Gathering: Homespun Essays from Beech Tree Lane

Arts & Photography

synopsis

Synopsis

We are the makers of subcultures. Of all our communities, where are we the happiest? As an award-winning Southern journalist, Dianne Poston Owens has learned a thing or two about people and community – that people want to know their lives matter, their pets won’t rat them out, and that they are not alone. An observer and recorder of people, places and things, she understands that every day is a new day, and each day is played out in tandem and in gathering. Gathering: Homespun Essays from Beech Tree Lane is a collection of short essays intended to be read for inspiration and encouragement. Owens poses questions and offers photographs that allow readers the opportunity to reflect and pause before forging ahead. Written with charming wit, Southern twang and a deepness that is drawn out by nature, Owens explores what we see, say, and choose, and how we connect to the people we interact with in the “communities” in which we gather.

bio

Author Biography

Dianne Poston Owens is a former newspaper reporter, columnist and editor, serving rural communities in South Carolina for more than 30 years. Though she wandered from her roots, she now lives in the same neck of the woods that her family has lived and died on for more than 250 years ... Along with two goats, at least four chickens, two cats and whatever else lives in the woods!

website

Author Insight

Accepting the gift in front of you

One of the essays in my book "Gathering, Homespun Essays from Beech Tree Lane," talks about receiving a gift from the ocean off the coast of North Carolina. It was a stunning morning. I'm an early-morning beach comber whenever given the chance. This time, though, I was concentrating on a morning run of a certain length and not really looking for seashells and seaweed. The gift of a starfish presented itself. This Christmas as we focus on giving, and getting, gifts, of all kinds from all the people in all the subcultures of our lives, let's make sure we don't miss the gift in front of us. Happy holiday shopping, and don't forget to pick up one, or two, copies of Gathering!

Book Excerpt

Gathering: Homespun Essays from Beech Tree Lane

I’m in recovery. These days, I limit my pillaging. I leave the treasures for others. I share the gifts I’ve been given. I capture treasures with a photo. But I had never, and have not since, found a starfish.

Sand dollars? By the dozens.

Lettered olives? But of course.

Tiny seahorse? Yes.

Starfish? No. Never. Just this one.

There is something uniquely satisfying in finding the something you were not actively looking for but have always

wanted to find.

It takes the right place, the right time. Stars aligned. Ecstasy. The found gift is a treasure.

What does it take to recognize the gift that is present?

What makes something a gift?

What do you collect?

Gathering: Homespun Essays from Beech Tree Lane

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Dianne Poston Owens

Gathering: Homespun Essays from Beech Tree Lane

Synopsis

Author Biography

Author Insight

Accepting the gift in front of you

Book Excerpt

Gathering: Homespun Essays from Beech Tree Lane

Comment on this Bubble