AUTUMNAL REFLECTIONS
Wednesday, October 9
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Resist Booksellers
Listen to the leaves falling from the trees and quiet your ever-busy mind whilst the community gathers for this poetry night. In partnership with Resist Booksellers, the Friends of the Lower Appomattox River (FOLAR) will be highlighting some of the exquisite poetry that came out of the 2024 edition of Writing the Land: Virginia, which we were proud to be a part of. Join Poets Gwyn R.C. Moses and Hollee Freeman for an evening of exploration of the Appomattox River’s beauty through spoken word.
WRITING THE LAND: VIRGINIA
“A poetry anthology partnered with conserved land trusts from across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each of 12 chapters contains poems, photos, and information about actual conserved properties from a land conservation organization or Tribe. They celebrate the beauty and value of conserved lands of all kinds including public wildlife management areas, conservation easements, city and riverside trails and park systems, and shoreline farms. Explore lands you’ve not yet seen, or re-explore familiar territory through poetry and art.”
– NatureCulture
New for 2024, a special edition of Writing the Land: Virginia has just been released. It features a captivating chapter of poems by Gwyn R.C. Moses, who beautifully weaves verses with photos and illustrations that echo the beauty, wonder, and fragility of the Appomattox River Blueway-Greenway. This anthology features stunning works including photos by Siddharth Kumar and Ken Newman, and illustrations by our very own Elise Neuscheler!
This inspiring anthology is a collection of poetry about conserved lands held by a land conservation organization or Tribes across the Commonwealth of Virginia. Each of 12 chapters celebrates the beauty and value of conserved lands of all kinds including public wildlife management areas, conservation easements, city and riverside trails and park systems, and shoreline farms. Readers will enjoy exploration of these diverse lands through this poetry and art.
Friends of the Lower Appomattox River (FOLAR) is excited to be a part of this year’s edition of Writing the Land: Virginia alongside our regional and statewide conservation partners and friends. Dive in with our poet, Gwyn R.C. Moses, for a trip down the Appomattox River as she uncovers life within and around the river.
ABOUT THE POETS
GWYN R.C. MOSES
Gwyn R.C. Moses, Ed. D., is a member of River City Poets, Chesterfield Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta, Inc., and Petersburg Area Art League. Most recently, she is a three times bestseller of a #1 New Children’s Release, Dexter’s Sound Becomes King. She is a National Poet of Writing the Land: Windblown 1, and Virginia’s International Poet of United Kingdom’s, Migrations and Home: The Elements of Place. Poet Moses, being intrigued by the falls of the Appomattox River, has written a captivating chapter of poems that beautifully echo beauty, wonder, fragility, and atrocity. This is an especially meaningful area of land to Gwyn as it cascades against her Alma Mater, Virginia State University. She delighted in sitting on the land and listening to its story.
A photo of Heather Barrar, FOLAR’s Regional Trails Program Director (left), Gwyn R.C. Moses (center), and Wendy Austin, FOLAR’s Executive Director (right).
A photo of Hollee Freeman.
HOLLEE FREEMAN
Hollee Freeman, PhD, is an award-winning and nationally certified educator who has worked for over three decades in K-12 schools, at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as in educational administration. Dr. Freeman has shared her work around creating space for learning in STEM contexts as a TEDx and Creative Mornings RVA speaker, in addition to a host of other venues. Dr. Freeman is a self-published author of five children’s books, and, for the Boston Public Schools, she has written sixteen nonfiction readers. Dr. Freeman Is the Content Manager/Writer for the Small Farm Outreach Program at the College of Agriculture at Virginia State University. She is also a beekeeper, filmmaker, radio host who uses her creative and professional endeavors to create space and cultivate learning experiences for adults and students locally, nationally and internationally. She is the owner and operator of Freeman Educational & Business Consulting LLC, Hollee Freeman Photography, and the Hollee Freeman Foundation. Dr. Freeman is also the co-curator of City Bees RVA, an ecological and experience-based program focused on environmental sustainability and honeybees.
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