I didn't pay much attention last year when the first volume of "Clover, A Literary Rag" came out. I should have.

The second volume is now available and it's wonderful. "Clover" is an anthology of poems, fiction and essays by mostly local writers, many of whom hone their craft in workshops run by Mary Gillilan in the Clover Building in downtown Bellingham. Thus the name.

Overseeing workshops for writers is old hat for Gillilan. A Yakima native, she studied poetry at the University of Puget Sound, then earned a teaching degree at Central Washington University.

Born with cerebral palsy, Gillilan couldn't engage in rough-and-tumble kid play, so she dove into reading, notably "Nancy Drew" and "Wizard of Oz" titles. Her father wrote poetry, and she did too, from an early age.

"Poetry has been my friend, my outlet," she said.

When she settled in Whatcom County 36 years ago with her fisherman husband and the first of her two daughters, she volunteered to lead a writing group at Lynden Community Center. Their stories of early life in the county later appeared in the Lynden Tribune and a book, "Echoes from the Past."

Gillilan next lived in Port Townsend for awhile, but returned to Bellingham and began leading writers' groups at the Roeder Home in the early 1990s. That resulted in two more books, "The Storytellers" and "Tough Guys Don't Give Up," and contacts with writers who still attend her workshops.

Three years ago, when she opened The Independent Writers' Studio in the Clover Building, she met Norman Green, and the idea of "Clover" began to grow.

Green had worked on his writing years ago, but had put it on hold due to business - he co-owns Copies Now in Bellingham - and to family, as he and his wife have two sons. When he learned about Gillilan's workshops, he signed up and suggested some sort of publication connecting her workshops with his foothold in the printing business.

They agreed on an annual anthology to showcase workshop writers and other contributors. Gillilan and Green choose the pieces for "Clover." The second edition features two dozen writers, nearly all of them current or former workshop members.

"We have so many talented, wonderful people here," Gillilan said. "These stories have such merit from the very fact that they're lived lives."

The new issue includes a slice of a novel-in-progress by Green about a farm boy who joins a traveling circus and has a run-in with a magician whose act is used to sell patent medicine to gullible customers. Great stuff - the story that is, not the medicine.

At the workshops, seven to eight writers spend two hours doing writing exercises and reading and discussing their latest work. Green attends a workshop every Wednesday.

"I get to hear a lot of really good writing," he said. "I don't feel like I'm working in isolation."

READ LOCAL

"Buy local" and "eat local" are popular notions for many people in Whatcom County. I'd like to suggest another: "Read local."

Reading the new volume of "Clover" reminded me of other literary works by people who live in Whatcom County. For your own enjoyment, or for gifts for others, here are some of my favorite books - all "keepers" - by local writers (with apologies to the many other fine area writers not mentioned):

"The Art of Departure," chapbook of poems by Susan Erickson. Just one complaint: it's too short. I can't wait for her next book. $10.

"A Beautiful Chaos Demands Energy," poems by Kevin Murphy. Full of brio, whether funny or serious. $13.

"Finding Water, Holding Stone," poems by James Bertolino. Every reading reveals more. $18.

"No Sweeter Fat," poems by Nancy Pagh. Read it straight through, more than once. $14.95.

"Poetry Walk: The First Five Years," winners from the Sue C. Boynton Poetry Contest. The ultimate community poetry collection. $15.

"What the Alder Told Me," poems by Anita Boyle. Quietly powerful. $10.

What: Authors will read from the second volume of "Clover, A Literary Rag," an anthology of poems, essays and fiction mostly by Whatcom County writers.

When: 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 25, at Village Books, in Fairhaven.

More: The first and second volume of "Clover" are $15.95 each, at Village Books, at Copies Now, 810 N. State St., and at The Independent Writers' Studio, 203 W. Holly St., suite 306. Details: 360-961-4477.