The Belles
of
St. Mary’s
College
VOLUME XLIII, NUMBER 3
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE, RALEIGH, N.C.
DECEMBER, 1981
MUSE WEEK LAUNCHES
BEGINNING OF SPRING SEMESTER
Writers of fiction and
poetry, those magicians who
allow us to “read other
people’s minds” for just a trip
lo the library, will be honored
^ring Muse Week on the St.
Ma^’s campus. A special
series of readings by five
widely-known North Carolina
Writers will take place at 7:30
Pm., Monday through
Thursday, January 11-14, and
will be open to St. Mary’s
students and faculty, and to
Jhe public. Muse Week, a
literary festival sponsored by
St. Mary’s student literary
toagazine. The Muse,
promises to be a stimulating
3nd exciting event.
“The Muse staff and I
Wanted to share the
abundance of North
*^arolina’s literary
community with St. Mary’s
students and other interested
Raleigh area people,” Prof.
Anna Wooten-Hawkins,
' acuity Advisor to The Muse,
said. “Literature is more than
reading assignments that
’’^ust be mastered. Hearing a
reading can be as enjoyable as
attending a ballet or a concert
at your favorite kind of music.
Writing is a lively art, and we
think the series will be
delightful fun.”
Ashlyn Martin, Editor of
The Muse, believes that Muse
Week will be of tremendous
t'alue to students. “It will
allow the students to actually
®6e and hear professionals in
action. Muse Week is also a
d'ce complement to our
rerum series,” Miss Martin
aaid.“And by opening these
ridings to the public as well,
^t. Mary’s is inviting the
dammunity to actively share a
^’iue experience.”
^ Leading off Muse Week on
^^day, Jan. 11, at 7:30 p.m.
d “agland Auditorium will be
Shelby Stephenson who
paw up on a North Carolina
abacco farm. Though
traveled north for a graduate
education (a doctorate at the
University of Wisconsin) and
later worked there as a
corporation executive, he was
drawn back to the Souto and to
writing, and now edits
Pembroke Magazine and
teaches at Pembrdce State
University. His book Middle
Creek Poems won an award
from the North Carolina
Poetry Society as the best
book published in North
Carolina during 1979-80, and is
among the most intensively
vivid and lyrical books of
poetry about North Carolina’s
rural heritage. He has
published quite a lot in
magazines. Commonweal and
Colorado Quarterly among
them.
“Scholarly listeners
mustn’t be surprised if Shelby
breaks out his guitar and sings
a few country ballads, just to
set the mood,” Prof. Wooten
said, with a smile.
Tuesday’s featured writer
will prove that women writers
no longer have to settle for
second best in terms of
recognition for their talent.
Lee Zacharlas, a Greensboro
novelist, published her jiKt-
released Lessons with
Houghton Mifflin to a chorus
of critical priase. It was
promptly picked up as a Bodc-
of-the-Month Club Alternate
Selection, and was run as the
R^book Novel for November.
It is being nationally
advertised and large
paperback printings are
already in the offing.
Zacharias, only 37, directs tre
writers' workshop, at the
University of North Carolina
Lee Zacharias
at G^nsboro. She will read
at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday,
January 12, in Smedes Parlor.
Lessons is a zesty story about
an undaunted young woman
growing up in the 1960's with a
distinct but unfashionable
talent for playing the clarinet.
The author’s instincts for
portraying the dilemmas of
teing a woman as well as the
perplexities of being human
are a sure delight for young
women today.
Two poets will provide the
finale for Muse Week, reading
at 7:30 p.m., Thursday,
January 14, in the Student
Union Lounge. Ardis Kimzey,
the second poet on the senes
program, is widely known
Uiroughout North Carolina for
her publications and
workshops. She is also an
author and reviewer of
children’s literature, an
activity for which she has
prepared herself by being tte
mother of three sons. She
writes a regular column on
children’s books for the
Raleigh News and Observer.
She has conducted poetry
workshops and given rea^ngs
widely throughout North
Carolina. Her recent book of
Doetry Illusions of Water, is
^m St. Andrews Press.
Ms. Lee Smith, author of
the newly issued short ^o^
collection Cake Walk
(available at
bookstores), will read
Wednesday, January 13, at
7:30 p.m. m _ Ragland
Auditorium. This is hw
second book publish^ by the
^jor New York house of
Putnam, and she is one of the
most gifted North Carolina
short story writers working
today.
Ms. Smith defies two old
maxims about writers. First,
she is married to another
writer, the poet James Seay,
and secondly she combines
her art very nicely with
family as she is the mother of
two young sons. She
graduated from Hollins
College in 1967 and returned
there as a writer in residence
in 1976. Her stories
appeared widely in national
magazines including Carolina
Quarterly and Ladies Home
Journal, and have won a
number of awards incuding
the coveted 0. Henry Short
Story Award.
“The short story is the one
true American literary form,”
Prof. Wooten noted, “and it is
also an adaptable genre for
students who are just
beginning to write. I hope
more than one budding author
will attend Lee Smith’s
reading and perhaps submit
her own story inspired by the
reading to The Muse. This is a
wonderful opportunity to hear
and meet a master in this
form.”
(Continued on Page 4)
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Ardis Kimsey
Muse Week Schedule
Writer Date Time Place
- SHELBY STEPHENSON Mon.Jan.il 7:30 p.m. Raeland
(Poet)
-I- LEE ZACHARIAS
(Novelist)
-LEE SMITH
(Short Story Writer)
+ ARDIS KIMZEY
(Poet)
CHARLES TISDALE
(Poet)
Auditorium
'Tues. Jan. 12 7:30 p.m. Smedes
.. j Parlor
Wed. Jan. 13 7:30 p.m. Ragland
Auditorium
Thurs.Jan.14 7:30 p.m. Student
Union Lounge
Thurs. Jan. 14 7:30 p.m. Student
Union Lounge
- Coffee and informal discussion after the reading
+ Coffee, refreshments, and informal discussion after the
reading
Shelby Stephenson