After a short winter break, the Artsmith Salon Series reconvenes January 18, and every Monday night through May, at 7 p.m. hosted by Doe Bay Resort café.
The weekly literary salon hosts featured writers who come to Orcas from all over the United States. More than 36 writers of all genres are already lined up to read at the salon in 2010.
At each salon, the guest writers are accompanied by a reading from a local talent and an open mic for any writer in any genre. Open mic participants are invited to read their original creative writing for 10 minutes.
Featured writers at upcoming salons include poet Drew Dillhunt with Margie Doyle on Jan. 18, dramatist Deborah Sparks on Jan. 25, Breaking Rank author Norm Stamper with Jennifer Brennock on Feb. 1, accomplished poet Amalio Madueno on Feb. 8, and memoirist Julie Greene with Suzanne Olson on Feb. 15.
Drew Dillhunt co-authored the chapbook Double Six with his father, CX Dillhunt. His writing has appeared in “Hummingbird: Magazine of the Short Poem,” “Pitkin Review,” and “Tarpaulin Sky”. Also a songwriter, Dillhunt has released two albums of his songs, including one with the band Fighting Shy.
Margie Doyle, left, with other Wild and Holy Children
Novelist and journalist Margie Doyle founded Orcas Island’s online news service “Bullwings: Orcas Issues” and a publishing company, Port Gamble Publishing. Her award-winning novel, The Fisherman’s Quilt, has had three printings since 2004 and is set in Kodiak, Alaska where she moved in 1975 with her fisherman husband. There she raised three children, kept a journal and her sanity. Her current writing projects include The Wild and Holy Child, a memoir of growing up “Boomer Catholic” on Seattle’s Capitol Hill, poems called Whiskey Haiku, and a revision of The Race of Kings.
Author of Breaking Rank, which was recently released in paperback, Norm Stamper retired to the San Juans in 2000 after serving in law enforcement since 1966 and as chief of the Seattle Police Department for six years. Stamper has a doctorate in Leadership and Human Behavior and recently completed a novel.
Assistant Director of Artsmith, Jennifer Brennock is an M.F.A. candidate in Fiction at Goddard College. Brennock is an editor of the “Pitkin Review” literary journal and the founder of three writers’ groups. She teaches two creative writing classes, “Write like a Photographer” and “Fiction Gym.” Brennock has published essays in “Joy,” “Ashland Magazine,” and “Jacksonville Review” and is currently revising her first novel.
Amalio Madueño lives in Taos, New Mexico. Madueño has been published widely in journals across the United States and Europe. Anthologies featuring his work include “Border Senses,” “Mezcla,” “New Mexico Poetry Tangents,” “Venus in the Badlands,” “The 315 Experiment,” “Wandering Hermit Review,” “Muse6,” “Askew,” and “Saludos: Poets of New Mexico.” His chapbooks include August, Cuyamungue, The Kozer Variations, and the recently released August Again. His feature-length book of poems is Lost In The Chamiso. Madueño received an M.F.A. in poetry from the University of California, Irvine, and has prepared and delivered numerous poetry seminars and workshops over the last 15 years.
As a mental patient, Julie Greene has survived over 50 hospitalizations. “I was plagued by an evil being who eventually revealed himself to me as ‘The Thing.’ On my 40th birthday, The Thing left me, and has never returned,” Greene said. She returned to college at the age of 40, earning a BFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College and an MFA in nonfiction from Goddard College. Greene’s titles include Breakdown Lane Traveled, This Hunger Is Secret: My Journeys Through Mental Illness and Wellness, Summer, and After the Funeral. Greene’s writing has appeared in “Swamp” Magazine, “Quay Journal,” “Breath and Shadow,” “Pitkin Review,” and “Fresh!” Literary Magazine.
Storyteller and writer Suzanne Olson lives on Orcas Island. She earned a B.A. in Literature and Writing from Prescott College and has had poems and stories published in “Alligator Juniper,” “The Sonoran Review” and in the “Fishtrap” anthologies.
The salon is free to attend and the Doe Bay Resort café serves small plates and wine specials for the event in addition to the dinner menu.
For more information or rideshare to Doe Bay Resort call 376-2025, email salonseries@orcasartsmith.org, or visit www.doebay.com. Artsmith Salon Series is on Facebook.
Artsmith is an Orcas Island non-profit that supports writers and visual artists.
