Inspirational and spiritual writers who have made their way to
Chattanooga from as far away as Scotland will participate in a panel
discussion at UTC tomorrow (Tues.):
When: Tuesday, February 8th from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Where: UTC (Raccoon Mountain Room, 1st Floor near UTC bookstore).
The lively panel discussion on spiritual writing-to include authors
Barry Graham, Kelley Walters, Ralph Speck and Tim Dempsey-will be
moderated by Lantz Powell, owner of the Literary Agency for Southern
Authors. The meeting is free and open to the public and is sponsored by
the UTC English Department.
More about the panelists:
Barry Graham is a novelist, poet, journalist and Zen Buddhist priest. He
is the author of five books, and his work has appeared in Harper's and
other national and international magazines. Details magazine called him
"one of the real literary finds," and the American Library Association
chose his novel The Book of Man as one of the best books published in
1995. He is the head teacher of the Buddha Way Zen Sangha. Born in
Scotland, he has traveled widely and now lives in Chattanooga. He has
practiced Zen for almost two decades...Spent two years as a monk in
Japan, then decided to become a lay priest rather than a monastic. He as
taught meditation in schools, jails, arts centers, YMCAs, just about
anywhere it might be needed or wanted. He writes for Shambhala Sun, the
main US Buddhist magazine.
Kelley Walters grew up in Chattanooga, went to college in Knoxville, and
took an extended vacation in San Francisco that lasted six years. She
returned to Chattanooga in 2000 and is now a Public Relations Specialist
for the Air Pollution Control Bureau. Kelley earned a double BA in
technical writing and psychology from UT, Knoxville, and an MA in
Spirituality from Holy Names College in Oakland, CA. She's been a
professional writer and editor for 15 years. She's published articles
in Sagewoman and Veggie Life magazines and pens essays on spirituality
for BenBella's pop culture book series, Smart Pop. She also freelances
as a content writer for Inside Networks, an international website design
firm and contributes stories regularly to Chattanooga's alternative
weekly, The Pulse. Kelley is married to Pulse publisher and former
opera singer Michael Kull.
Ralph Speck, His love for writing goes back to the 40's. He has been a
feature writer a reporter and column writer weekly newspaper in
Kentucky. He is a published poet and author of a book published in 2003,
"A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY". He has written two other unpublished books on
the metaphysical interpretation of the stories, parables and miracles of
the bible. He has been a public speaker, facilitator and teacher for
over fifty years. He is a lay preacher, teacher and writer. He is
presently an interim minister in a local church for almost two years and
currently teaches a bible interpretation class. Some of his favorite
writers on spiritual and human consciousness are, David Hawkins, Eckhart
Tolle, James Twyman, Deepak Chopra, Walter Starcke, Thomas Merton and a
few others. He believes we are living in an era in history that will
witness a giant step forward in the evolution of the consciousness of
mankind.
Tim Dempsey has spent most of his professional life living and working
with former prisoners in Tennessee. He serves presently as Executive
Director at Chattanooga Endeavors where he uses poetry in group therapy
sessions. Mr. Dempsey earned a BA in Literature and Philosophy from at
the University of Notre Dame (1989), a MA in English Language and
Literature from Catholic University of America (1993) and an MBA from
the University of Tennessee (2004). He lives in East Brainerd with his
wife and two children and is presently working on the design and
implementation of a temporary employment firm at Chattanooga Endeavors.
For more information about the event or the Chattanooga Writers Guild,
please contact Jennifer Hoff at (423) 309-7464 or [log in to unmask] or
visit: www.chattanoogawritersguild.org
<http://www.chattanoogawritersguild.org/>
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Jennifer Hoff
Grant Consultant
Office of Grants and Program Review
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
615 McCallie Ave.
Chattanooga, TN 37403
Office: (423) 425-4168
Fax: (423) 425-4052
Email: [log in to unmask]
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