Barbara Presnell
About
After a long career teaching writing to people of all ages, backgrounds, and interests, I have settled in Lexington, NC, to write and live. I love to walk, particularly around my small town neighborhood or along mountain trails. I love my one-year old rescue pup Colby and my four-month old grandson Ward. I live with my husband in a small brick house beside a park, and I love to gaze out my kitchen window watching all the park visitors every day. I consider myself a social introvert--I love my friends and family, but I'm not good at small talk, and I get my energy from sitting in a quiet corner with my journal on my lap. I'm the youngest of three children, but I don't think I was spoiled as a baby (my siblings might disagree). I've traveled to Italy, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Luxembourg, Scotland, and England. I've been to 42 of the 50 states and Canada and Mexico. I once spent two weeks in a cabin on the Oregon coast with an Alaskan poet. My favorite color is blue. My favorite food is caramel cake. I don't like heights, and you will never see me eat slaw.
Teaching Style
My current writing focus is on essay/short memoir writing, and I have published extensively in poetry as well as essay. The books I'm most proud of are SNAKE DREAMS, my very first chapbook, which won the Zoe Kincaid Brockman Award from the NC Poetry Society, PIECE WORK, which won the Cleveland State First Book Award, and BLUE STAR. PIECE WORK, a collection of poetry focused on the NC textile industry and featuring characters who work behind the machines, was adapted for stage and produced by the Touring Theatre of North Carolina. BLUE STAR, which follows my family during 100+ years of war and peace, was featured in my original play, COMPANY K: FROM ASHEBORO TO THE FIELD OF FRANCE, which was produced by RhinoLeap Productions. As a teacher, I want to help my students grow into the writers they want to be by encouraging creativity, trial and error, and lots of revision. I believe in being hands-on. I believe that practice makes perfect (or at least makes better), and I believe every one has a story to tell.
Curriculum
Good writing begins by reading the work of other writers, so I begin every class by reading from the masters and soon-to-be masters of the craft. Such reading jump-starts ideas and encourages new writers to roll up their sleeves and get to work. I believe in reading my work out loud, and I encourage my students to share their work, especially out loud, with their fellow students. My writing focus is not on grammar or syntax, but on story. Fleshing out characters, creating conflict, setting a time and a place--these and other details are essential in prose as well as poetry. I offer compassionate critique. I believe we grow when we are given an open field in which to roam. I believe in John Ciardi's famous line, "Freedom is moving in harness."
Credentials & Affiliations
Education: BA in English--University of North Carolina at Greensboro MFA in Creative Writing--University of North Carolina at Greensboro MA in Southern Literature--University of Kentucky Awards/Honors: Zoe Kincaid Brockman Award Oscar Arnold Young Award Linda Flowers Prize North Carolina Arts Council Fellowship (2) Kentucky Arts Council Fellowship Artist residencies in Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities, Virginia Center for the Arts, Soapstone, Inc., Wildacres Retreat, Willapa Bay AiR, Hambidge Center for the Creative Arts, Studium at St. Joseph's Monastery