I'll be giving a few readings and leading a few workshops this spring. Here is a general schedule. Email me at asowens1@yahoo.com or call at 828-234-4266 if you're interested and want more details. Thanks to everyone who supports poetry by making these events possible as well as to those who attend.
14 January – April Creative Writing Workshop, Hickory, NC
18 January Joe Milford Poetry Show, http://www.thejoemilfordpoetryshow.com/
26 January Book Release Party for Shadows Trail Them Home, Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse, Hickory, NC, 2-4
28 February Scott Owens, Rand Brandes, and Susan Woodring at Bethlehem Library, Bethlehem, NC, 6-8
21 March Lazy Lion Bookstore, Fuquay-Varina, NC, 6-8
6 April Blue Ridge Writers Conference, Blue Ridge, GA, Workshops and Reading
14 June NetWest Writers Night Out, Hiawassee, GA
15 June Writers’ Circle Workshop, Hayesville, NC
23 June McIntyre’s Fine Books, Pittsboro, NC, 2:00
Monday, January 7, 2013
Thursday, January 3, 2013
America the Hyphenated
An old essay of mine, written in 1993, reprinted here so my students will have access to it.
AMERICA THE HYPHENATED
I am a white (partially Native-American, partially African-American), middle-class (originally poverty-class), Southern, Piedmont, rural (recently become urban, more recently become small-town), Pantheist-Deist (partially Reformed Jewish, partially atheist, raised fundamental Baptist), Independent (sometimes Democrat, sometimes Republican), Existentialist, heterosexual, Kennedy-era, male American. My family is Welsh, Creek, German, Cherokee, Black, English, Scots, middle-class, lower-middle-class, lower-class, urban, rural, agrarian, industrial, military, Fundamentalist, Baptist, Agnostic, Republican, Democrat, Socialist, and Anarchist. I have never allowed myself to feel like the victim (and I do think the image would victimize each of us if we allowed it) of a “melting pot.” I embrace those parts of my Celtic heritage with which I have been able to identify. I embrace those parts of my Native-American heritage with which I have been able to identify, as I do those parts of my Southern, rural, African-American, and Judeo-Christian heritage with which I have been able to identify. I value those parts of my personality which are commonly seen as “masculine,” though I also value those parts of my personality which are commonly seen as “feminine,” and those parts which seem neither masculine nor feminine or both masculine and feminine. I embrace those parts of my American heritage with which I have been able to identify. I have never let any of these influences “melt” away. I embrace, in short, all of my contraries.
America is a multi-national society. As African-American poet, Ishmael Reed, says, “The world is here.” It has been arriving since long before the middle-European “discovery” of the continent in 1492 and hasn’t slowed down since. America is a multi-religious society. Freedom of religion, after all, was one of the primary reasons for the European migration to the Americas. America is a society of many economies. Such diversity of economic investment has always kept us strong while other, more monolithic economies have weakened or collapsed. America is a society of many political units. As a Republic, the country was founded on the idea that one could be part of both a smaller and larger political unit simultaneously. America is a society of various sexual orientations, as has been every society in every location in every period of humanity’s existence on Earth. America is a society of hyphenated people.
There are those who say that such insistence upon separate cultural identities within a single political unit must inevitably lead to conflict, that it is our inability to “come together” (euphemism for “become alike”) that has led to incidents like the L.A. riots, to continued tensions between the races, the sexes, and those of various sexual orientations. Not only does such belief ignore the nature of a democracy (rule by all the people, for all the people, not just by and for some constantly shifting majority), but it also ignores the very nature of the word “difference.” In its simplest conception, “difference” is defined as “the state of being unalike or distinct in nature or form.” It connotes only states of description. There is no reason to believe that any possible descriptive difference would be inherently inflammatory, would lead of its own to conflict. It is only when differences are seen judgmentally rather than descriptively that they become harmful. It is only when difference is seen as encoding some measure of quality that differences become factious. It is only when difference is viewed judgmentally rather than descriptively that tensions, fear, and feelings of inferiority and superiority arise. It is only when cultural differences are socially and politically institutionalized as inequalities in freedom, opportunity, and self-determination that violence becomes the only foreseeable result.
All Americans share a number of ideals, goals, and traditions in common. But to hearken back to some time of homogeneous American identity is to hearken back to a myth. The image of the melting pot has always been faulty, requiring the dissolution of one’s various cultural influences in order to allow one’s resolution into some generic American ideal. When J. Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur spoke of America as a melting pot, he included only European-Americans. He excluded Native-Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and non-Christian-Americans, all of whom, even by the end of the 18th century, had played significant roles in the development of America. De Crevecoeur also mistakenly characterized Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, German-Americans, Irish-Americans, and a wide range of other European-Americans as willingly surrendering their inherited cultural traditions in order to assume a new cloak of American identity. One need only visit any of the numerous “Little Italys” or Polish sectors or Highland organizations still flourishing in America today to see just how inaccurate this picture was and still is.
Some say that it is more important, more unifying, and perhaps even more accurate to see ourselves as primarily American, to focus, in other words, upon our similarities, our common ground. Perhaps this is true; perhaps it is important that we appreciate how much we have in common. After all, the fact that we are all more similar than we are different is mathematically irrefutable. Working backward from 2 parents, 4 grandparents, and 8 great grandparents, and assuming a fairly conservative estimate of 4 generations in each century, one need only go back to around the year 1200 CE before the number of one’s direct ancestors in a single generation would be greater than the total world population at the time of that generation, indicating that the idea that we are all brothers and sisters beneath the skin is not only a romantic ideal but an inevitable conclusion. Nevertheless, achieving this conclusion, that we all already share a great deal in common, that we are all already multi-cultural, that we are all finally American, and ultimately, human, through exploring and embracing the diversity of our own more immediate and recognizable cultural heritages will enrich our identities as Americans and as human beings. Whether we choose to focus on similarity or diversity, we will arrive at the same place, but by bringing with us our own still present cultural heritages, we will have so much more to give to that place.
America has never been a homogeneous society. America has always been a hyphenated society. We need not now remove these hyphenizations but only remove the judgments, the intolerances, and the misunderstanding that have been attached to them in our own minds. Cultural differences should be appreciated by those who possess them and respected by those who believe they do not. In truth, all Americans possess their own variety of cultural influences. Each of us should strive to appreciate and understand what those influences offer us and mean to us; and whether we are aware of it or not, inasmuch as we hope our individual personality will be respected, we each already hope the differences those cultural influences grant us will be respected. As with our various economies, the diversity of our cultures is our strength as a nation. This unity in diversity, this strength from difference, this variety in interests, abilities, and perspectives is what makes us strong as a nation. It is what makes us the most adaptable society in the world. It is what is most American about us.
AMERICA THE HYPHENATED
I am a white (partially Native-American, partially African-American), middle-class (originally poverty-class), Southern, Piedmont, rural (recently become urban, more recently become small-town), Pantheist-Deist (partially Reformed Jewish, partially atheist, raised fundamental Baptist), Independent (sometimes Democrat, sometimes Republican), Existentialist, heterosexual, Kennedy-era, male American. My family is Welsh, Creek, German, Cherokee, Black, English, Scots, middle-class, lower-middle-class, lower-class, urban, rural, agrarian, industrial, military, Fundamentalist, Baptist, Agnostic, Republican, Democrat, Socialist, and Anarchist. I have never allowed myself to feel like the victim (and I do think the image would victimize each of us if we allowed it) of a “melting pot.” I embrace those parts of my Celtic heritage with which I have been able to identify. I embrace those parts of my Native-American heritage with which I have been able to identify, as I do those parts of my Southern, rural, African-American, and Judeo-Christian heritage with which I have been able to identify. I value those parts of my personality which are commonly seen as “masculine,” though I also value those parts of my personality which are commonly seen as “feminine,” and those parts which seem neither masculine nor feminine or both masculine and feminine. I embrace those parts of my American heritage with which I have been able to identify. I have never let any of these influences “melt” away. I embrace, in short, all of my contraries.
America is a multi-national society. As African-American poet, Ishmael Reed, says, “The world is here.” It has been arriving since long before the middle-European “discovery” of the continent in 1492 and hasn’t slowed down since. America is a multi-religious society. Freedom of religion, after all, was one of the primary reasons for the European migration to the Americas. America is a society of many economies. Such diversity of economic investment has always kept us strong while other, more monolithic economies have weakened or collapsed. America is a society of many political units. As a Republic, the country was founded on the idea that one could be part of both a smaller and larger political unit simultaneously. America is a society of various sexual orientations, as has been every society in every location in every period of humanity’s existence on Earth. America is a society of hyphenated people.
There are those who say that such insistence upon separate cultural identities within a single political unit must inevitably lead to conflict, that it is our inability to “come together” (euphemism for “become alike”) that has led to incidents like the L.A. riots, to continued tensions between the races, the sexes, and those of various sexual orientations. Not only does such belief ignore the nature of a democracy (rule by all the people, for all the people, not just by and for some constantly shifting majority), but it also ignores the very nature of the word “difference.” In its simplest conception, “difference” is defined as “the state of being unalike or distinct in nature or form.” It connotes only states of description. There is no reason to believe that any possible descriptive difference would be inherently inflammatory, would lead of its own to conflict. It is only when differences are seen judgmentally rather than descriptively that they become harmful. It is only when difference is seen as encoding some measure of quality that differences become factious. It is only when difference is viewed judgmentally rather than descriptively that tensions, fear, and feelings of inferiority and superiority arise. It is only when cultural differences are socially and politically institutionalized as inequalities in freedom, opportunity, and self-determination that violence becomes the only foreseeable result.
All Americans share a number of ideals, goals, and traditions in common. But to hearken back to some time of homogeneous American identity is to hearken back to a myth. The image of the melting pot has always been faulty, requiring the dissolution of one’s various cultural influences in order to allow one’s resolution into some generic American ideal. When J. Hector St. Jean de Crevecoeur spoke of America as a melting pot, he included only European-Americans. He excluded Native-Americans, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and non-Christian-Americans, all of whom, even by the end of the 18th century, had played significant roles in the development of America. De Crevecoeur also mistakenly characterized Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans, German-Americans, Irish-Americans, and a wide range of other European-Americans as willingly surrendering their inherited cultural traditions in order to assume a new cloak of American identity. One need only visit any of the numerous “Little Italys” or Polish sectors or Highland organizations still flourishing in America today to see just how inaccurate this picture was and still is.
Some say that it is more important, more unifying, and perhaps even more accurate to see ourselves as primarily American, to focus, in other words, upon our similarities, our common ground. Perhaps this is true; perhaps it is important that we appreciate how much we have in common. After all, the fact that we are all more similar than we are different is mathematically irrefutable. Working backward from 2 parents, 4 grandparents, and 8 great grandparents, and assuming a fairly conservative estimate of 4 generations in each century, one need only go back to around the year 1200 CE before the number of one’s direct ancestors in a single generation would be greater than the total world population at the time of that generation, indicating that the idea that we are all brothers and sisters beneath the skin is not only a romantic ideal but an inevitable conclusion. Nevertheless, achieving this conclusion, that we all already share a great deal in common, that we are all already multi-cultural, that we are all finally American, and ultimately, human, through exploring and embracing the diversity of our own more immediate and recognizable cultural heritages will enrich our identities as Americans and as human beings. Whether we choose to focus on similarity or diversity, we will arrive at the same place, but by bringing with us our own still present cultural heritages, we will have so much more to give to that place.
America has never been a homogeneous society. America has always been a hyphenated society. We need not now remove these hyphenizations but only remove the judgments, the intolerances, and the misunderstanding that have been attached to them in our own minds. Cultural differences should be appreciated by those who possess them and respected by those who believe they do not. In truth, all Americans possess their own variety of cultural influences. Each of us should strive to appreciate and understand what those influences offer us and mean to us; and whether we are aware of it or not, inasmuch as we hope our individual personality will be respected, we each already hope the differences those cultural influences grant us will be respected. As with our various economies, the diversity of our cultures is our strength as a nation. This unity in diversity, this strength from difference, this variety in interests, abilities, and perspectives is what makes us strong as a nation. It is what makes us the most adaptable society in the world. It is what is most American about us.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Oscar Arnold Young Award Winners Announced
2013 Oscar Arnold Young Award Winners Announced
Maureen Sherbondy of Raleigh has been selected by the Poetry Council of NC as the winner of the 2013 Oscar Arnold Young Award for NC’s best book of poetry. Her collection The Year of Dead Fathers (Spring Garden Press) was selected by judge Robert Lee Brewer from 24 entries.
Brewer remarks that Sherbondy’s “collection begins with a butterfly landing on a windowsill and ends with ‘an old bird/lifting away from a pine tree, leaving behind a/trembling branch.’ In between, the narrator deals with death, specifically the death of her father.” Brewer was impressed with Sherbondy’s ability “to assemble a collection as focused as this one without falling into repetition,” remarking that she “keeps her subject fresh and interesting throughout--providing one new layer after another.”
Beth Copeland’s book Transcendental Telemarketer (BlazeVox) was chosen as runner-up. Of Copeland’s book, Brewer writes, “this collection zips from one type of well-performed poem to the next. No subject is off limits--as a reader could tell easily from poem titles such as ‘For the Poets of Afghanistan,’ ‘Pear Tree,’ and ‘My Life as a Slut’.” Copeland lives in Gibson, NC.
For honorable mentions, Brewer also praised Wilmington poet, Daniel Nathan Terry’s Waxwings (Lethe Press) and Greenville poet, Malaika King Albrecht’s What the Trapeze Artist Trusts (Press 53). Brewer states that what strikes him about Terry’s collection is not only “the want hiding in each poem” but also the “sense of duty that seems to rear its head time and time again.” He adds that “Albrecht invites the reader to join her on the poetic trapeze act she performs” but “is always there, ready to catch the reader before sending her off again.”
All of the books submitted for the contest will be archived in the Poetry Council collection at Catawba College in Salisbury. Winners will be recognized in the Council’s annual awards anthology, Bay Leaves, to be released at Poetry Day on April 20 at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory. Winners of the Oscar Arnold Young Competition and all of the Poetry Council’s annual awards will be given the opportunity to read from their work at Poetry Day.
For more information, visit www.poetrycouncilofnc.wordpress.com.
Maureen Sherbondy of Raleigh has been selected by the Poetry Council of NC as the winner of the 2013 Oscar Arnold Young Award for NC’s best book of poetry. Her collection The Year of Dead Fathers (Spring Garden Press) was selected by judge Robert Lee Brewer from 24 entries.
Brewer remarks that Sherbondy’s “collection begins with a butterfly landing on a windowsill and ends with ‘an old bird/lifting away from a pine tree, leaving behind a/trembling branch.’ In between, the narrator deals with death, specifically the death of her father.” Brewer was impressed with Sherbondy’s ability “to assemble a collection as focused as this one without falling into repetition,” remarking that she “keeps her subject fresh and interesting throughout--providing one new layer after another.”
Beth Copeland’s book Transcendental Telemarketer (BlazeVox) was chosen as runner-up. Of Copeland’s book, Brewer writes, “this collection zips from one type of well-performed poem to the next. No subject is off limits--as a reader could tell easily from poem titles such as ‘For the Poets of Afghanistan,’ ‘Pear Tree,’ and ‘My Life as a Slut’.” Copeland lives in Gibson, NC.
For honorable mentions, Brewer also praised Wilmington poet, Daniel Nathan Terry’s Waxwings (Lethe Press) and Greenville poet, Malaika King Albrecht’s What the Trapeze Artist Trusts (Press 53). Brewer states that what strikes him about Terry’s collection is not only “the want hiding in each poem” but also the “sense of duty that seems to rear its head time and time again.” He adds that “Albrecht invites the reader to join her on the poetic trapeze act she performs” but “is always there, ready to catch the reader before sending her off again.”
All of the books submitted for the contest will be archived in the Poetry Council collection at Catawba College in Salisbury. Winners will be recognized in the Council’s annual awards anthology, Bay Leaves, to be released at Poetry Day on April 20 at Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory. Winners of the Oscar Arnold Young Competition and all of the Poetry Council’s annual awards will be given the opportunity to read from their work at Poetry Day.
For more information, visit www.poetrycouncilofnc.wordpress.com.
Monday, December 17, 2012
Best of the Year Poetry List
Best of the Year Poetry List
It's that time of year where everyone makes their "Best of the Year" list: best recipe, best movie, best song, best album, best play, best moment in baseball, basketball, or football, best book. So, in recognition of the true value of best of the year lists, here is my intentionally brief list of the best poetry books of 2012.
In the quid pro quo world of contemporary poetry, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a sincere review or recommendation and one motivated by obligation or self-serving ingratiation. All poets have favors to repay or curry, but in writing about poetry, I try to always remain objective and focused on just the quality of the poetry. That is why I am pleased to say that I don't owe Daniel Nathan Terry anything, nor is he in a position to help me advance my professional ambitions. Thus, I can recommend his collection, Waxwings, from Lethe Press, without any fear of apparent prejudice or guile.
Terry's narrative of a difficult childhood marked by taught shame, by a reluctance to accept oneself, as that self is unaccepted by others, is relevant, fresh, and sharp. These poems grab the reader by the throat, or perhaps by the conscience, or the imagination – probably all three – and refuse to let go. They are both lyrically beautiful and brutally honest, leading us to a deeper understanding of how all of us come to be and learn to accept who we are. If you own only one book of poems from 2012, this is the one to own.
If, on the other hand, you can afford a second book of poems this year, I also recommend Scott Douglass's Hard to Love. By way of contrast, while I owe Daniel Nathan Terry nothing, I owe Scott Douglass everything. As the owner of Main Street Rag Publishing Company, Douglass has published 4 of my books. Nevertheless, having established that my recommendations are based entirely on the quality of the poetry, I also recommend this book without guilt or doubt.
Douglass has been widely recognized for his skills in design, editing, publishing, and business. Hard to Love, however, makes clear that he is also an outstanding poet. Combining socio-political acumen and insight with significant portraits and narratives from working class America, these poems are always interesting and engaging as they clearly capture the essential personality of their author and demonstrate his mastery of poetic technique and both his recognition of and ability to involve his reader in the importance of the moment.
Of course, a proper best of the year list would include many more items, and I will mention, for those with still more money to spend on poetry, Malaika King Albrecht's What the Trapeze Artist Trusts (Press 53), Joseph Mills' Sending Christmas Cards to Huck & Hamlet (Press 53), and Mimi Herman's Logophilia (Main Street Rag) as additional books every best of the year library should include. But to make this list truly meaningful, I will stop with just that handful of recommendations – a list all can afford and none would be disappointed by.
It's that time of year where everyone makes their "Best of the Year" list: best recipe, best movie, best song, best album, best play, best moment in baseball, basketball, or football, best book. So, in recognition of the true value of best of the year lists, here is my intentionally brief list of the best poetry books of 2012.
In the quid pro quo world of contemporary poetry, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between a sincere review or recommendation and one motivated by obligation or self-serving ingratiation. All poets have favors to repay or curry, but in writing about poetry, I try to always remain objective and focused on just the quality of the poetry. That is why I am pleased to say that I don't owe Daniel Nathan Terry anything, nor is he in a position to help me advance my professional ambitions. Thus, I can recommend his collection, Waxwings, from Lethe Press, without any fear of apparent prejudice or guile.
Terry's narrative of a difficult childhood marked by taught shame, by a reluctance to accept oneself, as that self is unaccepted by others, is relevant, fresh, and sharp. These poems grab the reader by the throat, or perhaps by the conscience, or the imagination – probably all three – and refuse to let go. They are both lyrically beautiful and brutally honest, leading us to a deeper understanding of how all of us come to be and learn to accept who we are. If you own only one book of poems from 2012, this is the one to own.
If, on the other hand, you can afford a second book of poems this year, I also recommend Scott Douglass's Hard to Love. By way of contrast, while I owe Daniel Nathan Terry nothing, I owe Scott Douglass everything. As the owner of Main Street Rag Publishing Company, Douglass has published 4 of my books. Nevertheless, having established that my recommendations are based entirely on the quality of the poetry, I also recommend this book without guilt or doubt.
Douglass has been widely recognized for his skills in design, editing, publishing, and business. Hard to Love, however, makes clear that he is also an outstanding poet. Combining socio-political acumen and insight with significant portraits and narratives from working class America, these poems are always interesting and engaging as they clearly capture the essential personality of their author and demonstrate his mastery of poetic technique and both his recognition of and ability to involve his reader in the importance of the moment.
Of course, a proper best of the year list would include many more items, and I will mention, for those with still more money to spend on poetry, Malaika King Albrecht's What the Trapeze Artist Trusts (Press 53), Joseph Mills' Sending Christmas Cards to Huck & Hamlet (Press 53), and Mimi Herman's Logophilia (Main Street Rag) as additional books every best of the year library should include. But to make this list truly meaningful, I will stop with just that handful of recommendations – a list all can afford and none would be disappointed by.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
New Book
Shadows Trail Them Home, a continuation of the collaboration Pris Campbell and I undertook in The Nature of Attraction has just come out from Clemson University Press.
This larger version of the romance of Sara and Norman has all 28 of the poems from The Nature of Attraction along with 46 newer poems to fill out the story more completely, including many more poems that focus on "the boy" and the aftermath of the relationship.
The book won't be listed on Clemson's website until after the holidays, but anyone wanting a copy before then can order it directly from me ($15 plus $3 shipping) by emailing to asowens1@yahoo.com.
Here is what Ron Moran, author of The Jane Poems and Waiting, and Professor Emeritus at Clemson, says of the book: "Shadows Trail Them Home is an excellent and compelling novel in poetry, an important contribution to the cultural canon of American life, presented in an engaging but disturbing context. It needs to be read by a wide audience, not only those who have faced abuses as children, as the two main characters have, but also by a reading public that treasures poetry that fuses superior writing with major social issues."
There will be a book launch at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in Hickory, NC, from 2 to 4 on Saturday, January 26. Refreshments will be served, and everyone is welcome.
This larger version of the romance of Sara and Norman has all 28 of the poems from The Nature of Attraction along with 46 newer poems to fill out the story more completely, including many more poems that focus on "the boy" and the aftermath of the relationship.
The book won't be listed on Clemson's website until after the holidays, but anyone wanting a copy before then can order it directly from me ($15 plus $3 shipping) by emailing to asowens1@yahoo.com.
Here is what Ron Moran, author of The Jane Poems and Waiting, and Professor Emeritus at Clemson, says of the book: "Shadows Trail Them Home is an excellent and compelling novel in poetry, an important contribution to the cultural canon of American life, presented in an engaging but disturbing context. It needs to be read by a wide audience, not only those who have faced abuses as children, as the two main characters have, but also by a reading public that treasures poetry that fuses superior writing with major social issues."
There will be a book launch at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse in Hickory, NC, from 2 to 4 on Saturday, January 26. Refreshments will be served, and everyone is welcome.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Anniversary of Verse
An Anniversary of Verse
NC Poetry Society Celebrates 80th Year with Statewide Readings
2012 marks the 80th year of the North Carolina Poetry Society, and the Society and its friends and members are celebrating that anniversary with a series of readings across the state organized by and featuring NC’s most prestigious poets.
It all begins with the state’s current Poet Laureate, Joseph Bathanti, on November 29. The reading and Open Mic to be held at 3:30 at the Scholars Bookshop (Appalachian State’s university bookstore) will include ASU professors and poets Hilda Downer and Lynn Doyle.
Six other readings will be held on December 1.
In Charlotte, Myers Park Baptist Church will host organizer Tony Abbott, Morri Creech, Annalee Kwochka, Alan Michael Parker, Dannye Romine Powell, David Radavich, and Lisa Zerkle at 2:00.
The Regulator Bookshop in Durham will feature readings by Betty Adcock, Noel Crook, and Marylin Hervieux also at 2:00.
Former state Poet Laureate, Kay Byer will host Kathryn Kirkpatrick, Joe Mills, and Julie Suk at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva at 3:00.
Another former state Poet Laureate, Fred Chappell, will be featured along with Malaika King Albrecht, Terry Kennedy, Val Nieman, and John Thomas York at the Community Arts Café in Winston-Salem at 2:00.
Peter Makuck and Mark Cox will read at St. Francis by the Sea in Salter Path at 4:00.
And Shelby Stephenson, Alex Albright, Marty Silverthorne, and Jim Clark will participate in a marathon reading from 9:00 AM to 3:15 PM at the R.A. Fountain General Store in Fountain.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the NC Poetry Society website at www.ncpoetrysociety.org
NC Poetry Society Celebrates 80th Year with Statewide Readings
2012 marks the 80th year of the North Carolina Poetry Society, and the Society and its friends and members are celebrating that anniversary with a series of readings across the state organized by and featuring NC’s most prestigious poets.
It all begins with the state’s current Poet Laureate, Joseph Bathanti, on November 29. The reading and Open Mic to be held at 3:30 at the Scholars Bookshop (Appalachian State’s university bookstore) will include ASU professors and poets Hilda Downer and Lynn Doyle.
Six other readings will be held on December 1.
In Charlotte, Myers Park Baptist Church will host organizer Tony Abbott, Morri Creech, Annalee Kwochka, Alan Michael Parker, Dannye Romine Powell, David Radavich, and Lisa Zerkle at 2:00.
The Regulator Bookshop in Durham will feature readings by Betty Adcock, Noel Crook, and Marylin Hervieux also at 2:00.
Former state Poet Laureate, Kay Byer will host Kathryn Kirkpatrick, Joe Mills, and Julie Suk at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva at 3:00.
Another former state Poet Laureate, Fred Chappell, will be featured along with Malaika King Albrecht, Terry Kennedy, Val Nieman, and John Thomas York at the Community Arts Café in Winston-Salem at 2:00.
Peter Makuck and Mark Cox will read at St. Francis by the Sea in Salter Path at 4:00.
And Shelby Stephenson, Alex Albright, Marty Silverthorne, and Jim Clark will participate in a marathon reading from 9:00 AM to 3:15 PM at the R.A. Fountain General Store in Fountain.
All events are free and open to the public. For more information, visit the NC Poetry Society website at www.ncpoetrysociety.org
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Poetry for People Who Don't Like Poetry
POETRY FOR PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE POETRY . . . and for those who do
Joseph Mills is not your everyday poet. At least, he is not what many people think the everyday poet is. He is not overly-intellectual, obscure, depressed, elitist, or crazy. He is, however, very much an everyday guy. He has written books, after all, on the Marx Brothers, and on wine, and on reading Louis L’Amour Westerns. If he were a bit older, I might think he could be my father.
Not long ago, my wife told me I should try to write more poetry for people who don’t like poetry. The truth is, I don’t need to. Joseph Mills has already done it. His poems are witty and approachable. They remind us of the lives we all lead. And most importantly, they charm us into reflecting more deeply upon those lives and recognizing the truths we otherwise might forget or too readily gloss over.
In short, he helps the reader to feel and think about the life he is living. He achieves more successfully than perhaps any other poet I know what renowned educator, poet, and social critic Edwin Honig said was the role of the poet in the modern world: to “celebrate the difficult, joyous, imaginative process by which the individual discovers and enacts selfhood.” In all the oblique pondering over the purpose of poetry I've read lately, nowhere have I come across a more practical or productive idea regarding the objectives of poetry, and nowhere have I come across a poet that does just that more effectively than Joseph Mills.
I could use almost any poem from Mills' four collections to demonstrate what I mean, but since winter is coming on, I think “A Winter Dialogue” from his newest book, Sending Christmas Cards to Huck & Hamlet, seems the most appropriate.
Mills will visit Hickory (NC) on November 13 to read at Poetry Hickory, 5:30 at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse, and teach a workshop on poetry at 4:00. Both events are open to the public. For information, contact me (Scott Owens) at 828-234-4266 or asowens1@yahoo.com.
A Winter Dialogue
by Joseph Mills
We decide to take a break from the eating, drinking,
and arguing--our traditional holiday pastimes--
to walk around the ice-encased neighborhood.
In the hallway, we sort through the piles of coats,
hats, and gloves, pulling out what we think we need,
and when I get to the door my father calls me back
to drape a scarf around my neck. In my forties,
I don’t like scarves anymore than when I was six,
but, now, having kids, I recognize what his fingers
are trying to say as they adjust the wool, and, I hope,
he recognizes what I’m trying to say by not moving.
It’s not much, but since neither of us needs anything
the other can buy, we try to exchange what we can,
a protective touch and a willingness to be touched.
Joseph Mills is not your everyday poet. At least, he is not what many people think the everyday poet is. He is not overly-intellectual, obscure, depressed, elitist, or crazy. He is, however, very much an everyday guy. He has written books, after all, on the Marx Brothers, and on wine, and on reading Louis L’Amour Westerns. If he were a bit older, I might think he could be my father.
Not long ago, my wife told me I should try to write more poetry for people who don’t like poetry. The truth is, I don’t need to. Joseph Mills has already done it. His poems are witty and approachable. They remind us of the lives we all lead. And most importantly, they charm us into reflecting more deeply upon those lives and recognizing the truths we otherwise might forget or too readily gloss over.
In short, he helps the reader to feel and think about the life he is living. He achieves more successfully than perhaps any other poet I know what renowned educator, poet, and social critic Edwin Honig said was the role of the poet in the modern world: to “celebrate the difficult, joyous, imaginative process by which the individual discovers and enacts selfhood.” In all the oblique pondering over the purpose of poetry I've read lately, nowhere have I come across a more practical or productive idea regarding the objectives of poetry, and nowhere have I come across a poet that does just that more effectively than Joseph Mills.
I could use almost any poem from Mills' four collections to demonstrate what I mean, but since winter is coming on, I think “A Winter Dialogue” from his newest book, Sending Christmas Cards to Huck & Hamlet, seems the most appropriate.
Mills will visit Hickory (NC) on November 13 to read at Poetry Hickory, 5:30 at Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse, and teach a workshop on poetry at 4:00. Both events are open to the public. For information, contact me (Scott Owens) at 828-234-4266 or asowens1@yahoo.com.
A Winter Dialogue
by Joseph Mills
We decide to take a break from the eating, drinking,
and arguing--our traditional holiday pastimes--
to walk around the ice-encased neighborhood.
In the hallway, we sort through the piles of coats,
hats, and gloves, pulling out what we think we need,
and when I get to the door my father calls me back
to drape a scarf around my neck. In my forties,
I don’t like scarves anymore than when I was six,
but, now, having kids, I recognize what his fingers
are trying to say as they adjust the wool, and, I hope,
he recognizes what I’m trying to say by not moving.
It’s not much, but since neither of us needs anything
the other can buy, we try to exchange what we can,
a protective touch and a willingness to be touched.
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