Susan Laughter Meyers

Susan Laughter Meyers, 72, of Ridgeville, South Carolina, wife of Ishmael "Blue" Jewel Meyers entered into eternal rest Sunday, June 25, 2017. Her memorial service will be held Friday, June 30, 2017 in Circular Congregation Church at 2:00 p.m. Arrangements by J. Henry Stuhr, Inc. Downtown Chapel.

Susan was born May 19, 1945 in Albemarle, North Carolina, daughter of the late Robert Edgar Laughter and Mae Irvin Laughter. She was a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earned her Masters at East Carolina University and was a member of the first MFA class at Queens University of Charlotte, graduating in 2003 with a concentration in poetry.

Susan was a welcoming presence to all she encountered and an enthusiastic supporter of other poets. She always had an eye for the small details like line endings, lines, the right sound, the right phrase, not just in poetry but in life. She had a gift and love of words...spoken and written. Susan could write a poem, advise a friend, mentor a young poet, lead an organization, or defuse a crisis all with grace, wisdom, patience, and persistence. Her distinguished record of unselfish service is as long as her impressive list of publications, prizes, readings, and workshops.

Susan was very active in the Poetry Society of South Carolina and North Carolina, including terms as president. She was the cofounder of the Litchfield Tea & Poetry Series, now in its eleventh year. Susan served as President of the North Carolina Poetry Society (NCPS) from 1998 to 2000. Her distinguished record of quiet, unselfish service the NCPS began in 1991. Her first position on the Board of Directors was as a Member-at-Large from 1994 to 1995. She also served as Regional Workshop Committee Chair during that period and moved into the position of Vice President in 1995. Susan played a key role in the planning, publication, and promotion of the anthology Word and Witness: 100 Years of North Carolina Poetry, as well as in preparations for the Touring Theatre Ensemble of North Carolina's performance based on that anthology. Her wise and steady leadership brought the Poetry Society through some major transitions into an even stronger organization. After leaving office, Susan continued her service to the NCPS by critiquing poems of new members and proofreading the newsletter, as well as advising officers and serving on numerous committees. She has taught numerous workshops for the NCPS, for the Press 53 Gathering of Poets in Winston-Salem, and at other venues throughout the state. In 2007 the NCPS dedicated Pinesong, the annual anthology of award-winning poems, to Susan in recognition of her outstanding work for poetry and poets in North Carolina. Susan had chaired the committee that recommended changing the name of the annual anthology from Award Winning Poetry to Pinesong.

Susan was also active in other literary organizations, including the North Carolina Writers Conference where she served as Chair in 2009 and Vice-chair (2008) and Secretary/Treasurer (2007). In 2013 Susan won the North Carolinian Literary Review's James Applewhile Prize for Poetry. She twice won Crucible's Sam Ragan Poetry Prize and in 1996 won the NC Poetry Society's Thomas H. McDill Award. Her poems have appeared in the Southern Review, Crazyhorse, Tar River Poetry, and many other journals and her work has been featured online at Poetry Daily and Verse Daily. Susan won many awards and prizes including the 2013 Edward Stanley Award for Prairie Schooner, the 2013 SC Academy of Author's Carrie McCray Nickens Fellowship, and the 2011 Verna Ubben Fellowship to Virginia Center or the Creative Arts. Her poems have appeared in major journals, including The Southern Review, Prairie Schooner, Beloit Poetry Journal, Crazyhorse, as well as on-line sites, such as Poetry Daily, Verse Daily and Ted Kooser's American Life in Poetry. Poems have appeared in several anthologies, a most recent is The Crafty Poet l and ll, the latter including an interview.

Susan is survived by her husband of 41 years, Ishmael; step-son, Danny C. Meyers of Irmo, SC; step-daughters: Renee Meyers Kirby (Dickie) of Timmonsville, SC and Novella Meyers Prince (Jim) of Mt. Pleasant, SC; sister, Janice L. Sullivan (John) of Greensboro, NC; sister-in-law, Nadine Laughter of Richmond, VA; grandchildren: Danny Blue Meyers (Joy) of Germany, Jacob Meyers and Kelsey Meyers both of Columbia, SC, Darol Kirby (Stacy) of Columbia, SC, Kylie Kirby and Joseph Kirby (Jordan) all of Florence, SC, Philip Prince of New York and Walker Prince of Washington, DC; six great-grandchildren; one great-great-grandchild; and several nieces and nephews.

She was predeceased by her brother, Robert Gene Laughter.

Memorials may be made to the Poetry Society of South Carolina, P.O. Box 1090, Charleston, SC 29402.