by Liz Maceda
Joan Barasovska is dedicated to serving NCPS members. She is frequently the first point of contact welcoming them into our community. Many of you know her as the host and emcee of the monthly NCPS Sunday reading series at McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro (more on that below). We hope you will take a moment at Sam Ragan Awards Day on May 16th to express your gratitude to Joan for her tireless work in support of North Carolina poetry. Thank you, Joan, for your time and insightful discussion with our intern Liz.
Who is Joan Barasovska?
I live near Chapel Hill and am an academic therapist in private practice, working with children with school challenges. I also teach memoir workshops at a retirement community and volunteer for the Orange County Department for Aging’s Friend to Friend Program. I’m the mother of two adult children and Gramma Joan to two wondrous boys.
Contributions in the community
I host a monthly poetry series, sponsored by NCPS, at McIntyre’s Books in Pittsboro. Readings by three poets with recently published books are followed by an open mic. The reading series is a creative, welcoming place for poets of all ages and voices. The open mic is a safe, supportive space for emerging writers.
For eight years I have served as Senior V.P. of Membership of the North Carolina Poetry Society. I’m the connection between the approximately 600 members and the organization, the voice of the members, the one who welcomes them when they join and when they attend in-person meetings, and the one they turn to with questions and problems.
Benefits from poetry
In my work as an academic therapist with children who are often troubled, I find that reading and writing poetry is an invaluable tool. Because poetry is short, it’s not an intimidating commitment for kids who hate to write; it is a direct route to self-expression that other forms take too much skill and patience for. One of my students ended a haiku, “my heart is a poem.” My elderly memoir students have found, to their great surprise, that they can write powerful poetry!
Published Collections
My first book, published when I was 65, Birthing Age (2018), is about aging and the end of my long marriage. Carrying Clare (2022) is about raising a child with a serious medical issue. Orange Tulips (2022) chronicles my lifelong struggle with mental illness. Unblessed, Unsung (2025) is a history-in-poetry of my mother’s immigrant Jewish family and the effects of generational trauma.
What is the significance of the McIntyre’s Books reading series to you? Why is it important to support local authors?
It’s like throwing a party every month, but with no cooking or cleanup! More seriously, I feel that introducing a wide range of poets—some with a first chapbook, some past NC Poets Laureate, some winners of major NCPS contests, some highly distinguished, some on the NCPS board—to an audience of poets and non-poets is a contribution to the local literary scene. The featured poets come from all over NC. They are nearly all NCPS members.
I believe that open mics democratize settings which are often reserved for the most “important” writers. When I began attending the poetry series at Flyleaf Books in 2012 and gathered my courage to read at the open mic, I felt that I was entering, in a small way, a sacred community. Three years later, until COVID closed live events, I was co-hosting the Flyleaf series with Pam Baggett.
What are the benefits of NCPS membership?
There are too many to list here, but this is a beginning, and the website explains much more. For a $30 annual membership ($10 for K-12 teachers, $10 for elementary to undergraduate students, $500 for lifetime, dues scholarships available), you receive a critique of three poems, an annual anthology of contest-winning poems, a twice-yearly newsletter and a monthly electronic newsletter, four membership gatherings annually (two in-person, two virtual), an outstanding mentorship program; a monthly virtual open mic, opportunities to enter a range of contests and competitions, etc. Check out the website at ncpoetrysociety.org.
What does poetry mean to you? What normally inspires you to write poetry?
When I was ten and wrote my first poem, I understood, with a shock, that I had a gift, a power I hadn’t been aware of. I couldn’t wait to be given the next one. That’s how it felt then and that’s how it feels today. A gift I await.
What vision do you have for the future of NCPS? Are there any goals you have for the end of the year for NCPS?
My vision is always the same: to grow the membership; to create an increasingly diverse membership; to make NCPS a gigantic, warm, welcoming, sheltering tent for the poets of the state; to retain current members by increasing the value of membership. I’d like more poets to be drawn to join the NCPS board, to take their turns as poetry citizens, as servants to their community.
In what ways would you like to see young poets involved in NCPS? Why do you think it’s important for young poets to share their poetry?
The new internship program is in its infancy and already showing promise. I’ve put forward suggestions for ways interns can assist the Membership team and I look forward to their involvement. Importantly, young poets can submit to the Pinesong Awards this year!
I see high school poets boldly reading their wonderful, honest work in events around Chapel Hill and Carrboro and in the open mics at Flyleaf Books and McIntyre’s and I want to hug them! I love them for their courage, the courage I didn’t possess until my 60’s. I want to hug the teachers, parents, and mentors who encourage and support them. Get out there, put your words out, watch how people respond, keep writing and reading good poetry.