A! Magazine for the Arts Archive

Regional Poets Celebrate National Poetry Month

The April issue of A! Magazine for the Arts celebrates National Poetry Month. You'll find a shimmering quilt of interwoven voices that hark back to the magic of song and fiddle and the whimsical storytelling 'round evening fires, past the workday

In This Issue

• Poetry: Natural World Inspires Dan Stryk About Dan Stryk:
• Review: Solace and Radiance: The Imaginative Writings of Dan Stryk Dan Stryk's imaginative productivity over the last few years is astonishing — publishing Solace of the Aging Mare (The Mid-America Press, 2007), Field Notes (Rubicon Press, 2007) interspersed with the fine drawings by his wife Suzanne,
• Poetry: What Made Rita Sims Quillen Be A Writer? Rita Sims Quillen, a fifth-generation native of Scott County, Va., is the author of numerous publications of poetry,
• Poetry: Poetry Comes Later in Life for Warren Harris For a number of years, Warren M. Harris was caught up in the academic world, so his writing was mostly for conferences and journals.
• Poetry: Linda Parson Marion Speaks From The Heart Through poems of childhood and gardening, Linda Parsons Marion sings and grieves for the lost and the found in her life, for the many struggles and failings of the human heart.
• Poetry: Jeff Daniel Marion's Publications Are Many Jeff Daniel Marion, a native of Rogersville, Tenn., has published seven poetry collections, four poetry chapbooks, and a children's book.
• Poetry: Jane Hicks a Wordsmith and a Quilter Jane Hicks, a native of East Tennessee, is an award-winning poet and quilter.
• Poetry: Edison Jennings Comes from a Family of Readers Edison Jennings lives in Abingdon, Va., and teaches at Virginia Intermont College.
• Poetry: Dominique Traverse 'Connects' with Readers Traverse says, "Oftentimes, my poems are caricatures of people who are just too peculiar or too humorous for me to easily forget."
• Youth Spotlight: Expressing Emotions Through Poetry Margo Thomas: "The way that I write poetry is kind of stream-of-consciousness, meaning that I just write whatever words come into my mind." An example of her poetry may be found below.
• Swanay Named Director of Johnson City Library Robert "Bob" Swanay has accepted the position of Director of the Johnson City Public Library.
• Review: 'Wide Eyed Garden' at WKRAC "Wide Eyed Garden," an exhibition by Abingdon, Va. native Leila Cartier at William King Regional Arts Center (WKRAC), is not your typical museum experience.
• Review: Barter's Four Places Four Places on stage at Barter Theatre in Abingdon, Va. does what good theater should do — make us contemplate an issue we would prefer to avoid, both as individuals and as a civilized people.
• Theatre Bristol's Trivial Pursuits There's eavesdropping and drinking, backstabbing and blackmailing, and loads of gossip in this outrageous farce.

A! Extra

• An Artist's Perspective "I don't know who said this, but I heard it in a class, that you should write about what you know and I think that is true in art," Annnie Hanlon said. "You should draw what you know. Your life experiences really add to your art."
• Arts Festival Celebrates Arts Advocacy Day in Tennessee Tennesseans for the Arts hosted an arts festival for Arts Advocacy Day in Nashville.
• 'Narnia' Braille Trail Opens in Kingsport Eight sensory stations tell a story based on "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" by C.S. Lewis.
• Folklife Handbook Offered Online Tennessee Arts Commission Publishes Third Edition in both Print and Online Versions
• IN FOCUS: The Art of Suzanne Stryk Suzanne Stryk's recent exhibit, "Keeping An Eye on Things," in Gray, Tenn. offered a chance to see a wide variety of the Bristol artist's work.
• Children's Choral Academy Singers in National Honor Choirs The Organization of American Kodály Educators Conference was held March 11-14, 2009, in Washington, D.C.
• J4 wins 'Singing Family Face Off' The band – formed, essentially, to take part in the national contest – takes its name for each of the four Smith children who have a name starting with a J.
• Author's Latest Work Is A "Monster' Of A Book Neva Bryan is out on the road with her first novel, "St. Peter's Monsters." She's also working on a new book.
• 'Drifting Along the Appalachian Trail' Image by Kingsport photographer of drifting snow on the Appalachian Trail wins Landscape Category in Appalachian Mountain Photography Competition
• A "Howling' Promotion: Wolf Sculptures to Reflect Abingdon's Heritage Advance Abingdon plans to celebrate Abingdon's history by placing two dozen painted fiberglass wolves throughout the town. Designs by local artists are wanted for the fiberglass wolves. The deadline to submit ideas to Advance Abindgon is April 24.
• IN FOCUS: 'Cat in the Hat' Visits Kingsport Schools
• Johnson City Symphony Under Baton of New Conductor Robert J. Seebacher will lead the Johnson City Symphony.
• ETSU's Olson Assists PBS Documentary Dr. Ted Olson assisted with the creation of a new PBS documentary about Appalachia.
• 'Song Of The Mountains' at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Va. The concerts, held on the first Saturday of the month, are taped and later broadcast on PBS-TV outlets across America.
• Traveling Troubadour Tells Tales For three years Lightnin' Charlie kept an on-line journal of his "Trials and Tribulations." Now his blog is a book entitled ""Off the Record."
• A Music Miracle The son of a coal miner, and one of eight children, Papa Joe Smiddy learned to play music as a child.
• E-Newsletter Offers Help for NonProfits Topics include Direct Mailing, Fundraising in a Recession, Federal Stimulus Update, Professional Grantwriting, Classes and Workshops, Technical Training, and More.
• 'The Big Read' Discussion in Abingdon They believe people should start working together to pull themselves – and the nation – out of the Depression.
• Listen as Young Pianist Performs with The Paramount Players Lydia Smythe was featured in our February 2009 edition. Now you can listen to an excerpt from her performance with The Paramount Players.
• Congress Passes $10 Million Increase to NEA Budget The Arts in Education program at the U.S. Department of Education and the Office of Museum Services also saw substantial increases.
• Local Arts Organizations Urged to Apply for Stimulus Funds The guidelines outline the steps that local arts organizations need to take to receive direct grants that specifically preserve jobs in the arts.
• The Big Read: 'Bedtime with Barter' Barter actors wore pajamas and invited kids to do the same as they entertained them with books and songs to help encourage children to develop a love of reading at an early age.
• Arts Depot Joins Virginia's 2009 Time Travelers Program The program encourages students (grades K-12) and their families to gain a better understanding of Virginia history and culture by visiting Virginia's many museums, arts venues, and historical sites.