In case you haven't yet read Shelby Stephenson's newest collection of poems, Playing Dead, you should. I had the great pleasure of listening to him read at the NC Writers Conference in New Bern last weekend, and here is the response I had to what I heard:
"It takes no keen ear, scholar's mind, or poet's appreciation to recognize that Shelby Stephenson loves language, loves naming things, and loves remembering the specific names of things in a particular time and place. Riprap of a Southern life, his poems recall the intimate names of things that being uttered bring the things they name to life. He does the hard work of memory for us in a way that makes what has been lost ours again forever."
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
New Review of "For One Who Knows How to Own Land"
Joel Ferdon has written a review of For One Who Knows How to Own Land in the new issue of Main Street Rag. Here is my favorite part of what he says:
"For One Who Knows How to Own Land, by Scott Owens, is like walking through a farm on a hot South Carolina afternoon in the summer. His poems ring out with an emotional intensity that reminded me of Andrew Hudgins' collection of poetry, The Glass Hammer."
I hope you'll get a copy of the journal and read the entire review. There are also wonderful poems by Karen Paul Holmes, Robert King, Mimi Herman, David Poston, and many others. Main Street Rag is one of the journals I strongly recommend subscribing to.
"For One Who Knows How to Own Land, by Scott Owens, is like walking through a farm on a hot South Carolina afternoon in the summer. His poems ring out with an emotional intensity that reminded me of Andrew Hudgins' collection of poetry, The Glass Hammer."
I hope you'll get a copy of the journal and read the entire review. There are also wonderful poems by Karen Paul Holmes, Robert King, Mimi Herman, David Poston, and many others. Main Street Rag is one of the journals I strongly recommend subscribing to.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
100 Thousand Poets for Change 2012
Second Annual Worldwide Event Includes Musicians and Poets Striving for Global Change
This Year’s 100 Thousand Poets for Change Adds Musicians; 560 Events Planned in More Than 100 Countries
Santa Rosa, Calif. (July 18, 2012) – September 29, 2012 marks the second annual 100 Thousand Poets for Change, an event that brings poets, artists and musicians (new this year) around the world together to call for environmental, social, and political change. Voices will be heard globally through concerts, readings, workshops, flash mobs and demonstrations that each focus on their specific area of concern, within the framework of peace and sustainability, such as war, ecocide, racism and censorship.
“Peace and sustainability is a major concern worldwide, and the guiding principle for this global event,” said Michael Rothenberg, Co-Founder of 100 Thousand Poets for Change. “It’s amazing to see how many people have joined in around the world to speak out for causes they believe in, and to see so much heart and creativity expressed in their diverse approaches to this event.”
Participants are hoping, through their actions and events, to seize and redirect the political and social dialogue of the day and turn the narrative of civilization towards peace and sustainability. Those that want to get involved can visit www.100tpc.com to find or plan an event near them.
“This grass roots movement has arisen largely due to the impact of social media,” said Co-Founder Terri Carrion. “We’re really excited about the events we’ve got planned this year.”
There are hundreds of activities planned in the United States alone, including:
• A blues festival in New Orleans to help raise funds for medical care for aging musicians
• A concert of Tibetan music and poetry hosted by 100 TPC Free Tibet in Pasadena
• A concert in Nashville's Centennial Park featuring major local musicians
• An Occupy Wall Street poetry group will kickoff a weekend of events in New York City
• An all day festival with multiple stages and over 50 poetry readings hosted by Beyond Baroque Cultural Center in Los Angeles
• A three-day event in Santa Rosa (near San Francisco) that will live-stream events from around the world and feature live poetry readings, workshops and various styles of music and dance including hip hop, flamenco, African drums, reggae and more (more info in the “What Else” section below)
• A poetry reading on the themes of peace, diversity, tolerance, and sustainability at Working Title Farm in Claremont, NC
Poetry and peace gatherings are also planned in strife-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan as well. In Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, poets, musicians and mimes will perform in public spaces and theaters. In Kingston, Jamaica an entire week of concerts, spoken word performances, lectures and workshops will address literacy issues in the country.
100 Thousand Poets for Change began in Sonoma County, Calif. The headquarters’ event will take place at the Arlene Francis Center in downtown Santa Rosa and will feature live poetry readings, workshops and various styles of music and dance including hip hop, flamenco, African drums, reggae and more. The event will also live-stream other 100 Thousand Poets for Change events worldwide and is sponsored by the Peace & Justice Center and Sonoma County Arts Council.
Immediately following September 29th, all documentation on the 100TPC.org website will be preserved by Stanford University in California, which recognized 100 Thousand Poets for Change in 2011 as an historical event, the largest poetry reading in history. They will continue to archive the complete contents of the website, 100TPC.org, as part of their digital archiving program LOCKSS.
About 100 Thousand Poets for Change
Co-Founder Michael Rothenberg (walterblue@bigbridge.org) is a widely known poet, editor of the online literary magazine Bigbridge.org and an environmental activist based in Northern California. Co-Founder Terri Carrion is a poet, translator, photographer, and editor and visual designer for BigBridge.org
100 Thousand Poets for Change
P.O. Box 870
Guerneville, CA 95446
Phone: 305-753-4569
www.100TPC.org
This Year’s 100 Thousand Poets for Change Adds Musicians; 560 Events Planned in More Than 100 Countries
Santa Rosa, Calif. (July 18, 2012) – September 29, 2012 marks the second annual 100 Thousand Poets for Change, an event that brings poets, artists and musicians (new this year) around the world together to call for environmental, social, and political change. Voices will be heard globally through concerts, readings, workshops, flash mobs and demonstrations that each focus on their specific area of concern, within the framework of peace and sustainability, such as war, ecocide, racism and censorship.
“Peace and sustainability is a major concern worldwide, and the guiding principle for this global event,” said Michael Rothenberg, Co-Founder of 100 Thousand Poets for Change. “It’s amazing to see how many people have joined in around the world to speak out for causes they believe in, and to see so much heart and creativity expressed in their diverse approaches to this event.”
Participants are hoping, through their actions and events, to seize and redirect the political and social dialogue of the day and turn the narrative of civilization towards peace and sustainability. Those that want to get involved can visit www.100tpc.com to find or plan an event near them.
“This grass roots movement has arisen largely due to the impact of social media,” said Co-Founder Terri Carrion. “We’re really excited about the events we’ve got planned this year.”
There are hundreds of activities planned in the United States alone, including:
• A blues festival in New Orleans to help raise funds for medical care for aging musicians
• A concert of Tibetan music and poetry hosted by 100 TPC Free Tibet in Pasadena
• A concert in Nashville's Centennial Park featuring major local musicians
• An Occupy Wall Street poetry group will kickoff a weekend of events in New York City
• An all day festival with multiple stages and over 50 poetry readings hosted by Beyond Baroque Cultural Center in Los Angeles
• A three-day event in Santa Rosa (near San Francisco) that will live-stream events from around the world and feature live poetry readings, workshops and various styles of music and dance including hip hop, flamenco, African drums, reggae and more (more info in the “What Else” section below)
• A poetry reading on the themes of peace, diversity, tolerance, and sustainability at Working Title Farm in Claremont, NC
Poetry and peace gatherings are also planned in strife-torn countries like Syria and Afghanistan as well. In Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt, poets, musicians and mimes will perform in public spaces and theaters. In Kingston, Jamaica an entire week of concerts, spoken word performances, lectures and workshops will address literacy issues in the country.
100 Thousand Poets for Change began in Sonoma County, Calif. The headquarters’ event will take place at the Arlene Francis Center in downtown Santa Rosa and will feature live poetry readings, workshops and various styles of music and dance including hip hop, flamenco, African drums, reggae and more. The event will also live-stream other 100 Thousand Poets for Change events worldwide and is sponsored by the Peace & Justice Center and Sonoma County Arts Council.
Immediately following September 29th, all documentation on the 100TPC.org website will be preserved by Stanford University in California, which recognized 100 Thousand Poets for Change in 2011 as an historical event, the largest poetry reading in history. They will continue to archive the complete contents of the website, 100TPC.org, as part of their digital archiving program LOCKSS.
About 100 Thousand Poets for Change
Co-Founder Michael Rothenberg (walterblue@bigbridge.org) is a widely known poet, editor of the online literary magazine Bigbridge.org and an environmental activist based in Northern California. Co-Founder Terri Carrion is a poet, translator, photographer, and editor and visual designer for BigBridge.org
100 Thousand Poets for Change
P.O. Box 870
Guerneville, CA 95446
Phone: 305-753-4569
www.100TPC.org
Friday, July 13, 2012
Saturday, June 23, 2012
HICKORY MUSEUM OF ART HOSTS FIRST ART OF POETRY READING
The first “Art of Poetry at the Hickory Museum of Art” took place last Saturday with poems by area poets Al Stout, Nancy Posey, Ann Chandonnet, Bud Caywood, Patricia Deaton, Anthony Rankine, David Moore, Mel Hager, and Scott Owens. Most of the poems were based on the Museum’s “Sleeping with Van Gogh” exhibit, although one poem came from the “From Billy to Willi” exhibit, and another from the “Discover Folk Art” exhibit. The poets read and discussed their poems standing next to the work of art that inspired them.
The following poem by Hickory’s Nancy Posey began with her viewing of Heather Lewis’s piece, Small Chair, Large Shadow.”
Chairmaker's Dreams
by Nancy Posey
after Heather Lewis's “Small Chair, Large Shadow”
He remembered seeing the street signs and sidewalks in cotton fields--
Ford City, they'd called it, even after Henry abandoned his plans
in Alabama and built his cars in Detroit. Even the plant that came
years later has closed long ago. Now, in his new home, he sees
giant chairs all over town, a civic art project when this was still
the furniture capital of the world, before those eighteen wheelers
hauling containers from China became a regular sight up
and down I-40, and then each night, filling his dreams,
his nightmares, as he tries to exorcise the muscle memory.
Here he is, unemployed after twenty-eight years building chairs,
eight-way hand-tied springs, paid by the piece, his movements
as graceful, as repetitive as any dancer’s, despite the nails between
his teeth. His nights are plagued by images of giant chairs,
yet somehow he never managed to bring one home, made
with these hands he examines now--one still curled to hold the tools,
one reaching for the nails, the coils, one eye on the clock.
The next “Art of Poetry” reading will take place on September 15 from 2:00 to 3:30. Poets are invited to visit the Hickory Museum of Art, view the exhibits, write poems based on the works of art in the exhibits, and submit them to Scott Owens at asowens1@yahoo.com. Up to 20 poems will be selected for inclusion in the next reading. The deadline for submission is September 1. Exhibits eligible to be written from and the dates they will be hung are as follows:
Catawba Valley Remembered, Arie Reinhardt, 6/2-9/16
Landscapes by Paul Whitener, Ongoing
Past, Present and Accounted For, Quilts by Jeana Eve Klein, 9/1-12/2
A Broader Perspective, Robert Broderson, 8/11-11/25
American Art Pottery and Born of Fire Glass Collection, Ongoing
A Mural in the Making, Brenda Councill, 8/11-11/25
Discover Folk Art, Ongoing
The first “Art of Poetry at the Hickory Museum of Art” took place last Saturday with poems by area poets Al Stout, Nancy Posey, Ann Chandonnet, Bud Caywood, Patricia Deaton, Anthony Rankine, David Moore, Mel Hager, and Scott Owens. Most of the poems were based on the Museum’s “Sleeping with Van Gogh” exhibit, although one poem came from the “From Billy to Willi” exhibit, and another from the “Discover Folk Art” exhibit. The poets read and discussed their poems standing next to the work of art that inspired them.
The following poem by Hickory’s Nancy Posey began with her viewing of Heather Lewis’s piece, Small Chair, Large Shadow.”
Chairmaker's Dreams
by Nancy Posey
after Heather Lewis's “Small Chair, Large Shadow”
He remembered seeing the street signs and sidewalks in cotton fields--
Ford City, they'd called it, even after Henry abandoned his plans
in Alabama and built his cars in Detroit. Even the plant that came
years later has closed long ago. Now, in his new home, he sees
giant chairs all over town, a civic art project when this was still
the furniture capital of the world, before those eighteen wheelers
hauling containers from China became a regular sight up
and down I-40, and then each night, filling his dreams,
his nightmares, as he tries to exorcise the muscle memory.
Here he is, unemployed after twenty-eight years building chairs,
eight-way hand-tied springs, paid by the piece, his movements
as graceful, as repetitive as any dancer’s, despite the nails between
his teeth. His nights are plagued by images of giant chairs,
yet somehow he never managed to bring one home, made
with these hands he examines now--one still curled to hold the tools,
one reaching for the nails, the coils, one eye on the clock.
The next “Art of Poetry” reading will take place on September 15 from 2:00 to 3:30. Poets are invited to visit the Hickory Museum of Art, view the exhibits, write poems based on the works of art in the exhibits, and submit them to Scott Owens at asowens1@yahoo.com. Up to 20 poems will be selected for inclusion in the next reading. The deadline for submission is September 1. Exhibits eligible to be written from and the dates they will be hung are as follows:
Catawba Valley Remembered, Arie Reinhardt, 6/2-9/16
Landscapes by Paul Whitener, Ongoing
Past, Present and Accounted For, Quilts by Jeana Eve Klein, 9/1-12/2
A Broader Perspective, Robert Broderson, 8/11-11/25
American Art Pottery and Born of Fire Glass Collection, Ongoing
A Mural in the Making, Brenda Councill, 8/11-11/25
Discover Folk Art, Ongoing
Thursday, June 14, 2012
Helen Losse Comments on "For One Who Knows How to Own Land"
Kind words from Helen Losse about my new book, "For One Who Knows How to Own Land" (Future Cycle Press):
As Tim Peeler's blurb says, this is Owens' best book yet (and yes, I've read them all). Beautiful and earthy, Owens’ poems are filled with bird sounds and various kinds of trees, as well as cows and fields, but they are actually "red dirt" covered memorials to the people he remembers from his childhood in rural South Carolina, especially his grandfather to whom the book is dedicated. Owens, who said he admired "poets of place," has become one.
As Tim Peeler's blurb says, this is Owens' best book yet (and yes, I've read them all). Beautiful and earthy, Owens’ poems are filled with bird sounds and various kinds of trees, as well as cows and fields, but they are actually "red dirt" covered memorials to the people he remembers from his childhood in rural South Carolina, especially his grandfather to whom the book is dedicated. Owens, who said he admired "poets of place," has become one.
Monday, June 11, 2012
Art of Poetry
News Release
Contact: Kristina Anthony
Phone: 828-327-8576 / Fax: 828-327-7281
Email: KAnthony@HickoryMuseumofArt.org
High Resolution Images Attached
Steven Seinberg, Listen to Me (for Van Gogh and O. Paz), oil and graphite on canvas
Brian Mashburn, Conspiracy, oil on canvas
Moni Hill, Birdlandia – Sorrow, Time and Joy, acrylic on masonite
Ursula Gullow, Bedroom on Arlington, acrylic on canvas
Jeff Kinzel, Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles, foil on canvas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2012
The Art of Poetry Tour
Hickory, NC – On June 16, 2012, from 2:00 to 3:30 P.M., the Hickory Museum of Art will conduct an ekphrastic (poetry about art) walking tour through its exhibits. The public is invited to attend this free event. Enjoy 19 poems by 9 poets relating to 21 works of art featured in the exhibitions Waking Up with Van Gogh and From Billy to Wiili.
The poets are: Scott Owens of Hickory, author of 10 books of poems, instructor at CVCC, founder of Poetry Hickory, and editor of Wild Goose Poetry Review; Ann Fox Chandonnet of Vale, author of seven collections of poetry, two children’s books, cookbooks, and food history books; Nancy Posey of Hickory, instructor at CCC & TI and author of one collection of poetry; Bud Caywood of Hickory, author of one full-length collection of poems and eleven chapbooks; David Moore of Lincolnton; Patricia Deaton of Hickory; Anthony Rankine of Hickory; Mel Hager of Taylorsville; and Al Stout.
The artists whose works serve as inspiration for the poetry include: Vincent Van Gogh, Ursula Gullow, Jim Kransberger, Phillip McGuire, Wendy Whitson, Robert Oren Eades, Leslie Walker Noell, Brian Mashburn, Stephen Seinberg, Moni Hill, Karen Lansing, Jeff Kinzel, Barbara Fisher, Angela Eastman, Heather Lewis, Margaret Couch Cogswell, Micah Amos Sherrill, Kristy Higby, Connie Bostic, and Wiili Armstrong.
Future The Art of Poetry tours will be held on September 15 and December 15. The public is invited to view exhibits on the Museum’s three floors, and to write one or more poems based on the work in the exhibits. To be included, the poem(s) should be submitted to Scott Owens via email (asowens1@yahoo.com). Owens, a widely-published local poet and creative writing instructor, will work with HMA staff members to select as many as 20 poems for each tour. Deadlines for submission of poetry will be the first Saturday of each tour month (September 1 and December 1).
The Hickory Museum of Art is located in the Arts & Science Center of the Catawba Valley, 243 3rd Avenue NE, Hickory. Admission is free. For more information please visit www.HickoryArt.org or call 828-327-8576.
Contact: Kristina Anthony
Phone: 828-327-8576 / Fax: 828-327-7281
Email: KAnthony@HickoryMuseumofArt.org
High Resolution Images Attached
Steven Seinberg, Listen to Me (for Van Gogh and O. Paz), oil and graphite on canvas
Brian Mashburn, Conspiracy, oil on canvas
Moni Hill, Birdlandia – Sorrow, Time and Joy, acrylic on masonite
Ursula Gullow, Bedroom on Arlington, acrylic on canvas
Jeff Kinzel, Van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles, foil on canvas
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 7, 2012
The Art of Poetry Tour
Hickory, NC – On June 16, 2012, from 2:00 to 3:30 P.M., the Hickory Museum of Art will conduct an ekphrastic (poetry about art) walking tour through its exhibits. The public is invited to attend this free event. Enjoy 19 poems by 9 poets relating to 21 works of art featured in the exhibitions Waking Up with Van Gogh and From Billy to Wiili.
The poets are: Scott Owens of Hickory, author of 10 books of poems, instructor at CVCC, founder of Poetry Hickory, and editor of Wild Goose Poetry Review; Ann Fox Chandonnet of Vale, author of seven collections of poetry, two children’s books, cookbooks, and food history books; Nancy Posey of Hickory, instructor at CCC & TI and author of one collection of poetry; Bud Caywood of Hickory, author of one full-length collection of poems and eleven chapbooks; David Moore of Lincolnton; Patricia Deaton of Hickory; Anthony Rankine of Hickory; Mel Hager of Taylorsville; and Al Stout.
The artists whose works serve as inspiration for the poetry include: Vincent Van Gogh, Ursula Gullow, Jim Kransberger, Phillip McGuire, Wendy Whitson, Robert Oren Eades, Leslie Walker Noell, Brian Mashburn, Stephen Seinberg, Moni Hill, Karen Lansing, Jeff Kinzel, Barbara Fisher, Angela Eastman, Heather Lewis, Margaret Couch Cogswell, Micah Amos Sherrill, Kristy Higby, Connie Bostic, and Wiili Armstrong.
Future The Art of Poetry tours will be held on September 15 and December 15. The public is invited to view exhibits on the Museum’s three floors, and to write one or more poems based on the work in the exhibits. To be included, the poem(s) should be submitted to Scott Owens via email (asowens1@yahoo.com). Owens, a widely-published local poet and creative writing instructor, will work with HMA staff members to select as many as 20 poems for each tour. Deadlines for submission of poetry will be the first Saturday of each tour month (September 1 and December 1).
The Hickory Museum of Art is located in the Arts & Science Center of the Catawba Valley, 243 3rd Avenue NE, Hickory. Admission is free. For more information please visit www.HickoryArt.org or call 828-327-8576.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
