Help Lucille Publish Her First Poetry Book!

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Help Lucille Publish Her First Poetry Book!

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Hello, friends, family, and poetry lovers,

I am publishing my first poetry book, and I need your help to fund the project!

The Project:
Thank the Sweet Waters is an intimate, quiet collection of many love poems and moments of slowing down to touch life a little more gently. The world keeps speeding up and getting louder and splitting our attention into smaller and smaller fragments. Poetry can be a way to shift into a lower gear where we can relearn focus and regain depth.

This book has a tremendous amount of 'me' in it, AND it explores universal themes of love, relationship, doubt, discovery, and connection with the natural world. I hope for it to be a balm in these times that often seem to leave our cheeks wind-burned and our throats dry.

The Story:
Last December, I stepped away from my job as a garden manager and into choiceful unemployment. In large part, this was a move to create space for exploring creative writing in earnest which I have not done since my time in college. Over these past few months, I've compiled poems written during the last three-plus years into a collection for publication. While writing has always been woven into my life, *sharing* that writing is an entirely different journey.

Throughout the past few years, I have shared poems and essays through my newsletter , and poetry has been my primary form of writing during this busy time of life. Now, I want to give these poems the attention they need to become a fully formed book.

There are so many ways to share in our modern world, but a physical book has power and value that withstands the speed and flux of the digital swirl. A book provides a single, uninterrupted activity. No distractions wait in other tab, and no *ding* of notifications pulls your eyes away from the words. You can gift and lend books to people. You can write on the pages. You can feel them.

Hi, I'm Lucille!
If you don't know me, here is a brief rundown of what I'm about:
I grew up in Black Mountain, North Carolina just outside of Asheville and currently live in Weaverville, NC with my wife, Morgan, our dog, Peaches, and two cats. I studied Creative Writing in college and graduated from UNC Asheville in 2020. I have been working in agriculture-related jobs for many years, including local farms and the Dr. John Wilson Community Garden in Black Mountain. I am passionate about real food, local culture, deep connection, and the natural world. I spend many nights a week dancing, and I am in the kitchen daily making strange drinks and cooking up items from the farmers' market. You can often find me exploring the trails through our beautiful mountains, petting flowers with a soft finger and greeting the woodland sprouts.

Reading and writing have always been ways for me to expand my own capacities for compassion, challenge my ideas about the world, process my experiences, and grow in my ability to communicate the goings-on inside my own little head to others. I particularly love poetry for it's ability to distill ideas into the most succinct form-- the fewest words for the deepest impact. I'm excited to take the step from Writer to Author through the publishing of this book.

The Process:
So, I am working with Otterpine, a small indie publishing company local to Asheville. They are a handful of talented women and have the capacity to tailor a package to each author’s needs. Because I previously worked part-time for Otterpine, I have an existing relationship with them and trust the quality of their work. Also, the funds I spend on this project will go right back into WNC’s local economy— which needs it more than ever right now.

In order to make this happen though, I need to come up with a not insignificant chunk of money!

My hope is to raise with the help of my community and artist grants enough to pay the team at Otterpine for their assistance with layout, printing, marketing, consulting, etc. and to fund the first print of 100 books. Our goal is to have the book out in fall of 2025.


Any amount is dearly appreciated! As an emerging writer, your support will not only help me to practically reach this goal of publication, but also provide encouragement as I dedicate more of my time to artistic, poetic endeavors.

Other ways to support:
- share this call for support with others who love poetry and the arts and may want to give a new writer a little boost
- get (or stay) on my newsletter for updates about the book, other writings, and local readings
- buy the book when it is here!
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    Organizer

    Lucille Nelson
    Organizer
    Weaverville, NC
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