Copy

Come On Back — We're Live and In Person!

Hi, Lit fans. We're excited to see you again! Here's a peek at some of the free live events coming up. Scroll down for details and registration links.


• April 20: Wednesdays@Lit: Writing Historical Fiction: Paula Martinac in Conversation with Meredith Ritchie. 6:00-7:30 p.m., free!


• May 4: Tatas Tales / Los Cuentos de las Tatas: Community Playscript Readings. In English 5:30 p.m., en Español 7:00 p.m.


• May 6: Lit Up! Annual Celebration featuring Ron Rash and the launch of the journal Litmosphere. 6:00-8:00 p.m., free for members and one guest.


• May 11: Wednesdays@Lit: Writing and Reading Memoir: Judy Goldman in Conversation with Tommy Tomlinson. 6:00-7:30 p.m., free!

PLEASE NOTE: Covid vaccination is REQUIRED for attendance at in-person Charlotte Lit events, and wearing masks required except while eating and drinking. If you haven’t already, please email a snap of your vaccination card to staff@charlottelit.org.

April 20: Wednesdays@Lit

Paula Martinac: Historical Fiction

Wednesday, April 20, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. in Charlotte Lit's Studio Two

Join Paula Martinac, author of the new novel Dear Miss Cushman, in conversation with Charlotte Lit’s Paul Reali and Poster Girls author Meredith Ritchie, for an evening of all things historical fiction.

Paula’s sixth novel, set in 1850s Manhattan, is about a young actress who finds herself in a gender-bending role on stage that helps her find the courage to reject an arranged marriage and find love on her own terms.

Adult beverages and snacks provided, with books available for purchase and signing.

Free! Registration Required Here

May 6: Thank You Members, Old and New

Lit Up! featuring Ron Rash

Charlotte Lit's new annual celebration is Lit Up! Join us on Friday evening, May 6, 6:00-8:00 p.m., for a members-only appreciation event, featuring:

• A reading, conversation, and book signing with acclaimed poet, novelist, and short story master Ron Rash

• The launch of Litmosphere: Journal of Charlotte Lit

• Recognition of the winners and finalists of the inaugural Lit/South Awards

Join us for the celebration! Lit Up! is free for Charlotte Lit members (plus one guest). Hors d’oeuvres and adult beverages will be provided, with Ron Rash’s books and Litmosphere journals available for sale and signing.

Get Your Tickets Here!
(Not a current member? You can join or renew your membership here. And you can pre-order Litmosphere here.)

May 11: Wednesdays@Lit

Judy Goldman & Tommy Tomlinson on Memoir

Wednesday, May 11, 6:00 - 7:30 p.m. in Charlotte Lit's Studio Two

Join us to talk memoir as we welcome back Judy Goldman, author of three memoirs including the May 2022 release Child, in conversation with Tommy Tomlinson, author of The Elephant in the Room. Adult beverages and snacks provided, with books available for purchase and signing.

Child is the story of Judy Goldman's relationship with Mattie Culp, the Black woman who worked for her family as a live-in maid and helped raise her―and the the story of Mattie's child, who was left behind to be raised by someone else. Judy, now eighty, cross-examines what it was to be a privileged white child in the Jim Crow South, how a bond can evolve in and out of step with a changing world, and whether we can ever tell the whole truth, even to ourselves.

Free! Registration Required Here

National Poetry Month Spotlight

Just in time for National Poetry Month: Congrats to Mark West on the publication of his new picture book, The Peeve and the Grudge and Other Preposterous Poems. 

Mark writes: "In writing this collection of poems for children, I set out to celebrate the ways in which children respond to words and idiomatic phrases that they do not fully understand. I love how children play with the meanings of such words and phrases, and I use this type of wordplay as the basis for the poems in the book. I wrote these poems from a child’s point of view, and I tried to appeal to a child’s sense of humor. The illustrations by Ana Zurita perfectly capture the humorous nature of the poems. My hope is that this book will not only amuse children but will also encourage them to take an interest in poetry."

You can lean more about the book and find a link to a reading at Mark's Storied Charlotte blog.

At Sensoria: Juan Felipe Herrera

Sensoria is Central Piedmont Community College's celebration of literature and the arts. Charlotte Lit is proud to partner with Sensoria for the sixth time.


Irene Blair Honeycutt Distinguished Lecturer: Juan Felipe Herrera 
April 14, 11 a.m. & 7:30 p.m., Halton Theater. Juan Felipe Herrera was the 21st Poet Laureate of the United States (2015-2016) and the first Latino to hold the position. He is the author of thirty books, including collections of poetry, prose, short stories, young adult novels and picture books for children. “The fire that appears again and again in Herrera’s poetry exists to illuminate, to make beautiful, to purify.” —New York Times Book Review
 
Herrera’s many collections of poetry include Every Day We Get More Illegal; Notes on the Assemblage; Senegal Taxi; and Half of the World in Light: New and Selected Poems, recipient of the PEN/Beyond Margins Award and the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is also the author of Crashboomlove: A Novel in Verse, which received the Americas Award. Herrera is also a performance artist and activist on behalf of migrant and indigenous communities and at-risk youth.


Sensoria Event Photos: 
Irene Blair Honeycutt Legacy Award: 

Larry Sorkin, Tanja Bechtler & Robert Teixeira

Reception Sponsored by Charlotte Lit

For more than a decade, Sorkin, Bechtler, and Teixeira have combined their talents to merge poetry and music, inspiring audiences in difficult times. Elevating mind, body and spirit, their spoken words and music arrangements move us deeper into gratitude, transporting listeners to another realm. What emerges is the theme of healing and hope, light in darkness.

Info on all Sensoria events here

Spotlight: April Classes

Paths to Publishing: Hybrid and Self-Publishing, with Kathy Izard
Thursday, April 19, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m., Studio Two (in person)

Are you fed up with query letters that receive no answer or waiting for the big book contract that never arrives? Join award-winning author Kathy Izard as she discusses everything you need to know about self-publishing and evaluating potential hybrid/partner publishers. In this workshop, Kathy will tell you about her experience with publishing three ways and answer questions on everything you need to know, from buying your own ISBN number to finding help designing your book. She can answer your questions on your specific stage of writing and how to get your words in the world, whether for Amazon, bookstores or just your family and friends. You don’t need permission from a Big Five publisher to become an author! $45 members, $55 non-members • Register

Folk Wisdom: Proverbs as Prompts for Narrative, Memoir, Poem, with Tina Barr
Saturday, April 23, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m., Virtual Via Zoom

In this experiential workshop we’ll look at proverbial writing in poems, and excerpts from fiction and memoir by James Dickey, Joseph Bathanti, James Wright, Flannery O’Connor and others. Selected passages represent or reflect upon proverbs—like “absence makes the heart grow fonder,” “a dog is a man’s best friend,” and “a good man is hard to find.” Participants will then develop their own drafts in the form of flash fiction, poems, memoir extracts, or story openings. $45 members, $55 non-members • Register

Little Notebooks, Big Ideas: Zines for Creative Exploration, with Bryn Chancellor & Timothy Winkler
Saturday, April 30, 10:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m., Studio Two (in person)

The road to a story winds through myriad notes and drafts. Making notebooks by hand lets writers immerse themselves in the critical early creative process and helps them commit to a project. We’ll make fun, easy, affordable, and portable notebooks in the spirit of zines, closer to Anne Lamott’s index cards than to fussy bound journals. We’ll start to fill the pages with targeted prompts for characters, settings, and scenes, and play with simple printmaking and collage to make them our own. $90 members, $110 non-members • Register

Find All Spring Classes Here

Tuesdays: Pen to Paper

Tuesdays we gather on Zoom for a writing prompt, community time, and sharing, led by Meg Rich, Kathie Collins, or Paul Reali. 9:3010:30 a.m.
Free! Register Here

More Lit Arts Action

Tatas Tales: A Charlotte Lit Partner Event

Tatas Tales / Los Cuentos de las Tatas: Community Playscript Readings
Wednesday, May 4, Charlotte Lit's Studio Two
In English: 5:30 p.m. Register • En Espanol 7:00 p.m. Inscribase

Come join us for a reading of Tatas Tales / Los Cuentos de las Tatas, a new play based on the writings, drawings, talk, ideas and community of Charlotte and Concord area breast cancer survivors. Hear the developing script read by actors, and share your ideas in response. Breast cancer touches every life in some way. All are welcome. 
 
Venga y sea parte de la lectura teatral Tatas Tales / Los Cuentos de las Tatas, una obra original basada en los escritos, dibujos, charlas e ideas provenientes de la comunidad sobreviviente de cáncer de mama del área de Charlotte y Concord. Escuche el guión en desarrollo leído por actrices y tenga la oportunidad de ofrecer sus respuestas, ideas y opiniones. De alguna manera casi todos hemos sido tocados por las vidas de las personas que han padecido de cáncer de mama. Los invitamos, todos son bienvenidos.


Charlotte Writers Club

Monthly Meetings, 6:30 p.m., Tyvola Senior Center, 2225 Tyvola Road

• April 19: Lea Graham: From the Outside In or the Inside Out: Organizing Your Book of Poems
• May 17: Judy Goldman: Conquering Self-Doubt When You Sit Down to Write

Other Events

• April 21, 7:00 p.m. Immigration Panel: Seeking Refuge: How Stories Can Save Us. St. Peter's Episcopal Church, 115 West 7th Street
• April 22, 6:45 p.m. Open Mic Night at Mugs Coffee, 5126 Park Road
• May 22, 6:00 p.m. Charlotte Writers Club Centennial Gala, Mint Museum Randolph

Find all CWC events at their website

Friends of Lit

Thursday, April 14, at 7:00 p.m. Charlotte Lit faculty member and former North Carolina Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti is at Park Road Books to read from his latest poetry collection, Light at the Seam.

Tuesday, April 19, 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Charlotte Lit faculty member and supporter Landis Wade (host of Charlotte Readers Podcast) hosts a launch party for his fourth novel, Deadly Declarations, at Olde Meck Brewery.

Wednesday, April 20, 9.30 a.m. Writers Beyond Borders. Join international guest authors as they discuss their creative journey, their inspiration, and their writing process. The authors will also share tips on writing, editing, and publishing. This will be followed by a Q & A from the participants of the program. This program is provided by local literary artist and Charlotte Lit member Surabhi Kaushik and South Boulevard Library staff. Info

Wednesday, April 27, 7 to 9 p.m. Waterbean Poetry Night at the Mic. This month: Eric Tran and Anna B. Sutton. Waterbean Coffee, Northcross Shopping Center, Huntersville. Info

Saturday, May 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Winterfield Community Garden’s Dozen Years of Digging Festival. A celebration of science, art, music and literature, all around the theme of sustainability. This project was supported by Charlotte Lit volunteers Brooke Lehmann, Justin Evans, and Sam Ross, who worked with local high school students on environmental poetry writing, and helped write an application that resulted in a $5,000 ASC Cultural Vision Grant.


Podcasts & Blogs

STORIED CHARLOTTE: This week, Mark West's Storied Charlotte blog is about his new picture book, The Peeve and the Grudge and Other Preposterous Poems. Congrats, Mark! More info at the link and above.

CHARLOTTE READERS PODCAST: In episode 290 of Charlotte Readers Podcast, host Landis Wade visits with USA Today bestselling author Maureen A. Miller, author of Frozen Agenda, a High-Risk Agenda novel, in which a strange coin leads two strangers on a daring journey to an uncharted island.

Opportunities

South Arts Individual Artist Career Opportunity Grants. Artists, apply for grants of up to $2,000 to take advantage of a major milestone opportunity in your career. Deadline May 13. Info


Kakalak submissions are open! From the Urban Dictionary, Kakalak means “an endearment of the Carolinas.” Originally a regional anthology highlighting North and South Carolina poets and artists, Kakalak now accepts poetry and art from anyone, anywhere—maintaining the spirit of the Carolinas as a broad brush while including topics not specific to North or South Carolina. Deadline May 30. Info


2022 Brockman-Campbell Book Award Competition, sponsored by the NC Poetry Society, is open. The contest is open to poets who published a book-length volume of poetry in 2021. Entrants must be native-born North Carolinians or current residents who have lived in North Carolina for at least three years at the time of their book’s publication. An entry must be a first edition by a single author. It must contain 20 or more pages of poetry, and it must have a 2021 copyright date. Poets may submit their own books, or publishers may submit books on behalf of the poets. Deadline May 1. Info

Have news to share? Click here!
CHARLOTTE LIT'S MISSION is to celebrate the literary arts by educating and engaging writers and readers through classes, conversations, and community.

Charlotte Lit is a community, open to all. Through our programming and practices, we consciously reach out to non-majority and under-represented groups and individuals.

Charlotte Lit's Statement of Inclusivity, adopted by our Board of Directors

Charlotte Lit is Grateful for the Support of...

Facebook Facebook
Twitter Twitter
Instagram Instagram
Website Website

Copyright © 2022 Charlotte Center for Literary Arts, Inc., All rights reserved.

Charlotte Lit is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Donations to Charlotte Lit are tax deductible. We are member-supported. Become a member today!

Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp