Though Scott Owens wasn't born and raised in Catawba County, you would never know it by his poetry-so intimately connected with our county that you see and feel the images all around you as you read.
He loves our country roads, small-town shops, crazy Hickory streets, open vistas, and iconic landmarks.
His poetry, complemented beautifully by Clayton Joe Young's photography, takes the reader on a trip through our Foothills home-and what a pleasure that journey is!
- Austin Allran, Author of The Legend of the Isle of Cats,
Catawba County Commissioner and Former State Senator
'Round Here is a testament to the beauty and significance of Catawba Valley. Through the harmonious blend of poetry and photography, Scott Owens and Joe Young invite readers to immerse themselves in the essence of this place - our home! - to appreciate its history and the embedded connections forged between its people and the land. It is a celebration of the enduring spirit of a community and a tribute to the power of "place."
- Louise Humphrey, Retired Director of the Hickory Public Library
Not the dry history of when and where, these poems and images do something miraculous; they connect us to the past in a sensory way. William Faulkner once wrote about the past not being dead, in many ways not even past, and Scott's pen and Joe's eye demonstrate how such is possible. Their stellar work has made local history accessible in a new and vital way.
- Richard Eller, Author and Catawba County Historian
As a lifelong resident of Catawba County, this book of poems and pictures has magically transported me to the time of my youth. I read Scott's words and look at Joe's photos, and I'm a small child again. I reminisce on my loving Ridgeview Community. I remember my family working at the Howard Johnson's on Highway 64-70. My soul is further stirred remembering how I met my wife here, raised my family here, and embarked on a career in Law Enforcement here. Overpowering in its beauty, this collection of poetry and striking images captures the soul of who we are and where we come from.
- Steve Hunt, Retired City of Hickory Law Enforcement officer
Scott Owens is the author of 20 collections of poetry and recipient of awards from the Academy of American Poets, the Pushcart Prize Anthology, the Next Generation/Indie Lit Awards, the NC Writers Network, the NC Poetry Society, and the Poetry Society of SC.
His poems have been featured on The Writer's Almanac eight times, and his articles about writing poetry have been used in Poet's Market four times. He has twice been nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award and to be NC Poet Laureate.
Owens holds degrees from Ohio University, UNC Charlotte, and UNC Greensboro. He is Professor of Poetry at Lenoir-Rhyne University, and former editor of Wild Goose Poetry Review and Southern Poetry Review. He owns and operates Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse and Gallery and coordinates Poetry Hickory in Hickory, NC.
Clayton "Joe" Young is the author of 11 books and is an award-winning photographer with a background in photojournalism. Young's work has been exhibited throughout the United States in solo and juried exhibitions.
In 2014, Young earned the Certified Professional Photographers (CPP) designation from Professional Photographers of America
In May of 2015, Young earned a MFA in Photography from the Savannah College of Art and Design. He is the Director and Senior Professor for the Photographic Technology Program at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, NC. www.joeyoungphoto.com
