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NO NEED FOR WMC MEMBERS TO PREREGISTER FOR ZOOM EVENTS
Each month a new meeting link will be sent to your email address.
Note the unusual date and meeting time this month only (April 24, 5 p.m.). The public is welcome to send an email to [email protected] to request the Zoom link. All meetings are recorded.
At the close of the presentation, the Zoom session will remain open half an hour for chatting.


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April is Poetry Month

Writing the Feels: How Poets Render Emotion

Michelle Peñaloza    


NOTE DIFFERENT DATE & TIME:
Sunday, April 24, 5:00 p.m. Zoom


We'll engage in close and critical reading of a few narrative poems together, examining specific craft elements to investigate different poets' strategies to render and elicit emotion. Syntax and lineation, understatement, and the perils of abstraction and cliche will also be discussed.

Michelle Peñaloza is the author of Former Possessions of the Spanish Empire, winner of the 2018 Hillary Gravendyk National Poetry Prize (Inlandia Books, 2019). She is also the author of two chapbooks, landscape/heartbreak (Two Sylvias, 2015), and Last Night I Dreamt of Volcanoes (Organic Weapon Arts, 2015). The recipient of fellowships and awards from the University of Oregon and Kundiman, Michelle has also received support from The Palm Beach Poetry Festival, Lemon Tree House, Key West Literary Seminar, Caldera, 4Culture, Literary Arts, VONA/Voices, and the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference, among others. The proud daughter of Filipino immigrants, Michelle was born in the suburbs of Detroit, MI and raised in Nashville, TN.



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May 15th Meeting at 3:00 p.m. Zoom


The following writers will read five minute excerpts from their 2022 anthology pieces:

Joycelyn Trigg—That’s My Girl
Robyn Koski—The Dancing Couple
Marylyn Motherbear Scott—At the Heart of Time
Norma Watkins—Bird Droppings
Barbara MacKay—Take My Hand; The Sound of Silence
Katherine Heimann Brown—The Neighbors
Nancy Harris McLelland—Safe Distance; Thinking inside the Box
Donald Shephard—A Lifetime of Borders
Naty Osa—The Word Angler
Sallie Reynolds—A Cure We Only Dream Of
Steven Sapontzis—A Clearing in the Desert (read by Les Cizek)
Peter Nash—The Bardo of Dharmata; Ode to a Banana Slug
Nona Smith—The World beyond Window A
Audrey Wells—Mask On
Leslie Wahlquist—Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice
Phillip Zwerling—I’m a Little Librarian
Holly Tannen—Die Gedanken Sind Frei (Thoughts Are Free)


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RECORDINGS OF MONTHLY MEETINGS  Go to the YouTube channel for all the videos.

The Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, August 4 - 6,  is currently accepting applications (mcwc.org).

A new feature has been added to the CWC website--a calendar of monthly meetings for all state branches. Any of our members can attend the meetings of any other branch, for free or for the same fee as their membership pays. To view their meeting topics (many are still on Zoom), click on https://calwriters.org/events/.

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HAVE A MINUTE?
See the current schedule.  
Mendocino Theatre Company's One-Minute Radio Theatre is a two-minute spot broadcast bi-weekly on ​KZYX. Collaborate by submitting an original one-minute play. 
 All voices to be heard! Plays can be in English or Spanish. No fee for submission nor cash award if your play is chosen; all actors and directors give their time free of charge. 
Submit your one-minute play* (app. 150-170 words, for 1-3 actors) in the body of an email (no attachments) to [email protected] with the subject MTC One-Minute Play: [Title of your play]. Include your full name, contact information, and a brief, 50-word bio. You may submit as many one-minute plays as you wish, but only one submission per email, please. 
*Play may not contain the "seven dirty words" prohibited by the FCC. Play must be totally original and the author's work.
​Listen now:
i am from the ocean by windflower Townley
I Could Not Stop for Covid 
by Holly Tannen
Something New &
Murder She Wrote by Philip Zwerling


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Online Poetry
​Workshop for Youth

Professional  poets from throughout California offer creative poetry writing lessons for youth and families.   Lessons are free to everyone and require no prep.  This online workshop is growing and lessons will continue to be added throughout the pandemic. Click to start writing!


POETRY
Virtual Point Arena Third Thursday Poetry

To receive an invitation to the Zoom reading, please email blake more: [email protected]. Third Thursday Poetry Zoom is made possible by the Arena Theater and continues to be supported by Poets & Writers Magazine. 

POETRY
​Rhythm Running River
KZYX&Z public radio broadcast

To listen live: https://www.kzyx.org/#stream/0
For playlists: http://www.outfarpress.com/rrr.html
To receive emails from Dan Roberts with links to listen or download, contact Dan at [email protected]

POETRY
​Cartwheels on the Sky ~ Poets, Poems & Discovery
Saturdays 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Live on KGUA FM Gualala and live streaming online KGUA.org with host blake more
Show Archive: https://www.bmoreyou.net/musings/
Highlighting a new poet in conversation each week, the show offers fresh, intelligent, living poetry, and lively discussions. To be considered for future shows, contact [email protected]

FORT BRAGG LIBRARY
Poetry Open Mic

Open Mic on Zoom

- To request a Zoom invitation, contact Dan Hess: [email protected]
Or use this link https://us02web.zoom.us/j/9748647159
Readers should limit themselves to eight minutes, for
one to four poems. For more information, contact Dan Hesse,
Branch Librarian at [email protected] or
707 961-2625. And see FortBraggLibrary.org.


UKIAH LIBRARY
Open Mic on Zoom 7 p.m. last Thursday of the month.
YA POETS CIRCLE
Open Mic on Zoom 3 p.m. first Monday of the month.
- To register and receive a Zoom link, contact Melissa Carr (she/her/they): [email protected]


 M E M B E R   N E W S 
Writing newly published, receives a nomination or award, or other notable exposure? Please send a short announcement to writersmendocinocoast@gmail.com

Celebrating Book Releases of Norma Watkins (In Common) and Ginny Rorby (Like Dust, I Rise)
Sunday, April 24, 2 p.m. Abalone Room, Little River Inn.
Proof of Vaccination Required.


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Norma Watkins
' novel is coming out April 14, 2022.
It's a family saga set in Mississippi.
You can preorder a copy at 
https://www.blackrosewriting.com/literary/incommon. 
If you order one prior to the publication date, with the promo code: PREORDER 2022, you get a 15% discount.


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​WMC member Ginny Rorby's  new novel is available at
Gallery Bookshop.

Little House on the Prairie meets the Grapes of Wrath in this Coming of Age novel of hope & heroism, set in Texas during one of America’s worst natural disasters—the Dust Bowl.


windflower's prose piece, The Water Has Been a Long Time Coming can be found under "Short Takes" in the Spring 2022 edition of persimmontree.org. Her poem, "Earth Remembers Us All," has been published in the January 27th edition of tinyseedjournal.com. Type her name in the search engine for her poems and photographs.


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     Drop in to the library site for the list of recently added books and 228+ reviews by WMC member​ Priscilla Comen.


Interested in volunteering to write press releases for WMC?
Contact [email protected]


Do you have a topic on the craft of writing to teach at an upcoming meeting for one to one and a half hours?
​Contact [email protected]

Writers that would like to teach a writing class or speak about their journey to writing during retreats at The Madrone & The Brambles in Philo, contact Carrie Castro c[email protected].

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WELCOME TO THE 
CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB

 - ​FOUNDED in 1909 -

The Mendocino Coast branch is proud to share in this legacy. Our intention is to expand the network
​and provide publishing opportunities for writers.​
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MENDOCINO WRITERS MEET 
​ONLINE ON THE THIRD SUNDAY 3:00
Members Receive Link via Email
​Public May Email a Request  [email protected]

​
Welcome New Members


Alex Matthews

​​MEMBER COUNT 87
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​Founding President, Molly Dwyer, invited local writers to her kitchen table in 2009 to form the Mendocino Coast branch of the California Writers Club chartered in 2010.


Writers of the Mendocino Coast
PO Box 762 Fort Bragg, CA 95437
​
The CALIFORNIA WRITERS CLUB is a 501(c) (6) educational nonprofit dedicated to educating members and the public-at-large in the craft of writing and in the marketing of their work.


California Writers Club: https://calwriters.org/

California Writers Club calendar for other branch's events:
https://calwriters.org/events-month

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SUBSCRIBE TO THE MONTHLY NEWSLETTER
Email [email protected]
Your email address will never be shared or sold. 

MEMBERSHIP 
NEW MEMBERS  See information on the Membership page.

YEARLY RENEWAL, July 1 - June 30th, $45 plus a one time enrollment fee of $20. If registering after January 1st, the total fee is $42.50, until renewals are due again July 1. It's $15 for students. $25 for dual memberships when a member of another branch.
Membership includes a copy of the club's recent anthology,
​copies of our state organization's Literary Review magazine, space for member biographies, and opportunities to see your writing in: 
-The annual anthology
-The Literary Review published by our parent,
California Writers Club. More info at www.calwriters.org
-The yearly collaboration, Ekphrasis,
with the Artists' Co-op of Mendocino
-The annual SmatchUp, blind matching of two
writers on a theme, each writing a single page.

SPONSORED MEMBERSHIPS
Financial aid is available for membership
[email protected]

INTERESTED IN A WRITERS' GROUP / PARTNER
WMC MEMBER SALLIE REYNOLDS
Read Sallie's biography on the Member Bio page.
Contact her through [email protected].

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KELLEY HOUSE CALENDAR
Call for Writers
There are so many stories yet to tell, and they welcome your voice. Articles are 400 to 700 words and can be paired with photos or illustrations usually discovered in their database of 10,000 images. Call the Kelley House curator, Karen McGrath, at 707/937-5791 or email her at [email protected].


WRITING OPPORTUNITY:
​VAN DAMME STATE PARK

Volunteers at the Little River Museum have collected pictures and historical accounts that augment the rich history of what ultimately became the park.
Members of our branch of the California Writers Club have an opportunity to use these source materials to write a nonfiction book and other monographs.
Email the [email protected] for details.


 SMATCHUP 2014    SMATCHUP 2015  
SMATCHUP 2016    SMATCHUP 2017   SMATCHUP 2018
SMATCHUP 2020   SMATCHUP 2021

ROLLING RECAP OF MONTHLY MEETINGS
​See Archives tab above for details. Recordings on YouTube.

JANUARY 2022
SF Writers Grotto
​JD Beltran, Xandra Castleton, and Po Bronson
Link to the recording

FEBRUARY 2022
Jody Gehrman
​"Playwriting Techniques That Rev Up Your Fiction"

Link to the recording
March 2022
Borders anthology
First half of readings
Link to the recording
​APRIL 2021
​
Susan Bono
"The Power of Objects in Your Writing"
Link to the recording
MAY 2021
SmatchUp Readings
Readings by members on theme "Last Night..."
​Link to the recording
JUNE 2021
Spotlight on Writers
Interviews of and readings by WMC members
​
Link to the recording

JULY 2021
Ekphrasis X Kickoff
Readings by members participating in the last year's Ekphrasis
​Link to the recording
AUGUST 2021
Emily Lloyd-Jones
"Top Ten Myths of Publishing"
Link to the recording
Link to the slideshow
SEPTEMBER 2021
Elizabeth Rosner
​"Writing About Trauma"
Link to the recording

OCTOBER 2021
Ekphrasis X 
Readings & Slideshow

Writers read works while  artwork shown, in collaboration with the Artists' Co-Op of Mendocino
Link to the slideshow
​
Link to the readings

​
NOVEMBER 2021
Linda Watanabe McFerrin
"Writing For Readers"

Link to the video workshop

Welcome to opportunities to publish your writing, whether or not you live on the Mendocino Coast. 

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