Yesterday afternoon I heard Sebastian Matthews read from his new collection of poems, We Generous. The first time I heard him read was from his memoir, In My Father’s Footsteps.
Category: Asheville
I’m on NPR!
Okay, my wife called this morning and said they mentioned my name on the local NPR radio station–WCQS. It is in regards to the Arts & Events Calendar–specifically the poetry reading at the Flood Fine Arts Center. I will be reading 6 to 10 poems with other poets–read press release.
So I had my three seconds of NPR fame. Back to your regular activities. But don’t forget–Friday night, 7PM, Flood Fine Art Center.
(Now if I can get Garrison Keillor to promote this gig…)
Poetry reading, be there
So, there’s this poetry reading Friday night and you’re all invited. And I think there’s drinks and food available. So, like, I guess I’ll see you there.
Poetry : Press Release
Flood Fine Art Center, Asheville, NC
Asheville, NC (January 31, 2007) – On February 16, 2007, Flood Fine Arts Gallery will host its monthly poetry reading at 7:00 PM, featuring the following poets:
Britt Kaufmann lives in Burnsville with her husband and three pre-school aged children. She hosts a local women’s open-mic at Blue Moon Books and serves on the steering committee for the Carolina Mountains Literary Festival. Her work has appeared in The Pedestal, Literary Mama, Rapid River, WNC Woman, SouthLit.com, and The Mennonite.
Matthew Mulder is a senior contributor to an independent monthly newsmagazine, The Indie, a weekly contributor to Write Stuff (a Web log about writing), and had been published in ISM Quarterly, The Blotter Magazine, Rapid River, and other small press publications. His poetry chapbook, “Late Night Writing”, is available from Wasteland Press and Amazon.com. He lives with his wife and children in Asheville.
Brian Sneeden has lived and worked in Asheville for three years. His one-act play, Act of Kindness, is currently in rehearsal for a mid-March world-premier. Brian’s work has been found in Wander, Headwaters, and Eye for an Iris, as well as the spoken word compilation CD, Objects in Mirror. Brian is a recent recipient of the UNC-A Undergraduate Research Grant for Playwriting, and his first manuscript of poetry, Antlers, was completed earlier this year.
Barbara Gravelle spent many years of her writing life in San Francisco’s North Beach poetry scene. There she completed North Beach Women of the Fifties, a series of interviews and discourse with women integral to the Beat movement. Archangel Books published her first full-length poetry book, Dancing the Naked Dance of Love, in 1976. Gravelle is currently active in the local writers’ group, Women on Words, and is completing a new manuscript, The Woman on the Roof.
Flood Fine Art Center Poetry Reading
My wife and I just returned from a poery reading at the Flood Fine Art Center. Four great poets read their work. All I can say is… heavy, man, real heavy.
Had to cut out early because morning comes early when your one of the maniac Americans traveling this weekend. If you’re on 95 heading to NYC look for me… I’ll be cussin’ out drivers in Old English; Geoffrey Chaucer style–thou dryve as if the develes on thyn ers.
Poetry reading at the Flood Fine Art Center
Audrey Hope Rinehart handed my wife an event card about this poetry reading:
Asheville, NC… On Friday, December 22, 2006, at 7:00pm The Flood Fine Art Center in the River District, will host the first in an ongoing series of poetry readings. Four local poets: Jeff Davis, Josh Flaccavento, David Hopes, and Audrey Hope Rinehart will each read in a round robin format.
Jaye Bartell poetry reading at The New French Bar
Here’s some images from last week’s farewell poetry reading at The New French Bar. Sorry I didn’t post these sooner. I have been cur-AY-zee BIZ-ee (that’s listless lingo for “crazy busy”).
If you missed it… too, bad. The place was packed–standing room only! The entire Asheville literary scene was there… OK, maybe not the entire literary scene. Jeff Davis, Keith Flynn, Sebastian Matthews (BTW, congrats on your Pushcart nomination), Chall Gray and many more came to enjoy a night of poetry and say good-bye to poet Jaye Bartell.
Jaye invited several local poets to read and then he closed out the evening by reading from his chapbooks and yes–his beer coaster poems. His beer coaster poems are scheduled to be published in April 2008 by someone who I can’t remember. Anyone remember?
It is official — d’licious magazine release party!
d’licious debut: magazine release party!
Saturday, August 5, 2006 from 7:00pm– until
Haywood Park Hotel Ballroom, 1 Battery Park Ave., Asheville, NC 28801
Contact: Cody Stokes at cody@dliciousmag.com
On Saturday August 5th D’licious Magazine will debut its premier issue as Asheville’s one and only food and beverage magazine. Come experience a taste of Asheville’s cuisine, entertainment, breweries and wineries from 7:00pm until after midnight at the Haywood Park Ballroom underneath the Haywood Park Hotel in the heart of downtown Asheville.
Participating will be: Belly of Buddha Catering, the Flying Frog Cafe, the Frog Bar and Deli, Biltmore Estate Stable Café, Thai Basil, Hannah Flannigans, Skully’s Signature Dine & Drink, Digable Pizza, Greenlife Grocery, Sweet Monkey Bakery & Catering, Clingman Ave. Coffee and Catering, Zuma Too: Chef Oso’s Culinary Passport, Haywood Road Market, Sclafani Distributors, the Biltmore Estate Winery, Hanover Park Winery, the French Broad Brewing Company, Highlands Brewery and the Pisgah Brewery.
Additional sponsors will be: The Westville Pub, Kabloom, 96.5 WOXL, and the Art of Microbrewing by Stephen Patrick Boland and Kevin Marino.
Entertainment for the evening will be: David Stevenson, Cabo Verde, Free Planet Radio and Jen and the Juice.
Tickets can be purchased at the following locations: The Haywood Park Hotel, The French Broad Brewery, Greenlife, Hannah Flannigans, Clingman Ave. Coffee and Catering, Skully’s Signature Dine & Drink, The Haywood Road Market, Orbit DVD and Diggin Art.
Come and support D’licious Magazine for its debut in Asheville.
Tickets are $25 in advance and $35 at the door. Hors’ Doeuvres and beverages will be included in the ticket price.
Overheard at Everyday Gourmet
As I prepared for tonight’s poetry reading, I thought I’d try to organize my thoughts at a downtown cafe.
One woman tells a guy: “Yeah, when I used to do illegal drugs I used to really look down on people who didn’t. That was so immature–don’t you know. Now I’m into herbal teas.”
One woman says to second woman: “I am like so not into teaching any more. I used to be like into the teaching thing but I’ve beyond that now. You know what I’m saying?”
A man at a table behind me throws a newspaper on a table and says: “I wish someone would just kill [name withheld].”
I withheld the name from the last quote because the person is an elected government official and I’m not sure if the man in the cafe was simply expressing an opinion or an intent. After hearing the man’s comment I was shaken by the violence of it and could not concentrate on my goal of preparing for tonight’s reading. So I left.
The First Annual BlogAsheville Awards–plus nominations
The First Annual BlogAsheville Awards
Nominate up to three BlogAsheville blogs in each category … Anyone may nominate blogs in this competition, so please post about it at your blogs and email me the results. Only bloggers on the BlogAsheville blogroll are eligible for nominations. Nominations will close Friday, June 15 at 11:59 pm.
1000 Black Lines has been nominated for:
– Best Writing (twice)
– Best Design (twice)
– Best Local Happenings
1000 Black Lines has NOT been nominated for:
– Blogger you’d most like to see naked
– Blogger I’d Most Like to Have a Beer With
So, take a look at the categories and email your NOMINATIONS to: scrutinyhooligans[AT]yahoo[DOT]com
Nominate 1000 Black Lines before midnight tonight!
Bobo does four writers and spits out an evening
Readers from last night’s event were, in order of appearance: Devin Walsh, Shad Marsh, Jaye Bartell and Selah Saterstrom. I wanted to write a lengthy post about it but I have a very busy morning and many creative projects to involve myself.
In brief, the readers read in “three rounds.” The place was packed with a few people standing along the side and back of the gallery–at least for the first round of readings. The second round of readings the crowd thinned a bit for smokes and drinks. By the end of the second round there was a new crowd filling the gallery.
Because I had to be up before 6 AM I was not able to stay for the third round. The event was a good showing and the artwork on the walls seemed to add to the atmosphere of public expression of art and culture.
I’m inspired to write a fictional account of last night’s reading for the sake of being entirely postmodern.
4 Asheville poets & writers reader tonight
BoBo Gallery
[photo : bobogallery.com]
[photo : bobogallery.com]
May 30, 9 PM.
free to the public.
Of Being Numerous:
A Reading of Numerous Writings
Edgy Mama beat me to it by posting all the details about tonight’s event on BlogAsheville. She plans to attend with her “house bottle of wine.” I’ll bring cheap paper cups.
Tags: [writing, poems, writers, poetry, BoBo Gallery, Asheville, reading]
Pineda, poetry and thoughts about small press publishing
Really enjoyed the reading by Jon Pineda last week. (I would have written about it earlier, but I had a cantankerous iBook that refused to operate to my satisfaction. Thus delaying this post until today.) Being half Pinoy (or Filipino), Pineda explores themes common to those who have been removed from their heritage. He is now discovering it through poetry. The book’s epigraph sums up his theme: “It’s what always begins/In half dark, in half light” — José Gracia Villa.
He read exclusively from his award-winning book, Birthmark. Poems read included, “Matamis,” “Wrestling,” “Arboretum,” “Night Feeding,” “Birthmark,” and others.
The poem “Wrestling” still haunts me:
“At our first match, I wrestled a guy/I had met summers ago at a Filipino gathering, … a few of the boys pinned my shoulders against a tree//while one punched me.”
“I watched the clock as I locked a breath inside his throat.”
I wanted to buy a copy of Birthmark that night but I only had $6 in my pocket and the cover price was $14.95. This displeased me greatly for I wanted a signed copy of Jon Pineda’s book. Why is it that poets cannot afford poetry books? After working on a book project for the last six months, I know that the book (most likely) costs less than $4 to manufacture. This is not the poet’s fault. I recently bought two books at another reading (which is probably why I only had $6 left). One book was a 275-page hard cover book for $18.50 while the other book was a 57-page soft cover book for $16.95. The poetry book was the skinny, expensive book.
Maybe that’s why readers don’t read as much poetry–there’s not much to read for 17 bucks. Forgive me again. This is not the poet’s decision. I understand why this happens. Poetry publishers supposedly schedule small press runs–maybe 500 to 3000 copies per printing. With those quantities, the book production costs range from $3 to $6 per copy–possibly higher. Add mark-up for retail distribution and the cover price is logically $16.95 per copy.
I’d like to challenge that system. If poetry publishers offered a subscription based books program (i.e. an annual subscription offering three to four books), then they could print with more efficiency and pass the savings to readers. As it is currently, poetry publishers risk a lot and have to build that risk into the cover price. For example, if an independant small press offers a poetry book subscription of $39.95 for their annual series of four books, then they could operate with less risk due to the fact that they have a defined audience (i.e. subscribers) rather than a hopeful audience (i.e. retail outlets).
Reflections of paint from a poetry reading
I’m not sure what to say about tonight’s event. Seven and a half pages in my notebook filled with observations and thoughts of the reading. Though I haven’t the energy to type it all tonight, I’ll post details of the event later.
One thing, of many, did strike me this cool, blue Spring evening. I sat in an old wooden folding chair next to a wall lined with photos by Hazel Larsen Archer. Portraits of Josef and Anni Albers looked over my shoulder. A photo of Josef Albers teaching class displays students’ compositions scattered in the foreground. I know exactly what they are doing because my university art professor, a student of Albers, had his students apply gouche to panel and board in order to create swatches of tint and shade in the same manner. I spent hours painting a dozen variations of blue evenly representing shade to tint (i.e. dark blue to light blue). A whole semester was spent on Albers color theory and related understanding of color.
I examined the students in the photo carefully trying to identify my university art professor Emery Bopp. But I forgot, at the time, that he studied under Albers at Yale not Black Mountain College. Still, I see Josef Albers in that portrait and there is a representative of Bauhaus style. His intensity of gaze from a vintage gelatin silver print hauntingly reminds me of a loose connection to him through my art professor and the hours spent mixing, applying and peeling paint from my fingers. In a physical way, the smell of gouche and the feel of mixing it in trays is that connection to a soft spoken professor, Emery Bopp. And I wonder if he learned his teaching approach from Josef Albers.
Notes from last night’s Fresh Air Reading Series
Last night was my first time attending the Fresh Air Reading Series at the New French Bar
As always, I had my composition book with me and wrote the following notes during the readings:
Mara Simmons–her series of poems reflect a serious study of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Each poem exhibits much research and passion … bringing humanity to news stories which desensitize Americans. The theme is well born out through references in Hebrew and Arabic and native plants and streets. Really inspired by her theme-based poems.
Jeff Davis–the elder poet with long gray hair and soft voice at time almost a whisper … brings a melancholy maturity to the round-robin reading. He offers love poems and poems heavy with nostalgia … he is taller than the other poets and needs to re-adjust the microphone and still he leans down into the foam covered device as if praying … his water poems are most excellent.
Kathy Godfrey–a bawdy poet with spunky, sensual, sensational poems. From what I overheard among the crowd, she teaches poetry at ABTech and many in the audience were her students … ethical question … should a teacher read a graphic poem about masturbation in front of her students … among other poetic subjects include green beans, Tough Man contests
Autumn Choi–slam poet … holds her own … confessional style presentation. Sort of romanticizes the school-of-hard-knocks subject matters … works well in this vehicle of drama.
I left immediately after the readings. I guess that was a bit impolite on my part for several people were in attendance that I knew. But I needed to get away–to think. I walked for several blocks pondering the poems and poets I heard Wednesday night. Why do I write what I write? Do I have what it takes to write poetry on the level of these local poets? Do I have the commitment to follow through with what I’ve started? Or am I merely dabbling in something, which I should leave to professional wordsmiths?
Some of this wondering is directly related to last weekend’s event. Saturday afternoon I found myself at Barley’s sitting across the from a local writer who has received well-deserved accolades for her work. Other local poets were in attendance with comparable merit and distinction. And there was me feeling very much like an outsider or poser.
After reading last night’s notes again at morning light it is apparent that I am partial to poems with academic/intellectual substance. Not to disqualify the other poets mind you. Annie Dillard writes: “The writer … is careful of what he learns, because that is what he will know.” I know what kind of poetry I want to produce. So, I favor and enjoy hearing from poets who seem to exhibit attributes of what I’d like to write in verse.
Tags: [Asheville, poetry, Fresh Air Reading Series, New French Bar]
Flasheville
Flash fiction + Asheville = Flasheville.com
Flasheville published “Another Empty Glass” over the weekend.
The World’s Fastest Readings
Just got back from the world’s “second fastest reading” (according to Peter Turchi) at Malaprop’s. Twelve MFA faculty members from Warren Wilson College read from their published work. Each member was given roughly three and half minutes to read.
Last year I attended the first Warren Wilson MFA faculty reading [read here and here.]. This year they scaled it back a bit; from 18 to 12 readers.
WLOS had a camera crew filming portions of the event. I guess Asheville residents may see it on channel 13 tonight (I don’t own a television so I’ll check AshVegas’ blog to see if it was even aired).
Overall it was a good event. I must confess the first reader, whom I cannot recall, didn’t attract my attention and my adult ADD kicked in and I started writing stream of consciously in my notebook. Adria Bernardi read an excerpt from her novel which brought me back to the event and Justin Grotz delivered a fine reading of fiction as well as Peter Turchi.
Somehow the poets didn’t quite do it for me tonight. Maybe I’m overly critical of poets. Maybe the poets didn’t want to be there tonight. However, the second to the last reader, Steve Orlen, read a single poem that worked; and worked well.
After the event, I chatted with a gentleman who hosts Malaprop’s Blind Date with Poetry. He also happens to be one of the members of Eye For An Iris Press. With all the celebrated and award winning poets and writers gathered at Malaprop’s, I spent the most time conversing with this gentleman.
There’s something that has been preventing me from completing my application for the MFA program at Warren Wilson College. I thought it was simply intimidation, but I think it goes deeper than that. I can’t put my finger on it right now, but I intend to explore it later.
Tags: [poetry, fiction, literary, writing, reading, Warren Wilson College]
Warren Wilson MFA faculty Public Readings
The MFA Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College Public Schedule
Readings will begin at 8:15 pm in the Fellowship Hall behind the Chapel unless indicated otherwise.READINGS – 8:15 pm
by MFA faculty and graduating studentsFriday, January 6
Marianne Boruch, Peter Turchi, Mary LeaderSaturday, January 7
No readings on campus, but come to “The World’s Fastest Readings” by MFA faculty at Malaprop’s, 55 Haywood Street. Reception at 5:30 pm; readings start at 6:00 pm.Sunday, January 8
Rick Barot, Wilton Barnhardt, Karen Brennan, Antonya Nelson, Eleanor WilnerMonday, January 9
Brooks Haxton, C.J. Hribal, Martha Rhodes, Kevin Mcllvoy, Ellen Bryant VoigtTuesday, January 10
First night of graduating student readings: Scott Gould, Sandra Nadazdin, Tatjana Soli,
Rosalynde Vas Dias
Tags: [poetry, fiction, literary, writing, reading, Warren Wilson College]
Rapid River publishes another poem
With all the holiday hub-bub, I almost forgot to mention that local arts magazine Rapid River published my poem, “Abstract Painting in Blue,” in the December issue. It’s a short poem in a series of poems I’ve been writing on the topic of art theory as explained through the life of an artist.
Tags: [writing, writer, poetry, poet, Rapid River]
Christmas Eve at Westville Pub
There are these ads from True that keep populating my Hotmail page when I go to check email. In most cases I just ignore them because I’m checking emails not reading ads. But today I actually glanced at one and remembered how lonely it can be for single adults during the holidays.
A friend of mine sent me an email this week to let me know his band was playing at Westville Pub on Christmas Eve. The band is Gypsy Bandwagon and “wanted to do something for the folks that have nowhere else to go for the Holiday.” I can’t think of a better place to be on Christmas Eve.
I came up with a Web banner ad to replace the ubiquitious True ads:
The show starts at 8:00PM and is free to the public. Gypsy Bandwagon is an “Eastern European Pre Post-Modernist Folk Revivalist kind of thang.” Should be a good show. Maybe I’ll see you there. Cheers! Egg nog! and all that ho-ho Merry Christmas goodness!
Keep warm with The Traveling Bonfires
The Traveling Bonfires invade The Grey Eagle:
Vanessa Boyd, Dashvara, Sunshine, Crooked Routes, Deborah Crooks, Hippie Shitzu, and FL singer/songwriter SJ Tucker.
Show starts at 6pm. $5 Cover charge.
Kapila Ushana will emcee the event. Courtyard Gallery will exhibit their work during the show.
The Asheville Citizen-Times interviewed Vanessa Boyd about her involvement with The Traveling Bonfires.
THE INDIE, November 2005
The November issue of The Indie hit the streets last week.
BANNER STORY/HEADERS:
– “A Parking Snarl On Battle Square” by Michael Hopping
– “Human Needs Coalition Fights GOP Budget Attack” by Tim Wheeler/People’s World Weekly.
REVIEWS & INTERVIEWS:
– “The Year of Magical Thinking” (book review) by Michael Hopping
– “Writing and the World of the Library: An Interview with Umberto Eco” by Gaither Stewart.
COLUMNS:
– “Like a Rolling Stone: The Spirit of the Bonfire” by Pasckie Pascua
– “Writing, Painting and Thoughts about Spirituality from a Coffeehouse Junkie” by Matthew Mulder
– “Letters from Rome: The Greeks and Us” by Gaither Stewart
Plus much more…
To obtain FREE copies of the October issue…
go to The Indie website.
or write:
The Indie
70 Woodfin Place, Suite 01
Asheville NC 28801
or call:
Tel # (828) 225 5994
Writers at Home Series
Yesterday afternoon I attended a Writers at Home Series which featured Marc Fitten, editor, of the The Chattahoochee Review at Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café.
Most of the audience in the cafe consisted of poets and writers seeking information from a benevolent editor who accepts or rejects submissions to a literary publication at his good pleasure. Sadly, most the questions were predictable. Any writer who desires to be published in a literary journal and asks questions like, “Should I call the editor to check on the status of a submission?” obviously has not done enough research in the field. Other fatuous questions include:
“What are you looking for in a manuscript?”
“What turns you off when reading a short story or essay?”
Puerile questions about writers wanting… no… lusting to be published almost drove me from the Café. You might as well tell the editor: “Sleep with me… I’ll bear your children… I’ll do anything… just publish my short fiction for the love of God.”
I sighed, doodled in my notebook and then the gracious Director of the Great Smokies Writing Program asked Marc Fitten to describe the life a manuscript once it makes it to the literary journal’s mail box. I listened.
I listened because Marc Fitten opened my eyes to the possibility that an editor of a literary journal might have a very rewarding job. The dream of all poets and writers is to get published, but another take on that dream is to publish a poet or writer of significance.
After the presentation, I told Marc I was almost persuaded to abandon writing and pursue publishing. With amiable fashion he smiled and said, “Yeah, it’s great.”
New Traveling Bonfires posters
Finally, I’m finished with the posters I’ve been working on over the last couple weeks. The posters are for The Traveling Bonfires which is a non-profit organization that roams “the country, instigating arts and music events, bringing people together for global peace and multicultural community connectedness.” Each poster features a photo I took in Downtown Asheville.
Here’s a list of the events these posters promote:
November 18
5pm to 2am
The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC. Door, $5.
A Traveling Bonfires/ Third World Asheville benefit show.
Featuring: Vanessa Boyd, Crooked Routes, Dashvara, Sunshine, Phuncle Sam and guests from San Francisco, CA; Deborah Crooks and Mica Lee Williams.
December 3
5pm to 2am.
The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC. Door, $5.
A Traveling Bonfires / Third World Asheville benefit show.
Featuring: Laura Blackley, Mississippi Cactus (touring from Milwaukee MI), Vanessa Boyd, Patty Keough (touring from Boston) and Phuncle Sam.
Feel free to download the posters. The files are high-resolution (300 dpi) jpeg files that are designed to fit 8 1/2×11 pages (with a 1/2 inch margin). Do some guerilla marketing– promote the gigs by printing the letter-size posters and plastering them all over town. Sorry I can’t make these downloads full-size (11×17). Something about the files being too big for server space. If you would like a full-size (11×17) poster to print, then email me and I’ll send you a PDF file.
The performing artists will love you for it. The Traveling Bonfires will love you for it. I’ll love you for it! Don’t forget to go to the shows to hear great live music. What else could you ask for?
For the performing artists contributing to these gigs… Both posters are available for purchase if you wish to have a more professional quality presentation. Not that guerilla marketing with color copies is a bad thing, but I know you want to wow your fans to The Grey Eagle shows.
I can arrange a short-run printing, but I need your orders by October 15th. Each full-color poster measures 11″ x 17″ and prints on 100lb. gloss cover stock with UV coating (sure beats the copy shop laser color copies). Minimum order of 5 posters. Contact me for more details.
Coffeehouse Junkie 