Bright Hill Literary Center

Description

Bright Hill Press, a not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), literary organization, was founded in 1992. Bright Hill Press has published poetry, fiction, and nonfiction since 1994. Titles include the anthologies Speaking the Words, The Word Thursdays Anthology of Poetry and Fiction, Out of the Catskills and Just Beyond: Literary and Visual Works by Catskill Writers and Artists, with a Special Section by Catskill High-School Writers and Artists, Iroquois Voices, Iroquois Visions: A Celebration of Contemporary Six Nations Arts, The Second Word Thursdays Anthology; On the Watershed Anthology; poetry collections The Man Who Went Out for Cigarettes (Adrian Blevins-Church), My Own One Hundred Doors (Pam Bernard), Blue Wolves (Regina O’Melveny),Whatever Was Ripe (William Jolliff), and To Fit Your Heart Into the Body (Judith Neeld); and the fiction collection Low Country Stories (Lisa Harris); Traveling Through Glass (Beth Copeland Vargo); My Father and Miro and Other Poems (Claudia M. Reder); What Falls Away (Steve Lautermilch); Heart, with Piano Wire (Richard Deutch); Inspiration Point (Matthew J. Spireng); First Probe to Antarctica (Barry Ballard); The Singer’s Temple (Barbara Hurd).
WORD THURSDAYS, the twice-monthly ( second and fourth Thursdays) Catskill reading series, began in early 1992 and has since featured more than 500 poets, writers, and storytellers at its Thursday evenings, as well as countless open readers. Among the features have been KATHERINE ARNOLDI, BRUCE BENNETT, JILL CIMENT, RICHARD FOERSTER, DOROTHY FRIEDMAN-AUGUST, COLETTE INEZ, MAURICE KENNY, LAURIE LISLE, DAVID MATLIN, JOHN MOHAWK, ANTHONY PICCIONE, JOLEEN RICKARD, JAY ROGOFF, DIANE SCHENANDOAH, KAREN SWENSON, LLOYD VAN BRUNT, and MICHAEL WATERS (See Literary Series Profiles).
SPEAKING THE WORDS is an annual poets and writers tour and festival presented by Word Thursdays/Bright Hill Press and often co-sponsored by regional arts organizations, nursing homes, businesses, art galleries, and others. (See Literary Series Profiles.)
RADIO BY WRITERS is a series of 30- to 60-minute audio programs (individual poets and writers or theme programs) developed especially for radio; Poetry Moments is a series of 30-second to 90-second poetry audio developed for radio. Both series are heard regionally on commercial radio’s the Delaware Broadcast Group (WDLA, WDHI, and WIYN) and on the Catskill NPR station, Radio Catskills WJFF. The tapes are available (for purchase) for distribution (write to Radio by Writers, c/o BHP).
SHARE THE WORDS, another Bright Hill Press endeavor, is the Catskill High-School Poets and Writers Forum and consortium; throughout the year, Word Thursdays holds poetry workshops and mentoring sessions with regional high-school students (in person, by fax, or by e-mail), then sponsors, with ONC BOCES, schools, and area businesses, the Word Thursdays Share the Words Catskill High-School Poetry Competition, an all-day, oral poetry meet culminating in a winning school team, a top poet, and two runners-up. The winning team takes home a traveling trophy and a permanent banner inscribed with the names of the team. Word Thursdays has produced a professional video tape of the competition, available by writing to WT/BHP.
WORD THURSDAYS WORKSHOPS FOR KIDS target children, ages 6-17, for winter and summer literary workshops. Courses include Storytelling; Mythology for Fun (inventing and building (from papier mache) creatures that explain natural or human phenomena and events and writing myths or legends about them, in fiction or poetic form); Creatures of the Woods and Waters (researching real or fabulous animals, constructing them of papier mache, and writing about them); Feel It, Think It, Write It, Revise It: How Poetry Comes To Be; Making Artist’s Books and Making Artist’s Boxes, a course which re-establishes the natural relationship between words and images, both two-and three-dimensional, a process that facilitates effective communication. The Summer workshops are six intensive days; the winter, six Saturdays. Students read from and show their works at special sessions of Word Thursdays and at the Speaking the Words Festival.