Wed 6/10/26 – 7-9:00 PM – NC Writers Network hosts authors Jeff Davis and Jane Sperry Jones in the literary series “In the Company of Writers.” “In the Company of Writers’” program offers a series of personal and conversational dialogues featuring guest writers/poets followed by an open mic forum. These inspirational gatherings will elucidate and entertain those attending. The guest authors speak from 7-8 PM with an open mic from 8 -9 PM. Original music welcomes you, continues during intermission, and closes the evening. Sign-ups for the open mic sheet are posted at the entry.
Jeff Davis attended UNC-Greensboro’s MFA program in creative writing and studied with Robert Creeley at the State University of New York at Buffalo. His poems have appeared in Asheville Poetry Review, the Nantahala Review, Kakalak, The Hole-In-The-Head Review, and other places. His book Natures: Selected Poems, 1972 – 2005 (2006) was selected by Katherine Stripling Byer, then Poet Laureate of North Carolina, as a North Carolina Notable Book for 2006. He’s also written extensively on Charles Olson, Robert Creeley, and the other Black Mountain College poets. Since 2005 he has hosted the radio program Wordplay, which celebrates poets, writers of creative prose, story tellers, ballad singers, and other folks with interesting approaches to language.
Jane Sperry Jones is a theatre professional and counselor who has just finished publishing Confessions of an Amnesiac, a counterculture creative non-fiction narrative, and is preparing The Raw Collection of sketchy poetry for publication as well. She has also written and submitted an edgy rock filmscript and a stage play with humor and dark irony about a family suicide. She has founded and operates a tax-exempt non-profit called Zelda Divine Ink for struggling writers. She has taught English and drama in Brooklyn near the projects with her classes being instrumental in the school's transformation into Brooklyn High School of the Arts. She is currently working on a quirky feature film. She lives and writes near Asheville, NC. Website: Janesperryjones.com.
Thurs 6/11/26 – 4-9 PM – The first rail line into Henderson County began in Charleston, SC and ran through the town of Columbia, SC before pushing up the Saluda grade from Spartanburg into Henderson County. The railroad running from Charleston into the rugged and steep mountain terrain of Western North Carolina would not reach Hendersonville until 1879, and later, Asheville in 1886. The locals were probably in the crowds that cheered when the train came roaring through on July 4, 1879. The original tracks of the Spartanburg-Asheville Railroad Company ran then, as today, through Howard’s Gap and parallel to the old Cane Creek Road. Approaching the equally steep grade from Asheville’s east side was the Richmond-Danville Railroad line that led from Marion & Old Fort and was not completed until 1889. The first rail line in North Carolina was chartered by the Wilmington-Raleigh Railroad Company in 1834 and an initial 161 miles of track was laid between Wilmington and Weldon in Halifax County. When completed in 1840, it was touted as the longest railroad in the world at that time.
As the iron horse ploughed through the once-isolated mountain hollers and passes, it brought with it easy accessibility to the mountain’s resources, and the thick virgin timbered forests fell to the aggressive logging titans. The locals would have been thrilled by the first signs of industrialization and cheered the initial economic boost to the community. Tragically, it became increasingly apparent that excessive commercial activities caused fires, floods, deforestation, and catastrophic erosion. The area was changing and so would the mountain’s close-knit families.
The Saluda Grade – CB Frost, Chambord, lemonade; Norfolk-Southern – Douglas fir, curacao, fresh squeezed lemon juice; Richmond-Danville – CB Frost, Frangelico, simple syrup, fresh brewed hot coffee, whipped cream (optional); North Carolina-Virginia – Applejack, Cointreau, fresh squeezed lemon juice; 1/2 price Cognac flight
Wed 6/17/26 – 7 – 9:00 PM – WNC Songwriter Sessions returns with The Graybeards (aka Rob Northrop and Larry Tambini) and Mike Hollon so put it on your calendar!