Bella Vista hosts guild

Northwest Arkansas has a new literary guild. Based in Bella Vista, the Village on the Lakes Writers and Poets will be headquartered at the Artist Retreat Center, 13467 Lookout Drive. The project is sponsored by the ARC and the Bella Vista Public Library and will be led by Joanie Roberts.

Roberts has participated in several writers retreats and was selected as a writer-in-residence at the Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs. She is a published poet and is currently working on her first chapbook. She participates in the Ozark Poets and Writers Collective in Fayetteville and the writers group at Writers Colony at Dairy Hollow.

The guild is open to the public and will host two monthly events at the ARC. There will be a Second Saturday Speaker Series that will highlight a featured author, who will read from his work, followed by an openmic session for those who want to read a four-minute excerpt of their own work before an audience. The Speaker Series and openmic night will be from 6 to 8 p.m. the second Saturday of each month.

The other monthly event will be an informal writer workshop. Writers are invited to bring their completed work or work-in-progress to share with other writers for constructive criticism and feedback.

The first featured author will be John Rule, Ozark poet, conservationist and peace activist, who will read from his most popular poems, Bird Star Moon and Witch Hazel Advent, at 6 p.m. Sept. 12. Rule lives in Winslow and sometimes at his off-the-grid homestead on Frog Bayou south of Fayetteville. In addition to Rule’s reading, Sarah K. Moore will show her award-winning film, Witch Hazel Advent: The Story of an Ozark Poet, a 30-minute documentary about Rule. Moore is Rule’s granddaughter and is an associate video producer at the University of Arkansas.

Featured speakers for upcoming Second Saturday Speaker Series and openmic night include:

Oct. 10: Madison Woods of Kingston, an Ozark wild herbalist and the author of American Ginseng & Companions.

Nov. 14: Kathleen Gresham Everett of Branson, Mo., the author of a book of poetry, The Course of Our Seasons.

Dec. 12: Dustie Meads of Bella Vista, a naturalist, wildlife filmmaker and producer of the DVD The Nature of Beautiful Bella Vista.

Both of the monthly events are free and open to everyone, but reservations should be made for the Second Saturday Speaker Series by calling the ARC at (479) 268-6463.