The public should not fear the "f" word despite its implications. Not the "f" word associated with George Carlin's seven dirty words, but the one associated with music genres: folk.

"People sometimes get preconceived notions about folk music," songwriter Jim Colbert said.

The Bellefonte Unplugged Songwriter Series, founded by Colbert, will host award-winning folk songwriter Joe Crookston at 7 tonight at Tempest Studio, 106 W. Bishop St. in Bellefonte. Crookston will hold a songwriting workshop and perform afterward, Colbert said.

The songwriting workshops are intimate, Colbert said. Usually, between 10 and 25 people attend the workshops, though the venue can accommodate more. The ages also range from 13 to mid-60s and include all different skill levels, he added.

Often people will bring their own instruments and perform their songs to get feedback from others in the workshop, Colbert said.

Colbert, also a songwriter, was awarded a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts to hold the Bellefonte Unplugged Songwriting Series. This workshop is the second official installation of the series this year, but Colbert has held informal workshops before, he added.

Resourcefulness with words and close attention to how they are used is key to songwriting, Crookston said.

"I'm a super perfectionist when it comes to writing stories," he said. "There is not one word that I use that doesn't need to be used."

Colbert plans on continuing the series, he added.

"It's a niche market at best," Colbet said, "If we just get enough people to come, it will work out."

Despite the connotations of folk music, Colbert describes Crookston as an acoustic singer-songwriter and a good storyteller.

Crookston said he has been writing songs since he was 14 years old. He was inspired to become a songwriter while he was enrolled in Kent State University studying classical guitar. He attended the Kent State Folk Festival and soon after decided he also wanted to produce folk music. Two years later, Crookston said he dropped out of the university to pursue his dreams.

"I do this because I love it. It's not about being rich and famous," he said. "I make a living doing this, I have a solid following, but I'm not going to be on MTV or Fox News."

Crookston won a Rockefeller Foundation grant in 2006. During a 14-month period he met people in New York and spent time with them to create songs based on their stories. He taught various songwriting workshops at the time as well, he said.

His new album, Able Baker Charlie and Dog, is mostly comprised of these songs from this experience. Crookston did not want to associate it too much with New York because he thought that would detract from the purpose of the songs.

"I don't think the songs are about New York at all," Crookston said. "They are about people."

Crookston draws from his roots in classical training as well as his experiences with other folk artists and described his music as more dark and melodic.

"There is a trance quality to it," he said, "It doesn't sound like the banjo."