WED 9/9/26 – 7-9 PM – The North Carolina Writers Network-West and The Brandy Bar + Cocktails present RICHARD ALLEN TAYLOR and GREG LOBAS as next in their series “In the Company of Writers.”
The 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. The live music of John Longbottom welcomes you, continues during intermission, and closes the evening. Sign-ups for the open mic are at the front door.
Richard Allen Taylor is the author of five poetry collections including, most recently, Geography of One, published by Main Street Rag in 2026. His poems, articles and reviews have appeared in many publications including Aeolian Harp, Litmosphere, Tar River Poetry, Rattle, and Sheila-Na-Gig. Winner of the Passionfruit Poetry Prize 2025, Taylor is a multiple Pushcart Prize nominee, former review editor for The Main Street Rag and a founding co-editor emeritus of Kakalak Anthology of Poetry and Art. He earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte and currently resides in Greer, South Carolina.
Gregory Lobas is the 2026 winner of the Poet Laureate Prize from the North Carolina Poetry Society. His book, Left of Center, won the Dogfish Head Poetry Prize and placed second in the Delaware State Press Association awards. Other awards have come from the Poetry Society of South Carolina (Marjorie E. Peale Prize and Peter Pan Prize) and the Carrie McCray Award from the South Carolina Writers’ Association. A 2026 Best-of-the-Net nominee, his work has appeared in New Ohio Review, Tar River Poetry, Cimarron Review, Vox Populi, Susurrus, Kakalak, and many other journals. A retired first responder, he lives in the foothills of North Carolina with his wife Meg, dog Sophie, and tractor Bubba.
Thurs 9/10/26 – 4-9 PM Bucket List Cocktails – When was the term “bucket list” first termed? A brief search on Google reveals that this is a new term – believed to have first been coined for the 2007 movie “Bucket List” with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It probably derived from the Old English idiom “to kick the bucket” which means “to die.” So credit for the current use of the term is given to the film’s screen writer, Justin Zackham. A May 29, 2015 article in SLATE magazine confirms the credit and cites a column in the Wall Street Journal in which Vocabulary.com executive editor Ben Zimmer and word researcher Hugo van Kemenade acknowledge this origination. However, Bucket List was not included in the fifth edition of the American Heritage Dictionary because “it needs a few more years in usage before it proves itself worthy of addition to the big book.” Nevertheless, the term has been frequently picked up in contemporary usage signifying a list of items we have a desire to finish before we “kick the bucket.” A few examples: Glee, 17-year-old Kurt Hummel, took out his iPhone to make note of the things he intends to do before he dies, one being “arrive at school in a hot air balloon.” Tony DiNozzo on NCIS, shaken by a terrorist attack and worried about his mortality, printed out a list which included “date a Bond girl and/or Miss Universe.” Doofus Andy on Parks & Recreation listed on his bucket list “winning the lottery, making the best grilled-cheese sandwich ever….” Jack Reynolds at the age of 105 took a roller-coaster ride with plans to drive a Formula 1 race car for age 106. And Bill Clinton “I want to see my grandchildren grow up.” Well, whatever is on your bucket list, come and join us at The Brandy Bar + Cocktails for our “bucket list.” Bucket List cocktails -Harvey Wallbanger – Brandy, hazelnut liqueur, orange juice; Pearl Harbor Cocktail – Brandy, Midori melon liqueur, pineapple juice; Sex On the Beach –Frost brandy, peach brandy, crème de cassis, orange & cranberry juice; Etter Kirsch, a Swiss cherry brandy, straight pour