In September, I went to Juneau for some medical errands. While there, I stayed with my friends, Bill Merk and Beth Handley.
Bill is a poet, writing as W. S. Merk (see W.S. Merk, BRIGHT SILENCE: A New Volume of Poetry). He participates in a vibrant arts community in Juneau, particularly with the group, Woosh Kinaadeiyí. They hold poetry slams and writer showcases in Juneau.
Bill had a date to promote an upcoming showcase with some other poets on Telling Tales with Ms. G, an evening program on Juneau’s public radio station, KTOO. He invited me to join him.
I pursued a radio career for about 16 years, so I eagerly tagged along, figuring I’d sit in the back and watch. Not so. Bill talked me into participating as a writer.
We had a great time! I got to hear some excellent local poetry, which I’ll tell you more about in the future. I winged my portions, reciting a few haiku, including one that paid off (see Snowshoes for a Song . . . Er, Poem). I told a quick story about what Aly had been doing at home during my absence. I also had a chance to plug my first book, Shy Ghosts Dancing: Dark Tales from Southeast Alaska, and our upcoming production of The Lion in Winter.
When I returned home, I signed and sent a copy of my book to Ms. G . She liked it enough to read stories from it on her show now and then!
I’m pretty excited to hear my work read by others, and of course, I’m thrilled to have them on the radio!
We’ve discussed recording some of the stories myself, and sending them to her to air. I already recorded my second book, Sacred Coffee: A “Homesteader’s” Paradigm as an audio book, and have long thought about recording Shy Ghosts. This may be the catalyst to move that project forward.
When the link goes live on the poetry episode of Telling Tales with Ms. G, I’ll share that with you, along with more about that evening.
I’ve shared a couple of your stories, and had a great response. Several people have asked where they can get the book, so if you get requests from anyone in Fullerton or towns nearby, I gave them your contact information. I carry it with me. Do you have any more that I can read in about 6-8 minutes? I always have a time restriction so I can’t use the longer ones.
Thanks
Virginia
Virginia, you may be my biggest fan! Thank you for sharing the contact information, and for your great readings. To be perfectly honest, if it hadn’t been for your producer insisting on adding his sound effects to your reading of Whispers in the Trees, I would send the audio to Ms. G for her show. His effects added nothing to your excellent reading, in the author’s opinion.
I used to have a really good handle on how much time to expect reading each story out loud. It must be written down somewhere, I swear. When I find it, I’ll send you a list!