Writer, Poet, Artist
Welcome to my newsletter about -- writing, poetry, art, life, death, and disability.
Introduction
I'm a emeritus (retired) professor of Communication Studies at UNC-Charlotte. For the past 18 years, I taught classes and wrote scholarship on end-of-life communication, and communication and disability, children's health, and power. I retired in January (2022) and since then have returned to creating -- writing a memoir, publishing a poetry book, and creating art. Over time in this newsletter, I'll talk to you about all of those things -- my academic scholarship, my newest book, my poetry, and my art.
In 2021, I lived in Cork, Ireland for four months. My four trips to Ireland inspire my creative work and I'll likely write about that in this newsletter as well.
Art
I've done art and crafts my entire life. My great aunt Mamie was a china and oil painter and I spent a week with her each summer learning to draw and paint in her beautiful sunny California studio. Throughout my life, I've painted in acrylics, watercolor, and pastels. I've also created both wheel-thrown and hand built pottery. I've also, at various times, needlepointed, cross-stitched, crocheted, rug hooked, sewn, and quilled.
Today, my mediums of choice are watercolor (usually with an ink and wash technique), and clay art -- mostly hand built but some wheel thrown and altered work. My clay pieces are non-functional and semi-functional sculptural work. Over the past decade, I've studied watercolor and clay with amazing artists -- Laura Poss, Adele Wayman, and others at the Sawtooth Center for Visual Arts in Winston-Salem, NC, and with Adrian Wistreich in Kinsale, Ireland, and Pam Brewer in Newland, NC.
The picture above is one of my newest paintings -- a tiny 3 x 4 painting I did this week, based on a photograph I took in the Burren, Galway, Ireland several years ago.
Writing
In my academic writing, I've written, co-written, and co-edited 11 books and published dozens of journal articles on end-of-life communication, children's mental health, and research methods.
Now, I'm doing non-academic writing -- currently, a memoir of the four months in 2021 I lived in Ireland to conduct research and connect with my ancestors. I'm about 80% done with my first draft, and you'll be reading thoughts and excerpts from that in this newsletter.
Poetry
I've been writing poetry since I was a child. I won honorable mention in a national poetry contest when I was in 7th grade. More recently, my poems have been published (or accepted for publication) in Penwood Review; North Carolina Bards Against Hunger; 10th Year Anniversary Bards Against Hunger Anthology; Families, Systems, & Health; Moonstone Arts Center Ekphrastic Poetry Anthology; Stardust Review; and The Autoethnographer. I’ve been very fortunate to study poetry in workshops and classes with poets Christine Valters-Paintner, Judyth Hill, Morrie Creech, Rusty Morrison, and David Koehn.
I'm excited to announce I just committed to have Wild Rising Press publish my first poetry manuscript. You'll see excerpts from these poems, and some entire poems, on this newsletter.
Until the next post....
I intend to post excerpts from things I'm writing, or paintings, or updates, or thoughts I'm pondering. I also intend to post excerpts from past writings. And, I look forward to your comments and feedback, and suggestions for future posts. I hope these posts will make you think, or inspire you, or bring a bit of joy to your world.
In closing
I'm glad you've found my newsletter. Please feel free to leave comments. Please click the "Subscribe" button at the bottom of this page to receive my posts in your email box. I promise not to sell or share your information.
©Christine Salkin Davis, 2023