There will be a reading from the Anthology of Appalachian Writers, Ron Rash Volume IV, on Sunday, July 22 at 1 p.m. in the Four Seasons Bookstore, 116 W. German Street, Shepherdstown. Â The anthology is a joint project of the Shepherd University Foundation and the West Virginia Center for the Book.
Authors anthologized in the book will be present to read selections. Zack Davis will read “What’s Left Behind” and Mark Levitt will read his poetry, as well as the poetry of the late Ethan Fischer, past editor of the anthology and poet, whose work is celebrated in memoriam in the anthology.   Also reading at the event will be Ethan’s wife Uschi Nottnagel.  For information call the Four Seasons Bookstore at 304-876-3486.
Ethan Fischer grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennslvania, and attended Cornell University and the University of Pittsburgh.  After earning a law degree from the University of Michigan, he practiced neighborhood law before going on the road as an actor and playwright.  Fischer worked with Bear Republic Theater on the West Coast and later with the Video Buddies 9 Gross National Product in Washington, D.C.  He was general editor of Antietam Review and co-producer of the Rumsey Radio Hour. Fischer’s poetry, essays, and interviews were published in journals across the nation, and his writing workshops, as well as his campus and radio work, allowed him to share his love of poetry and language. Fischer taught literature and creative writing at Shepherd, was director of the West Virginia Fiction Competition, and was a founding editor of the Anthology of Appalachian Writers.  His poetry collection, Beached in the Hourglass, was published in 2004.
The Anthology of Appalachian Writers features the work of both Rash and Fischer, as well as the West Virginia poet laureate Marc Harshman and heritage writer Willa Cather.  The book also features the three winners of the 2011 West Virginia Fiction Competition— Jim Koenig, Paul Kessler, and Jeremiah Shelor—and the award-winning poetry and prose of Grace Cavalieri, Rob Merritt, Jim Lewin, Dave Hoffman, Randi Ward, Sue Silver, Wesley Browne, Jenny Preston, Anna Egan Smucker, Sue Dunlap, Wendy Miles, Stephanie Whetstone, Robert Amburgey, Larry Kinder, Judy Strang, Jacquelyn Markham, and Lisa Res.
