Poetry and Prose Reading

Jerry Hobbs

John C. Campbell Folk School and N.C. Writers Network West are sponsoring a reading of poetry and prose at 7:00 pm, Thursday, April 19th at John C. Campbell Folk School. Reading will be Maren Mitchell and Jerry Hobbs. There is no admission fee.

Maren Mitchell is a native of North Carolina and has lived in France, Germany, and throughout most of the south. Currently she lives with her husband and three cats near Young Harris, Georgia. Proofreader, manager of a group home, and cataloguer at the Carl Sandburg National Historic Site have been some of her jobs. Her poems have appeared in The Arts Journal, Red Clay Reader #4, and Appalachian Journal. She has received two awards from the Poetry Society of Tennessee "Mid-South Poetry Festival." Maren's non-fiction book, How to Beat Chronic Pain: An Insider's Guide, is being prepared for the website of The National Pain Foundation. Another one of her interests is origami, which she shares and teaches in classes.

Jerry Hobbs has been writing since he moved here with his wife Jean after retirement in 1997. When he realized that writing was more than "just a hobby," he began to take classes at John Campbell and Tri-County Community College along with seminars taught by published authors. While most of his material is fiction thanks to an active imagination, his goal is to make everything he writes both wholesome and entertaining.

Maren Mitchell

Jerry completed his first novel, The Lovebug Device in 2005, which can be found at the Murphy Public Library along with his second novel, Missy's Gift. Jerry has also completed a book of fictional short stories entitled, Maybe Granddaddy's '55 Chevy Plus 30 ? Other Stories. All three books can be purchased online at www.lulu.com. During his reading, Jerry will read short stories from a book in progress that features the adventures of an elderly couple who retired and now live in the mountains of North Carolina. With tongue in cheek, he claims these characters are totally imaginary and couldn't possibly resemble any real people, living or dead. He also promises to read a short surprise piece, but refuses to disclose details.

Along with writing, Jerry sings in a local barbershop chorus called the High Country Harmonizers and also the Cherokee County Community Choir plus his own church choir. Oddly enough, he explains that he finds a similar harmony in both writing and singing.