old Books many times (including at their second location at 22 N. Front St.)! Old Books, while its seen a name change and a few locations over the years, has been a staple in Wilmington since 1982! They also have a wonderful Literary History Walking Tour (which I've also experienced first-hand). <a href="https://www.thetopshelfaliteraryloft.com/">A Literary Loft</a> above the bookstore available as a nightly rental, and <a href="https://www.betweenthecoversbandbnc.com/">Between the Covers Bed & Breakfast Literary B&B</a> located in the owner's home. Old Books is currently located at 249 N. Front Street, across the street from its original location, in The Gaylord Building. </div><div><br /></div><div>Between the Covers Bed and Breakfast is located in the Rohler family home (the family that owns Old Books) in the Historic Carolina Heights neighborhood. The rooms are themed around Maya Angelou, Tom Robbins, Zelda Fitzgerald, Nicholas Sparks, and a North Carolina Poets Laureate Garden. The Between The Covers a NC Literary Bed and Breakfast websites states that it is a full service Bed and Breakfast. Your stay includes a three-course breakfast in their lovely dining room, with all day coffee, beverages and snacks buffet located in their Butler's pantry. </div><div><br /></div><div>Diana and Lloyd Rohler who acquired Old Books in 1982 from original owner, Richard Daughtry, built one the largest private libraries not associated with a college in North Carolina! When their daughter, Gwenyfar Rohler, who is the current managing partner of Old Books, inherited her family home in 2014 and she began restoring the home to it's former glory and transforming it into the literary Bed and Breakfast it is today. Between the Covers Bed & Breakfast celebrates the same things that the <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/">North Carolina Literary Map</a> does: books, and the state's rich literary tradition. I'm looking forward to staying in the Maya Angelou room one day! Check out all the rooms offered on their <a href="https://www.betweenthecoversbandbnc.com/">website</a>!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvefOu_UYraqrqcVkfk-x4i6X8W_ymUqfkeWMjwpudHNBPxiItGDQLal9gjPA03DTl41X1wC2N3ICiQ6WFryyAEGJXsX4iVc5tQT3x1y4FEcijSc-RdZgjmPZfqyab-kPLF_ZIVeKNHX1/s2048/B%2526B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYvefOu_UYraqrqcVkfk-x4i6X8W_ymUqfkeWMjwpudHNBPxiItGDQLal9gjPA03DTl41X1wC2N3ICiQ6WFryyAEGJXsX4iVc5tQT3x1y4FEcijSc-RdZgjmPZfqyab-kPLF_ZIVeKNHX1/s320/B%2526B.jpg" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Two books I've purchased from Old Books (I was super into theatre at the time) and my Bibliophiles Rock! sticker </div>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-56559583284788825212020-07-14T17:34:00.000-04:002020-07-14T17:34:17.703-04:00Zelda LockhartI'll admit before my involvement with the NC Literary Map, I had not heard of author, Zelda Lockhart. I found a lot of information about her while researching for my post on July 6th. Ms. Lockhart's website describes her as an "author, speaker, facilitator, and scholar" and so she is, evidenced by her many acomplishments and extracurricular events. Zelda Lockhart is also an advocate for black women, using the hashtag: "blackwomenwrite" on most of her social media posts. Additionally, her website features YouTube videos she has done entitled, "Black Creative Healing". I am currently reading Diamond Doris: The True Story of the World's Most Notorious Jewel Thief but I can't wait to read her other award-nominated and award-winning books! Diamond Doris is also advertised as soon to be a movie. Unpopular opinion: I also love movies based on books. It's not often that I prefer the movie but I will gladly commit to a film version as well! <br />
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Check out more about Zelda Lockhart by going to <a href="https://zeldalockhart.com/">https://zeldalockhart.com/</a>, <a href="https://herstorygardenstudios.com/">https://herstorygardenstudios.com/</a>, & <a href="https://lavensonpress.com/">https://lavensonpress.com/</a>. You can also check her out on the map!North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-92193739835426382912020-06-29T11:45:00.001-04:002020-06-29T13:14:27.698-04:00#Shelfies! Hi!<br />
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I'm Ashton. I've been behind the social media posts for the NC Literary Map since May 12th. :) I'm an online UNCG MLIS (Masters of Library & Information Science) graduate student and I'm halfway through the program. I love the North Carolina Literary Map and have been following the account and website for a while! I, up until recently, lived in eastern North Carolina for the past 24 years and love to read! I mostly enjoy young adult and historical fiction. I've been a reader, writer, teacher, retail employee, and customer/admirer/advocate of bookshops so I feel like this internship with the map this summer was a perfect fit for me and I hope you've thought so too! I currently live in northern Virginia with my husband and two cats, Luke & Luna.<br />
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I chose not only one of my favorite North Carolina books but one of my favorite books of all: Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen! I am a huge Sarah Dessen fan and I own all her books. I also own The Choice by Nicholas Sparks (my favorite novel by him) and several books about the Biltmore. I own various North Carolina trivia books as well: North Carolina Curiosities by Jerry Bledsoe, Ghosts of the Carolina Coasts by Terrance Zepke, Wilm on Film by Amy Hotz and Ben Steelman and Britt's Donuts: Forever Sweet by Daniel Ray Norris and Halyn Prusa. <br />
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Tag us in your #shelfies (a selfie featuring you and your North Carolina book!) It could be what you are currently reading, a favorite NC book, an book written by an NC author, or anything NC literary you want to share with us! We want to see what you are reading!<br />
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We know lots of folks have been cooking/baking during this time too so you can also tag us in your culinary posts from North Carolina cookbooks! :)<br />
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Look for more blog posts from me! I'm planning on making regular blog posts from now until the end of July (the end of my time with the Literary Map).<br />
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North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-56112035357511016562019-04-10T16:29:00.000-04:002019-04-15T13:27:50.353-04:00National Library WeekThis National Library Week, take some time to appreciate the people who help make libraries such a special place: librarians! Today we'll highlight a famous local librarian: Louis Round Wilson. Literary Map fans who live in Chapel Hill might have heard his name before, seeing as Wilson Library on UNC Chapel Hill's campus was named in his honor.<br />
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Wilson was born in Lenoir, North Carolina in 1876. He was raised by two teachers, and was one day expected to choose it as his profession. While he did go on to work as a professor at various points in his life, librarianship was his true calling. In 1901, he was hired as a librarian at UNC, where he pursued his master's degree in English and was later awarded a PhD. He was offered the chance to move on from his position in 1906, but declined the chance in order to remain dedicated to improving UNC's collections.<br />
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He was a firm believer in the value of libraries, eventually helping found the North Carolina Library Association in 1904, which improved the situation of libraries throughout the state. Wilson was an influential member of the Southeastern Library Association, and served as its president from 1924 to 1926.<br />
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During this period he pushed for the construction of a new library on UNC's campus, as the then-current one could not support its students' needs. In 1929, the library was finished mere days before the stock market crash. Despite the obvious struggles it faced in the years to come, it survived and even expanded its collection through the crisis via financial donations. For some time, this library went nameless, only referred to as "the library" until 1956, when it was renamed in honor of Wilson, its first librarian. Today it serves as the home of UNC's special collections and archives.<br />
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Wilson's accomplishments were so numerous that it is difficult summarizing them in one short blog post, which speaks to how important he was to librarianship in North Carolina. He served as the first dean of UNC's Library Science school, and continued to work in libraries until his retirement. You can read a complete summary of <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=1644">Louis Round Wilson's work at the NC Literary Map</a>. If you're interested in learning more about the man himself, his <a href="https://finding-aids.lib.unc.edu/03274/">papers can be found at Wilson Library</a>.<br />
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The next time you visit your library, keep in mind Wilson's lifelong dedication to North Carolina libraries, and thank your local librarian!<br />
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<br />North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-129162024264327912019-03-27T16:23:00.000-04:002019-03-27T16:23:46.205-04:00Maya AngelouMaya Angelou is one of America's most acclaimed authors and poets, known best for her autobiography <i>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings</i>, which details her early years. She was born in Missouri in 1928, her parents gave her the name Marguerite Johnson, but it was her older brother Bailey Jr. that gave her the name we know her by. "Maya" was a name derived from years of him calling him "mya sister." She spent her early years being raised by her father in Stamps, Arkansas or at her mother's home in St. Louis. After a traumatic event in her youth, she went mute for a number of years, but it was during this time that she fostered a passion for literature. Her teacher, Mrs. Bertha Flowers, introduced her to literary greats, including black women writers.<br />
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Her early work was not as a writer, but an eclectic group of jobs ranging from dancer to street car conductor before she began to involve herself in the Civil Rights Movement. She worked as a coordinator for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and worked as a freelance writer and teacher in Africa. It was upon her return to the United States in the 1960s that she wrote <i>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings</i>, the first of six autobiographies which chronicle her life. It faced controversy in its day for its portrayal of race and violence, but inspired other black women writers to pen their own stories.<br />
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In 1981, Maya Angelou returned to the southern United States. She moved to Winston-Salem to teach at Wake Forest University, where she dedicated herself to education. Her writing pursuits did not end with her teaching career, however, and in the intervening years she directed movies, wrote novels and poetry, and more. She was chosen to recite her poem "On the Pulse of Morning" at Bill Clinton's 1993 inauguration and was awarded the Medal of Presidential Freedom in 2010, the highest honor a civilian can attain. She lived the rest of her life in Winston-Salem, dying in her home there in 2014. To this day her works are inspirations to countless creators, and her influence can still be felt in popular music and literature.<br />
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<i>I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings</i> and Maya Angelou's other novels can be found at your local library or bookstore. If you prefer poetry to prose, collections such as <i>And Still I Rise</i> or <i>Phenomenal Women</i>, among others, are also available. You can find a complete list of <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=1247">Maya Angelou's works</a> at the NC Literary Map!<br />
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<br />North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-3276895431108026842019-03-20T14:11:00.000-04:002019-03-20T14:11:53.286-04:00Jan Karon<a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=1324%27">Jan Karon</a> was born and raised in Lenoir, North Carolina. From an early age she had a keen interest in writing, having penned her first book by the time she was ten. After moving around the United States, she eventually settled in Blowing Rock, where she was inspired to begin writing weekly stories about an Episcopal priest named Tim Kavanagh. These stories eventually became her first published novel: <i><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=lit&id=486">At Home in Mitford</a></i>.<br />
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<i>At Home in Mitford</i> was just the beginning of Father Tim's adventures. Karon has gone on to publish fourteen novels about him and the fictional town of Mitford. Mitford was based on the town of Blowing Rock, North Carolina, a mountainous town and the perfect location for Karon's character-driven novels. Fans of the Mitford Years are invited to view the literary map's walking tour of <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/tours/details/Karon/">Blowing Rock</a>, which <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/tours/index.aspx?mid=17">maps out the town</a> through the eyes of Father Tim. Discover the real local businesses and parks which inspired Jan Karon, and learn more about a proud entry to North Carolina's literary heritage.<br />
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For those who haven't had the chance to experience Jan Karon's work can find<i> At Home in Mitford </i>and her other books at your local library or bookstore!<br />
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<br />North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-38094225646747626052019-02-25T15:18:00.000-05:002019-03-27T16:11:08.147-04:00Pauli Murray<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Before Black History Month ends, the North Carolina Literary Map would like to highlight the life and activism of <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=1355">Pauli Murray</a>. Born in 1910, Murray was a civil rights activist whose activism preceded much of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s. She was born in Baltimore, but was raised in Durham, North Carolina. After leaving the state to attend school up at Columbia University, she returned when she attempted to apply to then-segregated University of North Carolina.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">She was rejected, and in response wrote letters to President Roosevelt and other officials in protest. A few years later she and a female partner were arrested for sitting in the whites-only section of a bus. Both of these cases were considered by the NAACP, but ultimately the organization pulled out of representing her. Some speculate this was due in part to the fact that Murray had open romantic relationships with women and dressed in masculine clothing, occasionally presenting as a man. Despite resistance, Murray went on to become the first black deputy attorney general in California. Her critique of state segregation and the “separate but equal” facilities later influenced the court case </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Brown vs Board of Education</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. In addition to her contributions to black civil rights, she founded the National Organization for Women (NOW) in 1966.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Murray had been excluded from the discussion of the Civil Rights Movement and Feminist Movement, but there has been a recent resurgence of her interest in her and her work. In addition to her activism, she was an author and poet. You can read about her family history in the book</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Proud Shoes</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which describes the lives of her ancestors who lived and worked in Durham. Fans of poetry can read her poems in </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Dark Testament and Other Poems</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Those interested in learning more about Murray herself are invited to check out </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Song in a Weary Throat</span><span style="color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, an autobiography, or the oral history interviews available online via the “<a href="https://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/G-0044/menu.html">Oral Histories of the American South Project</a>.”</span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> </span></div>
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North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-66129603118481154632019-02-11T16:07:00.000-05:002019-02-11T16:08:31.326-05:00Harriet Ann Jacob's 206th Birthday<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.2; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Today, February 11th, is the birthday of abolitionist</span><a href="https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/jacobs-harriet" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harriet Ann Jacobs</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. She is best known for her moving autobiography, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Her book, first published under the name “Linda Brent,” tells the story of the sexual abuse she suffered as the slave of Dr. James Norcom and her life after her escape.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For years </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">after her escape, she hid in the home of her grandmother, Molly Horniblow, before finally fleeing North Carolina in 1842, eventually ending up in New York. She was later reunited with her children, and much of </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">recounted her attempts to free them.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jacobs used her story to promote the abolitionist movement. Her book was one of the first to discuss the plight of female slaves, and was written to sway the hearts of Northern white women. After the publication of her book she continued to advocate for black Americans both in the United States and overseas. During the Civil War she nursed black soldiers by her daughter’s side, and after raised money for refugees from slavery.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">More about her story and legacy can be found within the pages of </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Visitors to Edenton, North Carolina can </span><a href="http://www.harrietjacobs.org/edentonsites.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">tour sites</span></a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> from her early life, including the site where Molly Horniblow's house once stood.</span></div>
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North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-62018137399393895062018-11-14T13:29:00.000-05:002018-11-14T13:38:08.314-05:00North Carolina CookingThanksgiving is coming up fast, have you decided what you're serving this year? If not, why not consider some North Carolina recipes?<br />
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The NC Literary Map has a <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/pages.aspx?reg=243&dt=litgenre&gen=29">genre</a> dedicated to Carolina cooking, where you can find special recipes from the mountains to the coast. You could try out <i><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=lit&id=4984">Mama Dip's Kitchen</a></i>, a cookbook written by famed cook <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=4157">Mildred Council</a>. It features over 250 recipes, with everything from old-fashioned Southern chicken pie to traditional desserts. Or consider <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=lit&id=6475" style="font-style: italic;">Victuals: An Appalachian Journey</a><i> </i>by <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=5475">Ronni Lundi</a>, which features a collection of Appalachian recipes as well as information about the history and culture of the region.<br />
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You can find dozens of North Carolina cookbooks at the <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/pages.aspx?reg=243&dt=litgenre&gen=29">NC Literary Map</a> which are sure to inspire your inner chef. If one looks promising, check it out at your local bookstore or library. Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!<br />
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North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-4373102652652893282018-11-06T20:36:00.000-05:002018-11-06T20:45:33.041-05:00UNCG's Gorman and Smith Represent the North Carolina Literary Map at NCWN Conference<br />
Dr. Keith Gorman, Head of Special Collections and Archives at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro and Kathelene Smith, UNCG's Instruction and Outreach Archivist and Assistant Professor represented the North Carolina Literary Map at the 2018 North Carolina Writers' Conference, November 2-4 in Charlotte, NC. The North Carolina Writers' Network connects writers across North Carolina with education, recognition, and critique opportunities and resources.<br />
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Below, Dr. Gorman is pictured with North Carolina playwright, actor, composer, and essayist, <a href="https://shelltells.com/">Shelley Stolaroff Segal</a>.<br />
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<br />North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-40655923257131686472018-10-31T15:47:00.000-04:002018-10-31T15:48:14.290-04:00Haunted North CarolinaHappy Halloween to our NC Literary Map followers!<br />
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Regardless of how you spend your Halloween, ghost stories are always an excellent way to get into the Halloween spirit. North Carolina is home to dozens of ghost stories, and one of the most persistent tales is the story of Lydia, the Phantom Hitchhiker. According to local tales, she haunted the stretch of road along the US 70-A south of Jamestown. Legend tells that she would ask for a ride home, and if accepted, would disappear upon reaching her destination.<br />
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For years this story has been passed around, and now authors Michael Renegar and Amy Greer explore the truth behind the tale. Uncover the story that lurks behind the legend with <i>Looking for Lydia: The Thirty-Year Search for the Jamestown Hitchhiker</i> today, and discover more ghost stories set in North Carolina at the <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/">North Carolina Literary Map</a>.<br />
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<br />North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-65866768875423829112018-09-25T15:31:00.000-04:002018-09-25T15:40:00.973-04:00F. Scott Fitzgerald's 112nd Birthday<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Monday, September 24th, was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 112nd birthday. Best known for his classic book, </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Great Gatsby</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, those who haven’t had the chance to visit Western Carolina may not know that Fitzgerald had ties to our state.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">During the summers of 1935 and 1936, Fitzgerald stayed in Asheville, North Carolina to rest after contracting tuberculosis. Western Carolina had become a popular destination for such getaways, as the mountain air was thought to be good for the lungs. Fitzgerald stayed at the renown Grove Park Inn, and rented out two rooms: one for working, the other for writing. The summers spent there were a low period in his life. Fitzgerald was reportedly trying to cure his addiction to gin with what was known as the “beer cure,” and wrote short stories to pay debts and bills. One story written at that time, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">“I’d Die for You (The Legend of Lake Lure),” was set in Western NC and featured a young actress who had come to the area to star in a movie.</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> He left North Carolina in 1937, heading west to Hollywood with the hopes of reigniting his career. His wife, Zelda, remained in the southeast, traveling between Asheville’s Highland Hospital for treatment and her mother’s home in Montgomery, Alabama.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">"I'd Die for You (The Legend of Lake Lure)" and other lesser-known Fitzgerald short stories can be read in the book <i>I'd Die for You: And Other Lost Stories. </i>Find it and other Fitzgerald classics at your local bookstore or library. The </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/">North Carolina Literary Map</a> also now features a tour of </span><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/tours/details/Fitzgerald/" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;">Fitzgerald’s life</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in Western NC, that may serve as a guide for tourists or may be explored virtually. Discover more about our state's literary heritage today!</span></div>
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North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-48907271960587481062018-06-19T14:25:00.000-04:002018-09-25T15:37:22.682-04:00LGBT Pride Month<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">June is <a href="https://www.loc.gov/lgbt-pride-month/about/">LGBT Pride Month</a>! It was first officially recognized by President Bill Clinton in 1999, the month of June was chosen to commemorate the Stonewall Riots, a pivotal moment in American LGBT History.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This month we would like to highlight the life and works of <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=2651">Bertha Harris</a>. Bertha Harris was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina in 1936. She studied at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and moved to New York City in the 1960s, but her work has often been inspired by her experiences in the South.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Harris’ writing is defined by her inventive and experimental narrative styles. Her first novel, </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Catching Saradove</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, is the most rooted in convention. The novel is set in New York City and North Carolina, and is semi-autobiographical, exploring the themes of feminism and other social movements that permeated the 1960s. Her most ambitious work, however, is considered to be the novel </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Lover</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Lover </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is a postmodernist work that rejects narrative for an experimental style. It has themes of radical lesbian philosophy and features characters both fictional and historical.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Those interested in lesbian and feminist fiction will find her works revealing and engaging. She is very highly regarded by critics and her work resonates with contemporary and modern feminists alike. Harris died in 2005, at the time she had been working on her fourth novel, a comedy entitled </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Mi Contra Fa</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. Although this novel was unfortunately never published, you can find Harris’ other works at your local bookstore or library. Celebrate Pride Month by supporting the work of local LGBT authors, and learning about their experiences through their writing.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-20233745640763751352018-05-29T12:37:00.000-04:002018-09-25T15:37:44.678-04:00Happy birthday, Fred Chappell!Monday, May 28th was the birthday of North Carolina poet of <a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=1268">Fred Chappell</a>. He was born in 1936 in the small town of Canton, North Carolina. He earned both his bachelor's and master's degrees at Duke University, and spent a significant portion of his teaching career at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.<br />
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Fred Chappell is a prolific author, having written over twenty-five books and amassed a collection of local and national awards. He had a five year tenure as the Poet Laureate of North Carolina. Having written everything from Lovecraftian horror to domestic fiction, readers are bound to find a work of his that calls to them.<br />
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<i><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=lit&id=416">I Am One of You Forever</a></i> is a novel about a boy named Jess growing up in Western North Carolina during World War II. It is a coming of age story with an eccentric cast of characters, each with their own story to tell. Another book by Chappell, <i><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=lit&id=1429">Dagon</a></i>, is also set in North Carolina, but could not be more different a tale. It is a Southern Gothic horror that plays on the Cthulhu mythos.<i> Dagon </i>follows the story of Peter Leland, a preacher who inherits his grandparents' farmhouse and soon finds dark secrets hidden in the world around him. Find these books, or any of the other many Fred Chappell works, at your local bookstore or library! You're sure to find something just for you.<br />
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<br />North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-66715023603541670322018-05-22T12:43:00.001-04:002018-05-22T12:46:54.218-04:00NC Literary Map at Greensboro Bound<span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit;">On May 19th we attended </span><a href="http://greensborobound.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: inherit;">Greensboro Bound</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #1d2129; font-family: inherit;">: a Literary Festival! Having the opportunity to talk to local literary enthusiasts and listen to local authors was an experience we won't soon forget. We hope everyone had as good a time there as we did!</span><br />
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North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-89960454065434845582018-05-22T12:32:00.000-04:002018-05-22T12:32:32.024-04:00Jewish American Heritage Month<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">May is </span><a href="https://www.jewishheritagemonth.gov/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jewish American Heritage Month</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, which began in 2006 and celebrates the achievements of Jewish Americans</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This month we are highlighting the life and works of </span><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=1301">Harry Golden</a></span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. He was born in 1902 in the Austro-Hungarian empire, but moved to New York City with his family as a young boy. He grew up with a voracious appetite for reading, but it was not until later in life that he became known for his writing. Instead, he worked as a stockbroker until 1929 when his firm declared bankruptcy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It wasn’t until 1941 that he arrived in Charlotte, NC and began his career as a writer and journalist. He became an outspoken advocate for civil rights and began his own paper, the <i>Carolina Israelite</i>. It endured constant criticism and a fire that destroyed their subscription list, but survived, according to Golden, due to his use of satire, which he used to combat issues of desegregation and unionization.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">In 1958 Golden became a best-selling author with </span><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Only in America</span><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a collection of humorous essays. He went on to publish over a dozen books, many of which center on the Jewish American experience, such as </span><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=lit&id=843" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "arial"; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Jewish Roots in the Carolinas</span></a><span style="font-family: "arial"; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. For those who enjoy satire and biting social commentary, find his books at your local bookstore or library. His papers can be found at <a href="https://specialcollections.uncc.edu/">J. Murrey Atkins Special Collections and Archives</a> at UNC Charlotte.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-78862938855225590032018-05-17T12:29:00.000-04:002018-05-17T12:29:44.648-04:00NC Literary Map at Greensboro Bound<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On May 19th the NC Literary Map will be at </span><a href="http://greensborobound.com/" style="text-decoration-line: none;"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Greensboro Bound</span></a><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">! Greensboro Bound is a literary festival that will gather writers and poets of all sorts for an exciting weekend of words. Find us at the Greensboro Cultural Center on the first floor to find more about the NC Literary Map!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span>North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-13080722368526858622018-04-21T12:17:00.000-04:002018-04-21T12:17:26.525-04:00NC Lit Map at NC Writers' Network Spring ConferenceGreetings! Today, April 21st, we're at the North Carolina Writers' Network Spring Conference! Held on-campus at UNC-Greensboro, you can find our table in the MHRA Building. Stop by and ask about the NC Literary Map, or just to say hello and get a free bag!<br />
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<br />North Carolina Literary Map http://www.blogger.com/profile/17909943553470996123noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7909250913775730716.post-85530320769961327832018-04-10T12:22:00.000-04:002018-04-10T12:22:03.321-04:00National Poetry Month 2018<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">April is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="https://www.poets.org/national-poetry-month/home">National Poetry Month</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a celebration that began in 1996 and was started by the Academy of American Poets. This is a month dedicated to the appreciation and spread of poetry in the United States.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The North Carolina Literary Map has a </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/pages.aspx?reg=243&dt=litgenre&gen=1003">section</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> dedicated to poetry about North Carolina, with 172 collections available to browse. This National Poetry Month we mark the memory of </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=auth&id=1263">Kathryn Stripling Byer</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, former </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=award&id=3">Poet Laureate</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and the first woman to hold the title. Her poetry often focused upon the lives of women in the Appalachians and their hardships. One such example is </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-decoration-line: underline; text-decoration-skip-ink: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://library.uncg.edu/dp/nclitmap/details.aspx?typ=lit&id=1050">Black Shawl</a></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, a collection of poetry about the female ballad singers in western North Carolina. Her last published poetry collection, </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Descent</span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">, confronted and challenged the legacy of southern racism.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you are interested, check out her poetry at your local library or bookstore! Celebrate National Poetry Month with poems inspired by our own state!</span></div>
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