Jacksonville, FL

First in a series of articles about Jacksonville writers

When I first moved to Jacksonville in 2002, I quickly realized the city is a magnet for writers. Our journalists and novelists cover the gamut–from private investigators to quirky cats. Our poets weave verse with themes like history and local places. Our online writers bring you entertainment news and commentary.

I’ve met so many talented writers here—among them, D. H. Eaton, author of the award-winning novel The Osceola Community Club , and poet Michelle Leavitt, who teaches writing at the University of North Florida. Eaton builds her novel around Southern history by way of a cookbook theme, complete with recipes. Leavitt’s work is featured in the Powow River Anthology.

I’ve often collaborated on programs with award-winning poet Dorothy K. Fletcher, whose latest book Zen Fishing and Other Southern Pleasures features poetry and creative nonfiction. Fletcher recently retired from teaching in Duval County Public Schools. She was prolific while she taught. I’m betting she’ll triple her output now that she doesn’t have all those high school courses to deal with. I had the pleasure of reading with her at the Library of Congress in Washington in December.

Victor DiGenti(photo at right), author of the Windrusher series, lives in the area, at Ponte Vedra Beach. DiGenti is regional director for the Florida Writers Association’s Northeast Florida area. Our area has four different FWA writing groups because Jacksonville covers a lot of ground. I had an email from DiGenti last week. He’s in cahoots again with that quirky cat hero Windrusher. The third novel in the series is slated for a spring, 2008, publication date. Windrusher fans can visit the blog With the Wind at My Back. DiGenti’s also tailoring a mystery novel manuscript based on one of the characters in the Windrusher series. That novel won the Josiah W. Bancroft Novel Contest. Windrusher is a favorite in Florida classrooms.

I met Janelle Thomas at the first Wordstream workshop Dorothy K. Fletcher and I facilitated. Thomas says, “ I am currently building an entertainment online resource called Entertainment Wire. On this site, I cover entertainment news, reviews and interviews. So far, I’ve interviewed people ranging from a lawyer for high profile entertainers to the author who claims to have originally written the motion picture screenplay for The Matrix.” To read, visit Thomas’s Web site Entertainment Wire.

Jacksonville is also home to Mudlark, the widely known literary site edited by Dr. William Slaughter, poet and professor at the University of North Florida. I’ve been trying to catch up with Slaughter for months, in hopes of interviewing him for my column at The Writer.

Jill Terry is a blogger and author who writes in different genres. You can visit her author site where there’s lots to read.

These are but a few of the talented individuals working in the parallel universe of Jacksonville letters. Take time to drop by their sites and enjoy the musings and creative compositions.

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