KENTUCKY WRITER'S DAY 2010
Friday April 23, Saturday, April 24, and Sunday April 25, 2010
Performers/Writers

For a schedule of the 2010 weekend events, click here.
 

You will enjoy Kentucky Writers' Day at Penn's Store and we look forward to your being part of it.  Bring you original writings/songs and let us hear what you have created.

Dr. H.R. Stoneback

Dr. H. R. Stoneback and the Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society from New York will be joining us again this year. 

H. R. Stoneback is an internationally renowned poet and literary
critic who has published 20 books and hundreds of essays. He received
his Ph.D. from Vanderbilt University in Nashville where he also worked
in the country music business. He has also been a performer/singer/
songwriter for 50 years and as half of the well-known duo, "Stoney &
Sparrow," he has given concerts throughout Asia, Europe, and North
America and released 2 CDs featuring his own songs. The "Stoney &
Sparrow Songbook" will be published in late 2010. He is also the subject 
of Jerry Jeff Walker's legendary hit ballad, "Stoney," which evokes the
troubadour/singer's life on the road in the early 60s, when Jerry Jeff
and Stoney were on the road together. His recent volumes of poems
include Amazing-Grace-Wheelchair-Jumpshot-Jesus-Love-Poems (2009),
Hurricane Hymn & Other Poems (2009), and his anthology of poems Des
Imagistes (2010), which will have its World Premiere celebration at
Brunnenburg Castle in Italy this June, and its American Premiere at
Kentucky Writers Day at Penn's Store April 2010.

KY Writer's Day Show - performances by Dawn Lane Osborn, and other Kentucky Writers' Day Musicians.  Dawn is a poet, song writer, and musician and performs professionally.

Emcees

As a Kentucky writer, and poet, we often survey the geographical locations of our lives.  This journey is composed of physical and spiritual beginnings for all of us. As a writer and elementary teacher, James R. Pope has been part of this landscape as a poet, educator, journalist, and editor. Pope, who has traveled many times to West Africa, is the author of two chap books: For the Love of Pure Water and Alone in a Dark House. Alone in a Dark House is his latest work that he wrote with his daughter, Claire Pope, who helped illustrate the book.  Christina Lovin, a distinguished Kentucky poet wrote about Pope's work, "These are poems of experience and memory in the mature voice of someone who understands the cyclical nature of existence and has found an acceptance of life with no cruel illusions." "The musty space", "the muted darkness","the memory of distant seasons", and "the distant feeling of something giving way" are all lines from Pope's poems that often explain the physical, geographical, and religious locations of his work. Pope, who presently teaches 4th grade at Crab Orchard Elementary School, is the father of Claire Pope, an art history professor at Kentucky's Lindsey Wilson College and Justin James Pope, who is completing his PhD in Colonial History at George Washington University.  Colonial History at George Washington University.	Hershel McKinley is probably best known for his many years on Danville radio stations WKLO, WHIR, and WMGE-FM, as News Director, public affairs broadcaster and morning air personality.  He is also one of the Main Stage Emcees for the Great American Brass Band Festival held each June in Danville.  In what Hershel describes as "long ago and far away" he wrote, produced, directed and appeared in many films for the State of Kentucky in The Department of Public Information.  Hershel has worked in the Lexington and northern Ohio radio and television markets and is a graduate of Kent State University. Born in Southern Kentucky, Hershel called Danville home for many years, but now lives on a farm in northern Mercer County with his wife Shirley, who is a Labor/Delivery RN at Ephraim McDowell Regional Medical Center in Danville.  Hershel and Shirley have two married children, Jason and Mary Beth McKinley, Rachel and Preston Correll and two grandchildren, Gus and Annie Correll. Calling himself a lifelong fledgling novice in creative writing Hershel is a member of Speaking Out and Nomadic Ink writing groups in Mercer County.  Hershel currently does freelance voice work and script writing.  He has been heard throughout the South in radio and television commercials, industrial video voiceovers, audio book readings, and political radio advertisements.  For the last few years he has also been the sound engineer for the Forkland Festival Bean Supper Play. He and Shirley, and their children, have had the opportunity to travel or work in many parts of the world including East Africa, Central America, England, the Caribbean, and India. Photography is a long time hobby of Hershel's and one of his photos was recently used in an advertisement on the back cover of a national equine magazine.
Known locally as "The Colonel" and "The Action Auction Auctioneer", Charles E.  Lancaster, Sr. of the Lebanon Enterprise, age 74, actually began his career as a staff announcer at WLBN in 1953. After graduating from St. Joseph's College in 1958 he joined the likes of Hal Rogers, Claude Sullivan, Ted Grizzard, Jim Host and others at WVLK in Lexington and then on as Manager of WMSK, Morganfield, Ky. A call up of the 100th Division took him back into the service for a year after which time he returned to Lebanon to join his father, Ben,  and Sam C. May in the May and Lancaster Agency, a Lebanon, KY real estate, insurance and auction firm. In 1977, he started The Lancaster Agency which is now owned by his son, Charlie. He is well known in the area as the MC for every Ham Days  Parade since the beginning as well as various and sundry sporting events throughout the year. He is the father of 7, grandfather of 14 and married to the last surviving granddaughter of Jim Beam, Mimi Noe.	Andy Colley is a 16 year veteran of radio broadcasting in stations across Kentucky.  He currently serves as Program Director and Operations Manager for 1590 WLBN and 100.9 MIKE FM in Lebanon/Springfield, along with 102.7 WYSB in Bardstown.  Andy hosts the morning show on 100.9 MIKE FM and afternoons on sister station K Country 105.7, WGRK in Greensburg/Campbellsville.  Andy likes to be active in his community as well, currently serving as president of the Lebanon-Marion County Rotary Club.  He is also the father of two daughters and a grandfather, too.
Bob Symon was born in New Orleans and the family moved to Connecticut and then Los Angeles before settling in Houston.  He attended the University of Texas at Austin and received a degree in Journalism.  He then became a Financial Consultant with Merrill Lynch in Houston.  He returned to school to the Florida State University where he earned a degree in Meteorology with a minor in Physics.  For the past 20 years, he has been a television meteorologist with the past 11 being in Louisville.  While in Louisville, Bob earned a Masters degree in History from the University of Louisville, where his work was recognized with the Deans Citation for Academic Excellence.  Recently, Bob had the cover feature article published in the Ohio Valley History academic journal.  In December, Bob's employer's stock dropped about 95% and that was a bad time for a contract to be expiring.  He is now unemployed and would be glad to entertain any job offers.  In his new found free time, Bob has been making public speaking engagements and doing volunteer work.  He and his wife Cassie enjoy sculling on the Ohio River, taking walks, studying the bible and finding odd places to visit.  This week is was their fourth anniversary.  For their honeymoon, Bob took his wife by train to Glacier National Park in Montana where she was afraid of Grizzly Bears and then to Mt. St. Helens, where she was afraid of a volcanic eruption.  His mother says it sounded like one of Bob's Boy Scout Camping Trips instead of a honeymoon.  Cassie has since changed her mind and vows to return to the mountains of Montana.
"GUEST APPEARANCE"  & BOOK SIGNING Friday Night, April 23 Oak Barrel, Lebanon, KY William F. "Billy" Reed Louisville, Kentucky National Award-Winning Newspaper and Magazine Journalist, Radio Talk Show Host Public Speaker, Investigative Reporter, Communications Specialist Author of 12 books
Education Career Adjunct professor, National Center for Sports Journalism, Indiana University (Fall, 2009-Present) Special Assistant to the Provost (Kentucky State University (2008-2009) State Government Special Assistant to the Attorney General (2007) Executive Director of Communications, Kentucky Commerce Cabinet (2004-2005)  (Oversaw the public-relations functions of 16 state agencies, including Parks, Tourism, Fair Board, Fish & Wildlife, Center for the Arts, and Sports Authority.) Director of Communications, Kentucky Horse Racing Authority (2004) Print Journalism  Sports Illustrated Senior Writer, 1988-1998 Special Correspondent and Staff Writer, 1968-1987 Louisville Courier-Journal Sports Editor, 1977-1986 General Columnist, Special Projects Writer, 1972-1977 Staff Writer, 1966-68 Lexington Herald-Leader Sports Columnist, 1987-2001 Assistant Sports Editor and Staff Writer, 1959-1966 Honors and Awards Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame U.S. Basketball Writers Hall of Fame Transylvania University Hall of Fame Henry Clay High School Hall of Fame National Headliners Club for Investigative Reporting National Headliners Club for Consistently Outstanding Sports Columns Sigma Delta Chi National Award for General Reporting Eight (8) time recipient of Kentucky Sports Writer of the Year Two (2) Best of Louisville@ awards for newspaper columnist Transylvania University Distinguished Alumnus Transylvania University Distinguished Service Award Thoroughbred Industry Awards Three (3) Eclipse Awards for outstanding thoroughbred racing coverage Eight (8) Red Smith Awards for Kentucky Derby Coverage Old Hilltop Award Charles Englehard Award Walter Haight Award for Career Excellence Two (2) Bill Leggett Awards for Best Breeders= Cup Magazine Story Two (2) David Woods Awards for Best Preakness Story Dean Eagle Award for Derby coverage Florida Breeders Award	Freelance Writing ESPN College Basketball Encyclopedia, People Magazine, Time, The Washington Post, The Miami Herald, The San Diego Times-Union, TV Guide,  The Sporting News,  Inside Sports,  The Baltimore Sun, The Blood-Horse, Thoroughbred Times, Business First, The Louisville Sports Report,  Kentucky Monthly, Basketball Times Radio & TV Experience Radio Talk Show Host B WHAS, WTMT, and WAVE in Louisville, Kentucky Recurring TV commentaries for WHAS TV in Louisville and WKYT TV in Lexington Numerous appearances on ESPN, CBS, ABC, The History Channel and CNN Books (author or contributor) Celebrating 54 Years of Freedom Hall (Butler Books, 2010) The Monarchs and The Great American Rock n� Roll Dream (Butler Books, 2009) Lombardi as I Knew Him (Triumph Books, 2006) Golden Boy: The Paul Hornung Story (Simon & Schuster, 2004) Billy Reed: My Favorite Derby Stories (Butler Books, 2003) Famous Kentuckians (Courier-Journal Books, 1977)  Born to Coach: The Denny Crum Story (Courier-Journal Books, 1986) Hello Everybody, This is Cawood Ledford (Host Communications, 1992)  Newton�s Laws (Host Communications, 2001) History of University of Louisville Football (University of Louisville Press, 1999) The Final Four (Host Communications, 1988 and republished in 2003) Thoroughbred:  A Celebration of the Breed (Simon & Schuster, 1988) The Best of Sports Illustrated 1972 (Little, Brown, 1973) A Century of Kentucky Derby Coverage (Courier-Journal Books, 1974) Best American Sports Stories (1978 and �79) Transition Game: The Integration of Basketball in Kentucky (Host Communications, 2002) Keeneland: First 50 years (Harmony House, 1986) Organizations Board Member, The Healing Place Board Member, Kentucky and Southern Indiana Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Past President, Kentucky Thoroughbred Media Past President, National Turf Writers' Association Past Selection Committee Chairman, Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame Kentucky Representative on Heisman Trophy Selection Committee National Turf Writers, U.S. Basketball Writers, Football Writers of America Thoroughbred Club of America Past board of directors member for Muhammad Ali Center, Kentucky-West Virginia Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and Transylvania Alumni Association Personal  Born in Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, July 12, 1943 Graduated Transylvania University, BA English, 1966 Served in U.S. Army Reserves, 1966-1971 Hobbies include golf, reading, politics Belongs to the Cathedral of the Assumption and Wildwood Country Club
"GUEST PERFORMANCE"  Saturday Night, April 24 Oak Barrel, Lebanon, Kentucky  "Take the inventiveness of Boy Dylan, the melodic voice of John Denver; add the showmanship of Garrison Keilor and that's Michael Johnathon." -- Bob Spear, Publisher of HEARTLAND REVIEW Michael Johnathon is a folksinger, songwriter, concert performer, author ... and now playwright ... who has a worldwide radio audience exceeding a million listeners each week. The Lexington-based songwriter has been called a 'Woody Guthrie in a Cyber World' because of the huge growth of his weekly public radio and PBS show the WOODSONGS OLD-TIME RADIO HOUR. (www.woodsongs.com) In the 1980's Michael bought a guitar and a banjo and settled into the isolated mountain hamlet of Mousie, Kentucky to learn folk music. For the next three years, he traveled up and down the hollers of the Appalachian mountains knocking on doors and learning the music of the mountain people. Michael experienced hundreds of front porch hootenannies throughout Appalachia where folks would pull out their banjos and fiddles, sit on their front porches with him and play the old songs that their grandparents taught them. His new album is being released April 2010, called Ravenwood and features support from Sam Bush, John McEuen, dobro master Rob Ickes, bluesman Guy Davis and JP Pennington. The single, "Cars," has been shipped to over 1500 radio stations in the USA. (you can hear songs from the album online: www.ravenwoodcd.com) Michael also wrote the hugely popular environmental play "Walden: The Ballad of Thoreau" about the final two days Henry David Thoreau spent in his cabin before leaving Walden Pond. Over 7,400 colleges and schools and community theaters has performed the play in 41 countries. This month, KET and many other PBS affiliates nationwide will broadcast Walden in celebration of Earth Day (www.waldenplay.com)

List of Other Writers and Performers
 

Originally from the Lakes Region of southwestern Maine, Terry Swett and his wife Sandy moved to Stanford, Kentucky in the summer of 2008.  In his young adult years, he traveled extensively around the United States, painting signs and sometimes singing for his supper.  Those days inspired his first real song writing.  He refers to his early originals as a "Travelogue of Folkish Ditties."  Thirty years later Terry still makes signs for a living and still writes.  His songs may be about bartenders, pool shootin', home towns, love or God.			Paula Sparrow will once again be bringing her "Creature Comforts" to Kentucky Writers Day. She recently published her first book, Kentucky Living's Creature Comforts, a compilation of her columns on animal rescue. The first book of its kind, Creature Comforts covers the state of Kentucky, visiting animal rescues, shelters, and sanctuaries, reporting on the people of Kentucky who have devoted their lives to saving animals: dogs, cats, wildlife, primates, and even elephants. The book was nominated for the 2010 Media Advocacy Award from Pet Groups United. This year, Paula will be discussing the intended-as well as unintended-results of "the power of the written word."
Richard Moore  -  Artisan, Craftsman, Musician / Songwriter presently resides in Ashville, North Carolina.   His grandfather gets the credit for teaching him to play guitar and Johnny Cash for the inspiration to start writing songs at the age of fifteen.  Being reared in a military family, he gathered influences from all over the country; mainly the southeast.  Moore was introduced to Penn's Store when he accompanied buddy and Hall of Fame inductee Billy Edd Wheeler at the 2007 "GREAT OUTHOUSE BLOWOUT".			Joe Crafa was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He became interested in music of the thirties and forties while listening to his parents' record collection and became influenced by the styles of Dick Haymes, Bing Crosby, and several other artists of that era. Joe was the lead singer for several "oldies" groups while living in New York. He played tenor saxophone and performed at resorts in the Catskill Mountains of New York state. After marrying he moved to New Jersy and discontinued any public performances. He moved to Casey County, Kentucky in 2005 and in 2009 was "drafted" by his friends to help start an open mic at Uncle Bob's in Stanford, Kentucky.It was there that he first heard Leah Clark perform. The two tried an unrehearsed song together at the open mic, which was so well received that they decided to form a duet. Leah Clark, born and raised in Stanford, Kentucky, developed a love for music at an early age, learning to play the guitar and sing at the age of thirteen. She grew up playing music and singing in church, using praise and worship music as the foundation of her musical ability. She later branched out and began singing at coffee shops and open mics, and started writing her own music. Leah's writing influences include Leonard Cohen, Nick Cave, and Melissa Etheridge. She is frequently compared to sixties and seventies folk music icons like Joan Biaz and Judy Collins. Leah's melodic song writing and stunning vocals can be described as dream-like and haunting. Although they came from such different musical and geographical backgrounds, the similarity in style and vocal quality was immediately evident. They have been described as having a "magic blend" that captures their audiences.
Singer Songwriter Gary Cooper plays the guitar; Patti Ritter plays the fiddle and they make beautiful harmonies together performing original songs and covers.  They play in restaurants and bars, at parties and on many porches with friends. Folks enjoy their range of musical styles from blues to swing, a little bluegrass to country, and as much rock and roll as two people can pull off.  Home is down in a holler in Cumberland County, Kentucky; in their travels they have played at events and venues in Nashville, Bowling Green, New Jersey, Colorado and many places in between.  Visit their website at www.artmusic.net.
The Elizabeth Madox Roberts Society will be part of the events, in conjunction with their conference at St. Catherine College in Springfield.			Tony Cooper is now a songwriter living in Nashville, Tennessee. He enjoys writing songs and playing music any time he can.  While he likes many types and genres of music, his favorites are the old time tearjerkers.
Born in Hinton, West Virginia Tara Bragg has been singing since the age of four. She wrote her first song in the third grade and has been writing songs passionately since age 15.  She has competed in numerous State Fair contests in Louisville and talent contests in Nashville and performed at a Talent Showcase in  Branson, Missouri.  Tara has worked with Nashville's Bob Hicks and also Rick Arnold on various songs.   Now living in the Hustonville, Kentucky area Tara travels around central Kentucky performing during the week and does a nursing home monthly ministry where she sings to the residents.   Tara is affiliated with BMI as a writer and has all of her songs copyrighted.			Gregg Neikirk is a professor of English at Westfield State College (Massachusetts) where he teaches writing and literature, including seminars in Songwriting for the English and Music departments. A Danville native and Centre graduate with a Ph.D from the University of Kentucky, he has written songs since his school days in Nashville during the 1970's. He is the president of the Elizabeth Madox Roberts literary society, and is co-directing this year's scholarly conference and the society's Kentucky Writer's Day events at Harrodsburg, Penn's Store, and Springfield. Both his twin sons, Adam and Lee, are guitar majors at Westfield State. Neikirk is married to Nancy White Neikirk, also a Danville native.
He goes by Joseph, although his mom calls him Joey and some folks call him Joe. His full name, though, is Joseph Ross Camuglia.  He's of Italian decent and grew up in a small town (of about 5 thousand people) 60 miles north of New York City. The town is called Marlboro. And although they don't make cigarettes there, they do smoke a lot of them! Marlboro is situated on the Hudson River, not too far from Poughkeepsie or West Point. It's a beautiful area of rolling hills and lots of trees, many of which are fruit trees. The area rates third in apple production in the New York State, and this songwriter was fortunate enough to live amidst acres and acres of apple orchards. For twenty years he's been writing and singing songs, often in places that you wouldn't expect, such as pizza shops and barber shops... and grocery stores and laundromats. He also sings and plays at more conventional places like churches, coffeehouses, schools and college campuses. Joseph s certainly one of America's best "unknown" songwriters. but it's probably just a short period of time before some big shot record producer offers him a contract and receives the fame and fortune that he's been so diligently avoiding all these years! In the meantime, singing for the few is what he loves to do. Many albums are in the works. Joseph has written over a thousand songs, and little by little he hopes to record at least a few hundred of them!			Jan Sullivan is a "retired" youth pastor having served in youth ministry for thirteen years. She lives in Lexington, Kentucky with her dog Abby and spends her time loving teenagers and consuming Christian fiction. Jan's first book "Forever Family" was published in July 2008. This is her second of what she hopes to be many more. Modeling her life after Christ, the great storyteller, Jan hopes that her stories will lead young people to make decisions to follow Christ. You can find out more about this author and her other publications at www.AprilWord.com.   Chris Hamilton is director of Lebanon & Marion County Tourism.  He is the former sports editor, former news editor and former editor of The Lebanon Enterprise.
Born and raised on a small farm near Gracey, Kentucky, Lacy Thomas learned to read at age 3 and became a committed wordsmith, as well as infatuated with the stars.  He read enough to design and launch a solid fuel rocket at age 13 (which roared out of sight and was never retrieved.)  Voracious is a good descriptor of his appetite for the written word.  While other students had a library index card, Lacy had his own index card file box.  He joined the Navy hoping to become an astronaut, but flunked out of Annapolis; he did time as a radar man and ship's photographer.  Upon discharge he enrolled at the University of Kentucky and worked in college as a DJ, taxi driver, graphic artist (at WKYT-TV) and staff photographer at the Lexington Herald Leader.  He spent his time off hiking and taking pictures in the Red River Gorge area. He graduated with a degree in accounting and spent most of his life in private industry.  He also found enough spare time to become a fair woodsman and pretty good amateur astronomer.  Lacy is the KY (at-large) contact for The Sidewalk Astronomers, an international organization dedicated to sharing astronomy with the public.  (www.sidewalkastronomers.us/)  GET OUT, LOOK UP, MARVEL! He has spent nearly all of his professional career out of Kentucky but returned in 2002 and hopefully, will never leave.  He loves this beautiful state and the many outdoor recreational opportunities it affords.  Lacy and his wife Brenda are members of a U S Forest Service volunteer group (the Red River Gorge Trail Crew) that meets monthly in the gorge to maintain the 50+ miles of trails.  (www.gorgecrew.com). It is a very well-read group and the discussions around the evening camp fire are always most interesting. Though Lacy is currently employed by the state, he strives to find time to pursue astronomy, hiking, cooking, reading/listening to books and playing with wood.  He makes unique bluebird houses, faerie houses, gnome homes and other strange objects from branches, pods, shells and other objects "discarded" by Mother nature.  Occasionally he finds time to pen his observations of people and nature.
Glenn D. Metzger has been performing music for most of his 58 years, beginning with church choirs from age six.  After taking up violin at ten and guitar at twelve, he played folk and rock and roll through his teen years and while majoring in music in college.  A long hiatus to attend to family duties was followed by a return to performing, both solo and with small groups and a contemporary church music band.  Now, in the words of one of his songs, he's "playing bars, playing jails, anywhere the ship sails." Andy Rice, a native of Pulaski County, Kentucky currently resides in Boyle County with his wife Jane.  Andy's musical inspiration comes from his uncle, who would bring his guitar to family gatherings and perform for the family.  Andy's mother Geneva Rice was also an inspiration as she also played the guitar and sang.  Andy has written two songs, "Which Way to Pray" and "Slipped and Fell in Love".  Andy also played guitar and sang solo in a country band named "Andy and the Dandy's" in the early 1980s.  In the '80s and '90s he played with "The Kings Mt. Bluegrass Boys."			Yolantha Harrison-Pace, a driven advocate for literacy and the arts as a world changing necessity, has been chosen as one of America's Most Admired Top 100 African American Literary Divas.  She is now listed with such historical women as Maya Angelou, Sonja Sanchez, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Angela Davis.  Pace has 2 books now published, WING-PLUCKED BUTTERFLY and SHOUT, MAMMY, SHOUT!!  In addition, she now has 5 plays to her credit, BEGINNING NOW, LOVE YOU MADLY, ATTIC OF DREAMS, THE WHOLE SKY, and GIMME 50 FEET. Classic Harmonies is a family group performing Christian, folk and country music. Our Christian music is comprised of beautiful songs ranging from gospel to old hymns to contemporary. Our folk and country numbers include hits from the 1960's through the 1980's. We strive to remind our listeners of the classic sounds from that era that we want to keep alive.
Blake Ohsol was born in Boston, 1944.  He is a VietNam Veteran who has lived in Massachusetts, Delaware, Pittsburg, and Kansas City.  He  retired as an insurance executive and moved to Kentucky in 1985 to be with Mary Ann.  He became a happy handyman, helping people with odd jobs of all sorts.  He is totally retired now and enjoying grandchildren and motorcycling adventures.		Mary Ann Ohsol was born in Chicago area in 1946, homesteaded in northern Wisconsin and taught yoga 1971-1976.  She was a businesswoman in Kansas City 1976-1979, then moved to Kentucky. She lived at Cornucopia, and built a cabin in the woods at Eftspan.  In 1988, she purchased a 1886 historic home in Lebanon to care for  her Mom, Ann, a stroke victim.  She and Blake  named the building Ann's Chateau.  Ann passed away in 2001 at 91 1/2 yrs. old.  Blake and Mary Ann still rent out apartments and have a hostel for travelers.  Mary Ann writes articles for Women on Wheels Magazine, and Biker Alley Magazine and enjoys journaling.  She and Blake are now enjoying grandchildren, motorcycle travels, and volunteering in the Senior Companion Program and in hospital gift shop.
Barry Morrison, born March 20, 1949, in Red River Gorge, Kentucky, is an American country music singer-songwriter and visual artist. His primary musical instrument is guitar. This multi-talented artist is largely identified with the country rock/Americana genre(s) of music. In 1968 at the age of nineteen, and with the help of then United Artist Records label head Billy Edd Wheeler, Morrison came to the attention of House of Cash Publishing. Wheeler's assistance in presenting Morrison's music to Cash's publishing company, resulted in House of Cash being the first to publish a Barry Morrison song. His recording career began in 1970 and with the release of "Snakey Hollow Stud", a song released on the RCM label which charted on the Independent Country Music Charts at number one. Several other of Morrison's releases charted within the top five on the Independent Country Music Charts during the period 1990 - 1993; with "There Ain't No Country" being the only other of his songs to reach the number one position. Retired from the business of performing and touring since 1993, and although confronted with a diagnosis of ongoing severe clinical depression, the offer to record his music on his own terms for a Nashville label thrust him back into recording and performing in 2007. That year saw him touring in support of his newly released album "A Cold Wild Wind" and appearing at venues throughout the central and southeastern United States. In 2009 Morrison returned to the recording studio as he prepared to headline the 2010 Walk the Line- Good Hearted Woman Tour. To this point the Barry Morrison discography chronicles the very sporadic, but still very powerful musical output of a consummate singer/songwriter. The 2010 Kentucky Writers Day Celebration welcomes him to our stage. WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT BARRY MORRISON 'Morrison writes finely crafted country anthems that are by turn loving, dark and dangerous, and sings them with an amazing baritone voice that sounds like it's seen its share of sin". Betty Ellington Smith, Santa Fe, New Mexico Award Winning Screen Writer "I like the genuine, no frills, minimalist approach Morrison takes with his outstanding music and the unique sound he achieves as a result. The great quality of his songwriting and his voice stands on its own without any studio contrivance". Paul Martin, Nashville, Tennessee Studio Head, Former Lead Vocalist, Exile
Singer-Songwriter, Recording Artist, and Actress, Sarah Elizabeth Burkey, has performed in 18 countries but has called Kentucky home all her life. Sarah plays 11 instruments and her work appears on 15 albums. Sarah Elizabeth is to Kentucky what Fats Domino was to New Orleans. Fats epitomized the sound of the Crescent City in his time, equally giving an honorable nod to his musical ancestry while carrying the torch on to his generation. Sarah does this too, in our context and in our time. Her sound is deeply rooted in the Kentucky hills, with a voice sweeter than a honeysuckle vine in spring and old as the current of the Ohio River. Sarah Elizabeth Burkey was born and raised on Rural Route 4, Kevil, Kentucky. Her unique musical and literary compositions are born of this rich history. Sarah's work has been published in books and literary journals in the US and Europe. The non-fiction book Western Kentucky: Lost & Forgotten, Found & Remembered by Sarah Elizabeth and Ron Whitehead, a travel book unlike any other, is a must read! Inspired by hiking 325 miles for 19 days across Kentucky forests, fields, backroads & railroads, it is the companion book to Sarah's album When The Redbuds Bloom. Sarah Elizabeth was the keynote speaker and featured performer at Ohio University's 8th Annual Women of Appalachia Conference in 2006. Sarah plays the lead in the independent feature film Red Velvet Cake, filmed entirely in Kentucky. This film has not yet been released. Sarah recorded her latest album DON'T DIE YET immediately upon returning from the Sacred Black Hills of South Dakota where she spent a great deal of time on the Sioux Reservation with the International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers. Grammy Nominated Musician, Tony Redhouse accompanies Sarah on this album with Native American flute and drum plus many other instruments from indigenous cultures of the world. Sarah Elizabeth's songwriting drips with passion and a sacred appreciation of life. 2010 finds Sarah recording new albums and giving concerts around the world and on a front porch near you.
Darlene Campbell lives and teaches in Adair County, Kentucky, where she was born and spent her childhood. She shares her home county with the legacies of Mark Twain�s mother, Jane Clemens, and Kentucky authors, Henry and Janice Holt Giles. The country and people of Southern Appalachia color all her memories and identity. With family scattered from the shores of the Cumberland River to the Coal Fields of Pike County, a Kentucky life is the only life she has ever known; therefore all proceeds from her poetry go to fighting mountaintop removal and blessing lives of the peoples of Southern Appalachia. Her articles on Mexican-American heritage and education have been published in New Madrid and Instructor Magazine. Her poetry has been published in multiple national and international magazines and journals as such as Other Voices International, StorySouth, Riverwalk Journal, Tipton Poetry Journal, Mid-South Review, Rogue Scholars,  COAL: An Anthology by Blair Mountain Press, aimed at halting mountaintop removal. Her work is also to appear in Coal County: Rising up Against Mountain Top Removal, by Counterpoint press in conjunction with Sierra Productions as an accompaniment to the documentary [narrated by Ashley Judd], also entitled Coal Country. Darlene is also a novelist who has published two science fiction novels [Dragon's Heir and Journey to Ak'ras]. She is currently working on a contemporary fiction novel set in Upper Cumberland, Kentucky. Darlene plans to give all royalties from the novel to the Relay for Life. She says this is her way of fighting back for all the loved ones she has seen claimed by cancer. "The cancer rate in Kentucky is unbelievable," she says. "It's time we all stood together against that giant and brought it down to size."The novel is entitled, Chippie and is scheduled for release in early summer of 2010. Darlene is a graduate of Lindsey Wilson College and an alumnus of both Campbellsville University and Western Kentucky University. She holds a Master's degree in Education in Rural Settings. In addition to being a poet and novelist, she is an accomplished artist whose murals are displayed on walls throughout the Upper Cumberland region.		Ronnie Payne has been in the music business pretty much all his life. He, like many before him, got started as a young boy singing in Church. Ronnie's first time on stage was when he and his brother James won second prize in a talent contest at Renfro Valley when he was about fourteen and his brother was thirteen. By the time he was sixteen he was playing rhythm guitar with Jewel Noe from Somerset, KY. While with that band, he played a regular live broadcast at WRVK radio in Mt. Vernon. His next group, "Patch of Blue", was formed in the mid sixties while living in Lancaster. They played many current hits of that era, including songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Johnny Rivers and more. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Ronnie went to Louisville and began making his way around the music scene there. He started off in a small neighborhood tavern, but quickly moved up to bigger venues. Ronnie began playing bass guitar and was soon considered to be one of the best in the business. He got to know many of the area's top musicians and was soon doing studio work as well as the nightclub scene. Ronnie played in some of the most popular bands in the area, playing everything from pop to bluegrass. Some of the groups he was with opened for nationally known acts to include Atlanta Rhythm Section, Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels, Shenandoah, Earl Thomas Conley, Johnny Paycheck, Marty Stuart, Alabama, Hank Jr., Keith Whitley and others. Most recently, he was with a great group of players called "Ron Payne and Yellowstone", playing popular country and southern rock. A well respected and seasoned performer, Ronnie resides, once again in Lancaster, KY and has become a great addition to our growing local music scene.
A resident of Lancaster, Dan Waters has spent a lot of years making music. While living in the Cincinnati area, he formed a group called"Dirty Waters". They played together from 1980-2002. The group performed in the greater Cincinnati area as well as southeastern Indiana and Northern Kentucky. In 1981, Dan recorded a single in Nashville's  RCA studio. The song was titled "Warm Sheets Can't Cover up your Cold, Cold Heart" and was released by an independent promoter on the "Soundwaves" label. It was distributed nationwide. Dan moved back to Lancaster in 2004. Since his return, he's played as a street performer at the famed Renfro Valley and 2005-2006 as a featured singer at "Church in the Valley".  He's served as director of music in two area Churches. Dan currently  performs as a soloist, but is also a member of the gospel group "Greg Ives and Sunday Morning".		Larry Ray Hafley was reared in Peoria, Illinois.   A lifetime writer, author, teacher, preacher, lecturer, and motivational speaker, Larry now resides in Cookeville, Tennessee, not far from Dale Hollow Lake.  He has two sons, Shawn and Curtis and four grandchildren.   Larry enjoys traveling, especially when going to fulfill speaking assignments.   Although he is a big Alabama football fan (Roll Tide!) he also cheers for the Kentucky Wildcat basketball team! Larry's family roots are in the Gravel Switch/Forkland area of Boyle County, Kentucky.  He says he is the first Hafley who was raised away from a Kentucky tobacco farm!   His grandmother, Lee Hafley, wife of Earl Hafley, taught at Forkland School for 43 years.  Larry's parents, Cecil and Marie (Coyle) Hafley, were from the Forkland area of Boyle County, but moved to Peoria, Illinois, during WWII.  You may contact Larry via E-mail: larryhafley1@cs.com, or by phone 931-510-9997.
Paul Childers is a singer-songwriter that was raised in Lebanon, Kentucky. Paul picked up the guitar at the age of twelve and within a couple of years has become an accomplished musician. Paul�s music, though based in blues, encompasses hints of jazz and pop stylings. Paul started to venture out and play at local festivals and bars which also included Tootsies in Nashville. Paul has opened for Josh Gracin, a rising country singer. Paul formed his first band called The Blue Age as lead singer/guitarist, but always looking to grow and develop his own sound broke away and formed The Paul Childers Band. He recruited the help of veteran producer and bassist Wayne Pollock and longtime drummer Anthony Key from the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. Since the inception of The Paul Childers Band, a huge following has ensued and gravitated around them.		Call it traditional acoustic blues bluegrass alternative country with regular original words, and sometimes long words, too, put to a melody, and sung with a drawl.   Influenced primarily by old songwriters and blues singers, Aaron Raitiere has been writing and performing original songs since his childhood in Kentucky.  His swampy songs and soulful voice are a pleasure to even the most critical ear.  Aaron's new solo CD "Kissin' Machine" is complete. Hear songs at www.myspace.com and buy the album at www.cdbaby.com.
		Doris Purdom was born in the Forkland Community on Black Lick Creek in 1931 and graduated from Forkland School in 1949.  She serves as Vice-President of the Forkland Community Center , has been chairman of "Forkland's Old-Fashioned Bean Supper" for 38 years and has performed in most of the 38 dramas.  Doris has been married to her husband Carroll for 59 years, has one daughter Dianna Barker and one granddaughter Jamie M. Hamblin.  Doris, along with Shirley Sheperson and Darrell Ellis, researched all cemeteries in the Forkland community and compiled a cemetery book called The Forgotten Past in 1976.  Doris also served on the Forkland Committee that put together the Forkland History of families called Forkland Heritage: Its People Past and Present, 1793-1996, Vol. 1 & 2.

Site of the 2010 KWD songwriters "SHOWCASE"
OAK BARREL
Corner of MAIN & PROCTOR KNOTT, downtown Lebanon, Kentucky
Phone: 270 - 692-1295

 View the 2009 Kentucky Writers Day Events Here

View the 2009 Kentucky Writers Day Performers list here.

For more information contact Jeanne Penn Lane at
Penn's Store (859) 332-7706 or (859) 332-7715, or
e-mail PennsStore@aol.com.
 

It is best to call ahead to check times and cancellations.
Penn's Store
257 Penn's Store Road
Gravel Switch, Kentucky 40328
859-332-7715 or 859-332-7706

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This page last updated 08/28/2013