"The Botleys of Beaumont County" are getting closer.....

     The Botleys of Beaumont County have come to me for proofreading. Actually, half of it. My creative partner Carol Worthington-Levy is formatting it for Blurb, and we still plan a release around July 1. 

     I am excited about it. If you were to have asked me years ago what I wanted to write, I would have instantly replied "Novels". The rough draft of one is only a few feet away from me in a container. 

     Life intervened, and I have no regrets whatsoever. After a long hiatus, I began writing poetry, and the links below direct you to my books, and two I did with Carol. I also include a link to her amazing art and more,

     Botleys I described as Faulkner meets Updike, Vonnegut, and Wallace. The writing is not like Faulkner's but at the core, a distinguished Southern family struggles to maintain its position in a small town. Not right after the Civil War, though: the action starts on Election Day 2008.

      More later!

  

https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Turfa/e/B00YJ9LNOA%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

https://www.blurb.com/b/10335105-all-in-the-family-2nd-edition

https://worthingtonfineart.com/about-carol-worthington-levy/

Happy 80th Birthday, Robert Zimmerman...Bob Dylan!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnDmA7WnSHY

These are some of Dylan's best lyrics. I called him a poet while I was back in high school, and I called it right this time! Happy 80th birthday, Bob Dylan, 2016 Nobel Prize Winner for Literature. In my first book of poetry, Places and Times ( © eLectio Publishing, 2015), I write about how my 12th grade English teacher told me, "You want him to be a poet, Arthur, but he isn't". Mr. Herrmann was not being mean; it actually was a good discussion we had. He enabled me to appreciate literature by letting me do essentially was an independent study. It was a life-changing experience since my goal then was to eventually go to law school.

Dylan remains an iconic figure on the world scene, and especially in America. He has taken creative risks (going electric), writing in different genres and using various types of music, and literally being the voice of a generation, now being heard my several generations after that.

One Week Left in My Birthday Month Fundraiser for Tupelo Press

https://www.facebook.com/donate/367390221335906/1929857547191473/ 

    Help small publishers spread poetry!  For each donation, I will write a poem. Donors give me a topic and/or style. Thanks! Spread the word!

Contribute to My Fundraiser for the Tupelo Press and I Will Write a Poem!

https://www.facebook.com/donate/367390221335906/742693603081789/ 

  That's right! For each contribution, I will write a poem, and you can suggest a topic!

Teaser About the Novel!

     The Botleys of Beaumont County-   sounds distinguished, doesn't it? The Botleys have held a prominent position in this part of the southeastern USA, from colonial days to the early part of the 21st Century. right before 2000, a few cracks appeared in their foundation. By 2008 they are in trouble, but not all of them know it.

     Coming on Blurb in July 2021!

      Speaking of Blurb, check this out:  https://www.blurb.com/b/10335105-all-in-the-family-2nd-edition?fbclid=IwAR3MkGwGtrnbmXtHBoaAOjGZubgzxRh40rvWAAgbkDi-BX-LN9Apo3Axzls

      The rest

of my poetry:

https://www.amazon.com/Arthur-Turfa/e/B00YJ9LNOA%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share 

Awesome Free Mother's Day Concert at Newberry Opera House, Newberry, SC

https://www.newberryoperahouse.com/shows-and-events.html?show_name=tessa-lark-michael-thurber&gclid=CjwKCAjwkN6EBhBNEiwADVfya17UjnSeF1QKpmZ7S7Ften3BF7UoDHf_2Ro982TILZPO4q5yFE1puRoCQh0QAvD_BwE 

Lovely outdoor concert! More about Tessa:

https://www.tessalark.com/

The Botleys of Beaumont County

      Doesn't that sound like a great title for a soap opera, a TV show, or....a novel?

      My first novel will be out on Blurb in two months, give or take a little.

      Stayed tuned here for more details!

     

    

Some Pix from Arts on the Ridge 2021

https://twitter.com/DrTurfa/status/1388662023966412800/photo/1 

   A perfect day with mild temperatures, a clear blue sky, and good people! The pix hardly do it justice!

   Thanks to Phyllis Nichols Gutierrez and all wh made it possible!

    Contact me directly or see the usual vendors fo my books!