The Power of Poetry April 2007

2007·0.64 MB·English

by  PoetryGSO.

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Barbara Presnell
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your feelings, and your voice. Through writing,
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John Fox
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Randall Jarrell
sing! Sing your song, girl. Bring in the coming ofthis new day of golden ray and
t)riHiant light. Sing the song that washes past regrets and persecutions away.
Glenis Redmond
Featured Events
Barbara Presnell Reads From PieceWork• Wednesday• April i8>5:30-7pm
Presented in partnershipwitli theGreen Hill Centerfor North Carolina Artas partofitsTextile
Monumentsexhibiton display March 1 - April 28. Poet Barbara Presnell grew up in Asheboro,
North Carolina, where herfatherwas production superintendentofa
locally-owned textile manufacturing company. She received the Linda
Flowers PrizefromThe North Carolina HumanitiesCouncil fora collection
of poems written in the voices of mill workers from a fictional plant in
the Piedmont. Former North Carolina Poet Laureate Fred Chappell will
introduce Barbara,whowill sign copiesofher new bookafterthe
reading. • Green Hill Center For North Carolina Art • 200 N Davie
Street.333-7460
Step Sisters: A Poetic Dialogue on Race & Womanhiood
Featuring Glenis Redmond and Patricia Starek. Enjoythis livelydialogueaboutwoman-
hood, friendship and race through the
language of two performance poets. They
carry you from the streets of New York into
theirgrandmothers'kitchens.
•Thursday'April19*Noon-1 pmKoury
Auditorium'GTCC•JamestnwnCampus*334-4822
&
•Thursday•April 19•7pm
•GreensboroHistorical Museum
* 130SummitAvenue•373-3636
JosephusThompson &
Members ofThe Collective
Friday•April20•7:30pm •Broach
Theatre*520SElmStreet•378-9300
PoetryGuaranteedTo MakeYou Laugh (orAt Least MakeYou
SmileA Lot) Featuring Fred Chappell Sunday•April 29• 3 -4:30 pm
A samplerofhumorous poetryby local poets including MarkSmith-Soto,
Clement Mallory, Sarah Lindsay,Carolyn BeardWhitlow,Valerie Nieman,
ChristineGarren,Chris Foxand Ann Deagon.•Greensboro Historical Museum
• 130SummitAvenue•373-3636
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from Wake Forest University www.ncarts.org www.greensborollbrary.org
For more info or to get involved with Poetry GSO 2007
2 email: [email protected] or call 373-3636.
7
Featured Events
InternationalPoetryNight •Tuesday.April io.7:30-9 pm
Join usforour4thannual celebration ofpoetryand musicfrom aroundtheglobe. Bringa poemtosharein anylanguageyou
choose!•Glenwood Library• 1901 W.Florida Street•297-5000
HearHillsboroughpoetAndrea Selch •Wednesday•April 11 • Noon
HerlatestcollectionStartlingwasdescribed byAlan Shapiroasa"fabulous,wise,funny,somber book,a booktocherish."
Co-sponsored withthe UNCGWomen's&GenderStudies Program.•Foust206•UNCGCampus•373-361
The PoetryofGilScott-Heron •Saturday.April 14•4 pm
Enjoyafilmfeaturing poet/musician Gil Scott-Heron. Sponsored bythe Hemphill Branch African-American LiteratureClub.
Hemphill Branch Library•2301 W.Vandalia Road•373-2925
Urban Poetry Workshop •Saturday.April 21 • 3:30 pm
Thisworkshopforadultswill be presented byspokenword artistClementMallory.Afun, interactivesessionofactivities
involving poetry. Doorprizeswill begiven. Benjamin Branch Library* 1530Benjamin Parkway•373-7540
Poetry& The Vietnam War•Saturday• April 21 • 3 pm
Viewa brieffilmontheVietnamWaranddiscusspoemswrittenbytroopsondutyandothersrelatingtothewar. •HemphillBranch
Library•2301 W.VandaliaRoad•Call373-2925orvisitthebranchtoobtaincopiesofthepoemsthatwillbediscussed.
Local Voices•Sunday• April 22 • 3:30pm
Everyone isinvitedtoshareafavorite poem and listentoothersshare.Theselectionscan beeitheroriginalworksor
favorite poems.VanceChavisBranch Library•900S.BenbowRoad•373-5838
Calling fora PoetrySurge •Saturday• April 28• 2 pm
Poetryopen-mic/spoken word performance,featuring IntrovertCreativeGroup.• KathleenClayEdwardsFamilyBranch
Library• 1420PriceParkRoad•373-2923
High SchoolPoetLaureates •Sunday•April 15•3 pm
Joinusfora poetryreadingwiththeHighSchoolPoetLaureates.ThePoetLaureateshavebeenchosenthroughpoetrycontestswhich
were heldateachhighschool. Threesemi-finalistswereselectedfromeachschool. Theirworkswerejudged,andonefinalistwas
awardedthetitleofPoetLaureateofhisorherschool.• GreensboroHistoricalMuseumO30SummitAvenue•373-3636
PoetryofDeathandDying:OneCouple'sStory'Monday•April23•5:30-7pm
Dr. EllasGeorgesAbu-Saba, beloved by manyin Greensboro,died in September2006. In the last months
ofhislife, Eliaswrotepoemsreflecting his responsetohiscancerdiagnosis,theprogressofhisdisease,his :*
thoughtsaboutthosearound him includingfamilyand health care professionals,and abouttheworld he
would be leaving behind.This program will feature video clips ofElias reading his poetry six days before
hediedaswellasreadingsfrom hispoetrybyothers. Hiswidow,Mary,will brieflydiscussherlifesinceher
husbanddiedandwillreadoneofthepoemsshehaswrittenaboutherjourney.
Nussbaum Room•CentralLibrary•219N.ChurchStreet•373-2471
Rhiannon Giddens
^ Lalenja Giddens Harrington
Tuesday•April 24• 7 pm
Don't miss this unique performance that blends music
and spoken word poetry. Lalenja has sung with the a capella
faroup.The Princeton Tigerlilies, and has spent time on the slam
poetry scene, performing on a national level. Rhiannon sings
opera, blues, Celtic, Appalachian folk & spirituals. Recently
Rhiannon was a featured singer and musician in Triad Stage's
highly acclaimed musical. BeautifulStar. Both sisters perform
withtheensembleSankofaStrings. •Nussbaum Room•Central
Library•219N.ChurchStreet•373-2471
,
&
Poetry Healing
Forcenturies,onallcontinentsoftheEarth, peoplehaveturnedtopoetrywhentheyarein painwhetheritbe physical,emotionalor
spiritual.Onethemeforthe2007PoetryGSOfestivalis'Poetryand Healing." Therewillbeworkshops,readings,filmsanddiscus-
sionsonthetopicduringthemonthofApril.WeareparticularlyexcitedthatJohn Fox,oneoftheforemostexpertsonthetopic
inthenation,will beintowntoleadsomeofthesesessions.John istheauthorofPoeticMedicinesandthefounderofTheInsti-
tuteforPoeticMedicine,basedinPaloAlto,CA.Alsopresentingonthetopicofpoetryandhealingwill beJacintaWhite.In2001
JacintafoundedtheWORDprojectinAtlantatogiveyoutha platformforself-expression using poetry.TodaytheWORDproject
has relocated to North Carolina and in addition to working with urban youth, Jacinta now conducts poetry workshops fora
varietyofaudiences.
Healing Words: Poetry& theArtofMedicine • Monday•April 2 • 7 pm -9 pm
Don'tmissthescreening ofHealingWords:Poetry&Medicine,a documentaryfilmthatfocusesontheapplicationsofpoetry
andotherartswithin a hospital setting. Produced byDr. DavidWatts,thefilm will beshownon PBSwithinthecomingyear.
Followingthefilm,therewill bea discussionwithJohn Fox, Beth AdamourandJacintaWhite.
.Central Library•219N.ChurchStreet•373-2471
TheSpirit Can StillFly: Poetry to HealtheSoul• Sunday• April 22 • 3 pm
PoetryReadingwiththeArc PoetryGroupand Lalenja Harrington.TheArc PoetryGroupsharesit's book, TheSpiritCanStill
Fly,aboutthe powerofexpressionthatliveswithin all ofus.Copiesofthe bookwill beavailableforpurchaseattheevent. A
booksigningwillfollow.TheArcofHigh Pointisa non-profitagencythatadvocateswith individualswithintellectualandother
developmentaldisabilities.•CentralLibrary•219N.ChurdiStreet•433-7260
Workshops
Alloftheworkshopslistedbelowarefree. Pre-registrationisrequired.Toregisteremail
[email protected].
PoeticMedicines:JheHealingArtofPoem-Making
Monday•April2•10am-3pm
Inthisinteractiveworkshop,wewillreadpoemsbyinspiringpoetsandexplorewrit-
ingexercisesthattuneusintoavarietyofexperiencesincluding: thepoetryofearth
andspirit,theplayftjinessandpoweroflanguage,respondingtopainandchallenges,
asenseofcommunityandtheblessingofcommonthings.
•CentralLibrary•219N.ChurdiStreet
PoetryasHealer,HealerasPoet'Tuesday.April3.2-5pm
Thiswritingworkshop isdesignedforanyonewhoworks inthefieldsof
healthcare,counseling,hospice, pastoral careand social work.CEUcreditisavailable.
•NussbaumRoom•CentralLibrary•219N.ChurchStreet
Poems ofWitness:Living with Heartin a
Conflicted World•Wednesday•April 4• 1 am - 3 pm
This workshop is designed to promote and encourage poem-making and sharing that
shows the beauty and solace inherent in wrapping our heart's truth in words and images
around the pain of dishonesty, injustice and the violations to our humanness. We
will explore how deepening a connection with this awareness empowers us to treasure
differencesandstandtogetheroncommonground.Co-sponsored byTheSchoolofHealthand
HumanPerformanceandTheDepartmentofPublicHealthEducation.
•UNCG•ElliotUniversityCenter• KirklandRoom
PoetryandHealing •Tuesday• April 24• 7 pm
PresentedbyCarenMasem.Thisworkshopwilladdressemotionalhealingandwritingasa
meansofdealingwith,notcuring,physicalpain. Shewilldiscussstressandanxietyandwilluse
poemsbypoetslikeAdrienneRichandMaryOliver. Lightrefreshmentswillbeserved.
JacintaWhite •BenjaminBranch•1520BenjaminParkway
4 www.pootrygeoiOi»
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Poetry GSO 2007 - Monday Night Poetry Series
Billy TheBloggingPoet•Monday•April 16•7 pm
Featuring poetBillyJones,aka "BillyThe Blogging Poet," authorofCarrotOnAStick:ABookAboutEverything, WellAlmost
EverythinandColdDryBiscuits:ABookAboutEverythingElse...Sorta'.. BillyTheBlogging Poet "TM/'isthefounding editorof
Poetsi01.com-a partoftheAltMedial01.com.An open micwillfollow.You can readyourownworkoryourfavoritepoem.
CentralLibrary•219N.ChurchStreet•373-3617
San Francisco Poet Yvonne Cannon • Monday.April 23 • 7 pm
Hercollection. WhenThisYouSee, includes poemsdirectlymotivated bywhatsheexperiencedduring her48-year-old daughter's
crushing strugglewithcancer. Hertelling descriptionsand hersympathetic lines lingerlong afterthe bookhas been putdown.
Anopenmicwillfollow.Youcanreadyourownworkoryourfavoritepoem. •CentralLibrary•219N.ChurchStreet•373-361
Writing OutofYourChakras:A Workshop With ValNieman • Monday*April 30• 7 pm
Likea coloredvaporusedtotrackthe movementsofairin awindtunnel,thereare manyapproachestostimulatingand shaping
yourwriting.Thisworkshopwill exploretheancient Indian conceptofchakras,orenergycentersinthebody. We'lltalkaboutthe
method and meaning ofchakrasastheymight beappliedto understandingtheselfandthefictional creationsofourwork-as
wellasorganizing poetryaround certain concepts.Topre-register,sendyournameand phonenumberto Beth Sheffieldthrough
email: [email protected]•CentralLibrary•219N.ChurchStreet•373-3617
Poetry, Jazz & Java Poetry GSO Slam
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Word:A PoetryGSO Slajrn
• Friday•April 27•7:30-9
Writers' Group ofthe Triad
See slam poets competefort
TheWriter'sGroupoftheTriadandthe prizes. Hosted byClement M
GreensboroPublicLibrarypresentthe
Halftimeentertainment byC
popularPoetry,Jazz&Javaseries,which
Productions.
featuresavarietyoflocal poetsand live ^
music.Call373-3636 •GreensboroHistorical MuS
• 130SummitAvenue•373-36
Thursday • April 5 • 7 pm
TheGreen Bean • 1341 South Elm Street
The Charlotte Youth
Saturday• April 14*7 pm
Spoken Word
TheTateStreetCoffeeHouse•334TateStreet Initiative
Saturday•April 21 • 2 pm Perfd
Carolina Coffee&Tea •400StateStreet ^*^/ The CharlotteYouth
Thursday • April 26 • 7 pm y^ I Spoken Word Initiative
RenaissanceJazzCafe•117NorthGreeneStreet I Saturday*April14* 2 pm
IFollowedbyanopen micsessionwithteen
,
Monday • April 23 • 7 pm ' Ispokenwordpoets leadbyslampoetTerry
StarbucksatQuakerVillage-W.FriendlyAvenue JCreech,aformerslam master; professional
wrestler & touring poet.Terry Creech was
•** ^^^coach,slammaster&co-founderofthe
•
.- SlamCharlotte team. • Central Library •
219N.ChurchStreet•373-2471
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Poetry GSO 2007 - Children's Events
Get YourRhyme On!•Tuesday•April 3 • 3:30 pm
Local teen poets will share their inspirations and techniques for writing poetry.
For school-age children. • Hemphill Branch • 2301 W.Vandalia Road • 373-2925
FamilyStory Time Highligtiting PoetryMonth •Tuesday•April 3 .6:30 pm
Central Library Children's Room • 219 N. Church Street • 373-2046
Celebrate NationalPoetryMonth .Thursday• April 5 • 6:30 pm
Are you a budding poet? Come and learn about poetry and have fun writing your
very own poetry. Families invited. • McGirt-Horton Branch • 2509 Phillips
Avenue •373-5810
Poetry Time • Tuesday • April 1 • 4 - 5 pm
Come and share your poems.This event is for school age children.
Children's Room • Central Library's • 219 N. Church Street • 373-2046
Lines ThatRhyme • Wednesday• April 11 • 3:30 pm
Develop an appreciation for poetry as we share from poetry anthologies, poetry books and po-
ems from magazines. Create a folded poetry fan. For school-age children. • McGirt-Horton Branch
2509 Phillips Avenue • 373-5810
PoetryFun 707: 0/a/nanfe Poems 'Wednesday April ii .3:30 pm
Learn about this cool form of poetry and create the diamond-shaped poems as a
group and on your own. • Glenwood Branch • 1901 W. Florida Street • 297-5000
PoeticFamilies . Thursday. April 12 • 6:30 pm
Families come to write poems together. Light refreshments. • McGirt-Horton
Branch • 2509 Phillips Avenue • 373-5810
PoetryAct One:How ToAct OutPoetry•Thursday • April 12 • 4- s pm
A workshop for older school age children presented by Clement Mallory.
Benjamin Branch 530 Benjamin Parkway 373-7540
• 1 •
AprilShowers Bring MayFlowers • Tuesday•April 17 • 4 - s pm
Poetry and flowers to plant for mom. All children are welcome! • Children's Room • Central Library
219 N. Church Street • 373-2046
AfricanAmerican Poets & the East White Oak Community Celebrate NationalPoetry
Month 'Tuesday /Kpr'il 17 •6:30pm 'Celebrate with guest poets from our community including Evelyn
Fuller hiayden, Clement Mallory, Lee Johnson, Lisa Bond and others. Door prizes and refreshments. • East
White OakCommunityCenter • 1801 10th St • For info, call LindaT.Williams, 373-5810.
PoetryFun 101: Haiku •Wednesday•April 18 • 3:30 pm
Learn aboutthis short but sweet poetry form and make a little
accordion bookforyour little poems. Both haiku and
accordion-fold books have a long tradition in Asian
culture! •GlenwoodBranch•1901 W.FloridaStreet•297-5000
WordsKnitted,Crocheted&Stitched-Thursday/KprWi9^6:30
pmHear poems written by our McGirt-Horton Branch Knitters,
who have written and knitted poems together in celebration
ofNational Poetry Month. Families invited. Light refreshments
served. • McGlrt-Horton Branch • 2509 Phillips Avenue
373-5810
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PoetryandSong with Kindermusik• Friday• April 20 • i pm
Children's Room • Central Library • 219 N. Church Street • 373-2046
CelebrateGeorgeMosesNorton&JamesMcGirt'sPoems&LiteraryWriting
Saturday'April21 •1-3pmClement Mallory will read the poem entitled Love written by Hfark lianl
James E. McGirt and talk about these library namesakes. Pizza will be served. ./ >. - y , • •
McGirt-Horton Branch • 2509 Phillips Avenue • 373-5810 George Moses Horton
Cierihiew•Saturday•April 21 • 1- 3 pm
Learn about this form of poetrythat's as unusual and fun as its name and create
clerihews as a group and on your own. School age children. • Central Library •
219 N. Church Street • 373-2046
Jack PrelutskyPoetryDay!
Behold the Bold Uinbrellaphant Monday• April 23 •4 - 5 pm
Celebrate poetry by Jack Prelutsky, the first American Children's Poet
Laureate. School-age Children. • Children's room • Central
Library '219 N. Church Street • 373-2046
FamilyNightAtHemphill• Monday •April 23 •6:30 pm
Karen Jo Shapiro, local author and poet, will share her latest poetry picture
book, //WusfGoDoM/n To TheBeachAgain. This delightful collection of
poetic parodies takes 23 classic poems and gives them a kid-sized twist.
Hemphill Branch • 2301 W.Vandalia Road • 373-2925
..Jack Prelutsky ><m>«»<••C^rin Berger
Poetry&Art: Natural Companions • Monday• April 23 • 5 -6 pm
Wednesday, April 25 • 3-5 pm & Thursday, April 26 • 4-6 pm
Poetry and art are natural companions. Come to the ArtQuest Studio at Hemphill during this week's Art
Discovery to discover how these two creative outletsjoin in harmony through the use of books, art materials
and fun explorative projects. • Hemphill Branch • 2301 W.Vandalia Road • 373-2925
PoetryAdventure • Wednesday• April 25 • 3:30 pm
Draw a poem, write a poem, taste a poem, bring your own poem, act out a poem and meet a poet- children's
author Karen Jo Shapiro. Grades K 5 'KathleenClayEdwardsBranchLibrary1420PriceParkRoad•373-2923
PoetryFun 101: Clerihew•Wednesday• April 25 • 3:30 pm
Learn about this form of poetry that's as unusual and fun as its name and create clerihews as a group and on
your own. • Glenwood Branch • 1901 W. Florida Street • 297-5000
McGirt-Horton Branch CommunityPoets •Thursday•April 26•6:30 pm
This will be the family night program and the culmination ofthe month ofpoetry events. Bring a poem to
share. Hear poems read by special guests from the McGirt-Horton community, who are certain to inspire you
to keep writing. Clement Mallory will be the moderator. Families invited. Light refreshments.
McGirt-Horton Branch • 2509 Phillips Avenue • 373-581
Growa Poem! • Saturday.April 28 • 3 pm
Poetryfor School-age Children. • Children's Room • Central Library • 219 N.
Church Street • 373-2046
S' FamilyNightPoetry•Monday•April 30•6:30 pm
Bring yourfavorite poem to read or recite - one you've read or
oneyou've written.We'll write and illustrate self-portrait
•(Tip
poems. • Hemphill Branch• 2301 W.Vandalia Road
373-2925
www.poetrygso.ora
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The Powlf
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From The Poetry GSO Director
DearFriends,
SincewelaunchedPoetryGSO,manyfolkshavetoldmethatafterattendingacoupleofprograms,
theyhavebecome"poetryconverts." I'malwayshappytohearthisbutneversurprised,because
ourPoetryGSOPlanningTeamconsciouslyselectspoetsandprogramsthatwehopewillappeal
eventothosewhosaythattheydon'tlikeor"justdon'tget"poetry.
We have a great 2007 PoetryGSO lineup. It includes poetryworkshopsthatfocuson healing,
humorouspoetryreadings, poetryprogramsinartgalleries, poetrythatdealswithsocialissues,
funprogramsforkids,andsomuchmore!
Please helpuscontinuetomake"converts."Allyouhavetodoisreadthroughthiscalendar,circle
all ofthe programsthatsound interestingtoyou,and then inviteafriend ortwotojoinyou. It
won'tcost athing becausealltheprogramsarefree,thankstosomegenerousgrantsfromthe
Greensboro Public Library Foundation, the IMorth Carolina Arts Council, the North Carolina
HumanitiesCouncilandtheFriendsoftheGreensboroPublicLibrary.
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Steve Sumerford / / -^
PoetryGSO Director
The 4th Annual High School Poet Laureate Project
The4th Annual High School Poet Laureate Project is underway.Through a partnershipwith the Friends oftheGreensboro Public Library
andtheGuilfordCountySchoolMediaSpecialists,poetrycontestsareheldateach highschool. Threesemi-finalistsareselectedfromeach
school. Theirworksarejudged,andonefinalistisawardedthetitleofPoetLaureateofhisorherschool.Thejudgeforthisyear'slaureatesis
ProfessorJenniferGrotz,DepartmentofEnglish, UniversityofNorthCarolinaatGreensboro.Theprojectiscoordinated bymediaspecialist
KateCummings. Theworksofthepastprojectsareavailableatwww.poetrygso.org.Anddon'tmissthechancetoheartheseyoung poets
readtheirpoetry.• April 15«3pm' GreensboroHistorical Museum-ISOSummitAvenue-373-3636
Poetry the Workplace
in
In2006,welauncheda PoetryintheWorkplaceproject.Thisyeartheworkshopswillbeco-sponsoredwithActionGreensboro.Ifyouknow
ofaworkplacethatwouldliketohostoneofthesefreeworkshopsforemployees,contactMarthaThomasat373-4559.
New
Finding Audiences
Developing NewAudiencesforPoetryisthethemeofa PoetryGSO projectfunded bythe NCArtsCouncil.Wewill match localand
otherNC poetswith local organizations, reading groupsand businesses. Ifyou knowofa groupthatwould liketo bematchedwith
a poet,contactSteveSumerford at373-3636. Wewill provide groupswith copies ofpoems bya poetwith whomtheysharesome
common interests. In somecases,the poetwill beabletooffera readingforthegroup.
FRIENDS ^
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OPFUBTHLEICGRELEINBSRBAORRYO Your NPR News & Triad Arts Station u^iMi^M^^icc ^I"wwA.WoroerelndsdOofroPloislsiirbairlyi.toiregsj,
from Wake Forest University www.ncarts.org c u N c L