On Saturday, Jan. 20, the N.C. Poetry Society, in conjunction with the friends of Weymouth, will present a day-long blend of poetry readings, discussions and workshops at Weymouth Center for the Arts and Humanities in Southern Pines.

Registration for this free Winter Melange of Poetry, which is open to the public, will begin at 9:15 a.m. Refreshments will be served. Following a brief NCPS business meeting, three concurrent morning workshops will be offered by award-winning, teaching poets.

Tom Heffernan, co-founder of the bi-lingual haiku magazine Plover/Chidori and winner of numerous international prizes for haiku will lead “Exploring Japanese Poetry,” a workshop examining three Japanese literary forms: tanka, haiku and senryu, their differences and relationships.

Heffernan teaches at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg.

Robin Greene, author of three books and professor of English at Methodist College, where she co-runs Longleaf Press, will lead “Present Tense Poetry,” a discussion of the elements of prosody and the ways in which to categorize poems.

Participants with all levels of skill will be encouraged to write and share their own poetic sketches during the workshop.

Ron Bays, award-winning Writer-in Residence at St. Andrews College and author of 14 books of poetry, will lead “T.S. Elliott: Slicing Through Time and Space,” in which examples from Elliott’s “The Wasteland,” “The Journey of the Magi” and “Gerontion” will be discussed.

Participants are encouraged to familiarize themselves with these works and will have the opportunity to share an original poem in which they deal with “wrinkles in time.”

Following a break for lunch, Friends of Weymouth will sponsor an afternoon reading by poet Jaki Shelton Greene as part of the Ragan Writers Series.

Green’s writing has been choreographed by renowned dance companies, appeared in numerous journals and magazines, and is featured in her books “Conjure Blues,” “Dead on Arrival,” “Mask” and “Dead on Arrival and New Poems,” “Singing a Tree into Dance,” “Breath of the Song” and “Blue Opal,” a play.

She has performed her poetry and taught workshops throughout the U.S., the Caribbean, Europe, Central America and Brazil.

She holds a master’s degree in community economic development, maintains an independent consultancy specializing in nonprofit board training, arts and education and humanities, teaches creative writing to marginalized populations and collaborates as a creativity coach with human services groups.

Anyone attending the NCPS Winter Melange of Poetry will be able to share an original poem during open mic readings throughout the day.

Participants may order a box lunch during morning registration, go out for lunch or bring a bag lunch to enjoy at Weymouth. Activities should conclude some time after 2 p.m.

For more information, contact Sue Farlow at Sue_NCPS@yahoo.com.

CSA presents ‘The Bones of a Good Story’

Catch the Spirit of Appalachia began its new series of writing workshops Saturday. The theme for 2007 is “The Bones of a Good Story.”

These group sessions are scheduled for the second Saturday of each month through October.

Writers are encouraged to rub elbows with others of like minds. In these group sessions, author Amy Ammons Garza will lead the workshop in the morning. After lunch, each person will read from something she/he has written, followed by comments from all.

“These workshops are set up so as to capture each writer’s style, striving to complete writing goals by the end of the year,” says Ammons.

The workshop is held at 29 Regal Ave. in Sylva. For directions, please call 828-631-4587.

For a complete schedule of upcoming workshops, go to the Web site www.spiritof appalachia.org.

Cost of the daylong workshop is $35.

CSA is a nonprofit heritage and art organization based in the mountains of North Carolina.

Upcoming group session dates:

Feb. 17 — The ordinary and the extraordinary — Who, What, When, Where.

March 10 — Sensation of Space — Powerful Beginning.

April 14 — Paddling the Stream — Action, Action, Action.

May 12 — Mountaintop — Climax.

June 16 — Trusting Yourself — Conclusion.

July 14 — A Story Circle — Revise, Revise, Revise.

Aug. 11 — Go Further — The Power of Detail.

Sept. 8 — Review, Rewriting, Polishing.

Oct. 13 — Preparing for Holiday Reception.

Each session stands alone.