BELLAIRE, Ohio – The Bellaire Public Library hosted its Author Festival series on Saturday with West Virginia Poet Laureate Marc Harshman, a Wheeling resident, as the keynote speaker.
Saturday’s festival marked the second of five planned events in the ongoing program. Library Director Aaron Rothenbuehler and Programming and Community Services Manager Chad Webb said the series brings together 18 authors from across Ohio and West Virginia, showcasing a wide range of genres including poetry, children’s literature, romance, mystery, and local history.
Harshman has served as West Virginia’s poet laureate since 2012, when he was appointed by then-Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, and continues in the role today. He has published 14 children’s books, many with major New York publishers, along with five full-length poetry collections and several smaller works. His fifth full-length poetry collection, Dispatch From the Mountain State, was published last year by West Virginia University Press. For many years, he taught fifth- and sixth-grade students in a three-room school in Marshall County.
During the event, Harshman led a morning discussion on children’s book publishing and an afternoon hands-on creative writing workshop open to poets, fiction writers, and nonfiction writers.
He described his work as deeply influenced by his rural upbringing on a farm, but said his poetry extends beyond pastoral themes.
“I’m driven by political concerns, socioeconomic concerns, love—all the great topics of poetry throughout the ages,” Harshman said. “I like to bring the world of poetry to as wide an audience as possible.”
Harshman said his children’s books are inspired by real-life experiences, retellings of Appalachian and Scandinavian folk tales, and moments of sudden inspiration.
“Sometimes a story comes that just hits me over the top of the head,” he said. “I don’t know where it’s coming from, but suddenly I’m scribbling and the next thing I know, I have a story. I wish it happened that way more often.”
He also spoke about his writing routine, describing a daily practice of reading and longhand note-taking before typing up material at the end of the day.
“At the end of the day I’ll type that up, and if I’m lucky, a year from now I’ll look back and that will become a publication,” he said.
Among the 18 authors featured Saturday was Wheeling resident Dave Yaeger, a retired banker turned children’s book author, who showcased his latest release, Izzy and Her Imaginary Friend. The book is the second in a series and follows a young girl and her imaginary companion, Rose, as she learns about imagination and friendship.
Yaeger said he initially questioned whether readers would embrace a children’s author with a long banking career, but ultimately followed his passion for storytelling.
“I thought, who’s gonna buy books for children from an author who’s been in banking for 43 years?” Yaeger said. “And then I looked at all the diaries that I had when my kids were growing up. I’ve always had stories in me.”
Each event in the Bellaire Public Library author’s events series features a highlighted author who leads a creative writing seminar offering guidance on publishing, writing craft, and finding literary agents. This year’s remaining are scheduled for Sept. 19, Nov. 14, and Dec. 12. Organizers say authors and aspiring writers can find participation details and registration information on the library’s website.
