Archive for the ‘Poetry events’ Category

This past Saturday, in Carrboro, near Chapel Hill, NC, poets Jean Arthur Jones and David Capps read some of their poetry for about 30 minutes each and the performance by both was stunning! Before I review that, let me tell you about the open-mike portion of the event, which came first.

We had poetry by David Grinstead, Jane Penland Hoover, Ricky Garni and Margaret (I forget her last name). We also had the music of John Fallon. We each read twice with about 3 poems each. I read a one or two new poems and some poems that had been picked up for publication as well as poems from my collection “What Really Matters,” which is awaiting final edits and introduction by Thomas Childs. We do have some video of this section of the event as well.

We then had a great performance by David Capps. I hadn’t seen too many David Capps readings and so I was glad to be here tonight. David is a very dynamic reader when presenting his poems to a crowd. I also enjoyed the discussions that David gave behind the different poems, their meaning to him and his inspiration. It was also nice to hear some history about David Capps, as well. Very enjoyable! Look for videos of this event that I will present. I’ll keep you posted on this.

Jean Jones read a variety of poetry as well. While Jean did offer less of a discussion than David did in his portion of the reading, Jean did provide us with some interesting stories and background behind some of his poems. Jean read from a few of his collections. He read from “The Birds of Djakarta,” published by St. Andrews Press and published by Bruce Whealton on Word Salad (Word Salad Publications is here: http://wsmagazine.net/zine/word-salad-publications.html). He also read from his Angel of Death series, which has been published by Scott Urban as well as by Bruce Whealton on Word Salad Publication.. Lastly, he wrapped up with some poetry from his latest collection “Post Mortem: New and Selected Poems.” This latest collection is also featured on Word Salad Publications, with editing and an Introduction by Scott Urban.

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Featured Poets: Jean Arthur Jones and David Capps

Tomorrow evening, Saturday, April 10, we will have an Open-mike poetry reading and we will feature poets Jean Jones and David Capps. Bruce Whealton is hosting and promoting this event, thanks to the support of Carolyn, owner of the venue location: The Looking Glass Cafe. The Looking Glass is located at 601 West Main Street in Carrboro.

We will start at 7pm or some time after that with an open-mike. I’ve invited and expect at least one person to perform some music(singing/guitar). At about 8pm, Jean Jones and David Capps will read for about 20-30 minutes each. I’ve known them both since 1992. They will be coming from Wilmington, NC to the area.

This event is on facebook for you to RSVP here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=389436211689 and you can find the event on Meetup.com here: http://www.meetup.com/Chapel-Hill-Poetry-Work-Shop-and-Reading/calendar/12770894/.

So, come to share your writing, music or just to listen.
We hope to see you there.

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Well, I meant to write something about the event that we had at the Looking Glass, 601 West Main Street in Carrboro. It has taken me till now to really write something about the event… no reason, it just happened like this.
Anyway, I am interested in seeing more events in the Chapel Hill area where a person can go for poetry and such. That’s how it started out and now I’m glad that music is becoming a part of these events. So, I started a Meetup called “Chapel Hill Poetry Events,” which can be found here. Again, things change, and that’s why Music is not in the topic area for this meetup.

This past Saturday we had 50% music and 50% poetry. Janet Bratter and John Fallon provided the music. Bruce Whealton, myself, and Cal Nordt read poetry. I think that we both have a poetry style that aims to be brief and concise. In that vein, Both Cal and I shared a number of haiku. Haiku being traditionally 17 syllables, on three lines. Personally, I’ve learned that haiku do not need to have exactly 17 syllables or be on exactly 3 lines. I don’t suppose the book is shut on defining what a Haiku is and is not. For Word Salad’s publication “Haiku Ramblings, we do publish a definition and our understanding of what Haiku is, in terms of what we want to publish. That information is here. Please read the other articles under Submission Guidelines to get a better idea.

So, we will have more events coming up. I scheduled a Poetry Workshop Meetup for the 14th of March at the Looking Glass. Details are here.

You can find my poetry by me at: http://brucewhealton.us

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Hosting a Poetry and Music Event – It seemed impossible

Shy and Terrified!

What was I thinking?  That was going through my mind Saturday the 27th of February, 2010. Hosting an event! Being MC! This is insane! To say I was nervous is quite an understatement. It was a little embarrassing. I mean my shyness was apparent and I wasn’t handling it well, or so it seemed.

Some said that maybe I am not really shy!  If they could only see me that night!  No one would doubt that I am profoundly and greatly shy.  Some think that shyness is something that you just grow out of… you learn certain things and eventually, right.  In the thinking of said folks, this learning is inevitable.  And if the learning is inevitable than eventually what made one shy cannot continue.  If you only saw me this last Saturday night, you’d never question for a second that I am a very shy person.

I wanted this to go right and to go well. I was nervous, and uncertain… I didn’t know what to do. I knew I had to do something. Yes, I wanted this to happen, but I, oh, so didn’t want to host this. Talk about an understatement!

One might question how shy I was… I did read after all. I did use that microphone… but how I get out of it? I suppose the pre-teen boy that I was would have run out and hid behind whatever tree he could find. Maybe I’m not that shy. Is it really a matter of quantity? Whatever one might want to call that experience, and my reaction, my feelings and actions… I wish I didn’t feel the way I did and do.

One of the fellow presenters, said I should I tell the people at the cafe, face to face, at their tables, that we are about to have a poetry reading and music presentation. I said, “I can’t do that.” She insisted and challenged my use of the word “can’t.” I never figured out how to get the nerve up or figure out how to go about this venue approaching strangers and talking to them about what we were doing.

Through some miracle, and that’s what it was, this went off well. However, if anyone doubts that I am shy and that is the most genuine thing I can ever say or state, that person who doubts my shyness isn’t so in touch with reality… I assure you that if you were here as I found myself in a situation of hosting an event, you’d have no doubt that I was indeed a painfully shy person.

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The event began with the first poet, Joe Miller, pictured below. 

Joe began with a few poems from his collection entitled “Got Chicken?” which is also featured on the shirt he is wearing.
Joe Miller	Joe Miller	Joe Miller
Bruce Whealton then shared his poetry with the audience. He is pictured below.
Bruce Whealton	Bruce Whealton 1

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Wilmington based poets Joe C. Miller, Bruce Whealton and “Just Jeff” Wyatt were featured at the Fortner Writers’ Forum at St. Andrews Presbyterian College Thursday night beginning at 8 p.m. This was a great honor for myself, Bruce Whealton. I really enjoyed the event and felt I had one of my best readings and did one of my better readings of my poetry.

Jeff Wyatt, Ron Bayes, and Joe Miller

Caitlin Johnson, Office Manager/Editorial Assistant, St. Andrews Press, announced each of us. All of us were invited by Dr. Ron Bayes, writer-in-residence and professor at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, NC. Dr. Ron Bayes is well respected and well recognized in the field of poetry and creative writing.  To the right he appears with Jeff Wyatt and Joe Miller. Below is Caitlin Johnson.

Caitlin Johnson - Organizer/Announcer/Planner

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Poetry Workshop Followed by a Poetry Reading

Poetry Reading will Feature Jean Arthur Jones and John David Capps

Poets Jean Arthur Jones, Word Salad’s co-editor, and John David Capps, will be reading their poetry in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area on January 30, 2010.  We also will be having a poetry workshop hosted by these poets, with myself, Bruce Whealton assisting with hosting and organizing the event.  Bruce Whealton is pictured below Jean.

We will kick things off with a poetry reading and poetry workshop. Guest poets, Jean Arthur Jones and John David Capps will be coming from Wilmington, NC. Both poets have English Degrees and Jean Jones has his MFA (Master’s in Fine Arts) from Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, OH. More information about Jean Jones is available here.

David Capps has been publishing poets for his company, Shakin Outta My Heart Press.  Pictured on the right is David Capps.  Pictured below is Jean Jones.  This event

Participants are asked to bring about 15 copies of their poems for the workshop portion of the event, where they can get feedback from others in the group. This will be from 7:00-8:30pm. At 9pm we will start with Jean Jones and David Capps reading their poetry. Following that we will offer an open-mike for others to share their poetry.

If you have any questions, please contact me, Bruce Whealton at 919-636-5809 or on my cell at 919-428-0943.  Of course you also can contact Jean Jones or Bruce Whealton directly from our website for Word Salad here. or you can email me.

If you have any questions, please contact me, Bruce Whealton at 919-636-5809 or on my cell at 919-428-0943. Of course you also can contact Jean Jones or Bruce Whealton directly from our site here.

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IF YOU EVER BY JEAN JONES

If you ever slept on a warm bed
If you ever took a bath or shower
If you ever felt full from a meal
If you ever were warm during the night
If you ever had a bathroom to use
If you ever were glad you had food
If you ever were glad about your place
Just think about not having those things
Not just one night, not just the next night
But night after night after night after
And think about what that would do to you
How we can tolerate that is a crime
Most of us have no idea what this means

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An As-if Person

He lived an as-if life
He asked himself
what was different about himself
now versus just six months ago.
He held two contradictory beliefs at once…
He knew there was nothing different
about his nature or character
than existed just six months ago.
Now he was homeless though,
he had lost his job
and his home.

He didn’t look any different,
though indeed he could not dress
quite so nicely.
He wasn’t a different person,
he had the same character,
the same morals.
But he began to see himself
the way he knew others saw him.
And thus he held two contradictory views
at the same time
about himself.
The reality he knew
and the as-if view of himself
that he held -
the view of himself
based on the assumptions
he felt others sure held
about him,
as if these assumptions
were true.

He began to think of himself
as-if he was a different person…
as if he was an alcoholic
or an addict,
though he knew he was neither of these…
as-if he was lazy
though, while he certainly wasn’t lazy,
he was losing hope, and thus motivation.

Little by little, he began to hold these
dialectical attitudes about himself,
at once believing in the truth
about himself
and the false assumptions
he felt sure that others held about him,
as-if these beliefs
were true.

By Bruce Whealton
November 5, 2009

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Immediacy

As a homeless person
he had no sense
of past of future…
the past was mourned
the past was lost
the past was pain…
the Present was so all
encompassing,
so overwhelming
so challenging…
the only future
was immediate.

Bruce Whealton
November 5, 2009

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