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REVIEWS FOR SR:
MFA's
Poetic Principles
Kicks off 03 season
a review by Wesley Childress
Poetic Principles began
the 2003 - 2004 season with a reading by poet Charles Wright on November
5, in the auditorium of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Wright was
introduced by Mary Flynn, editor of Platform
which is published in conjunction with Poetic Principles.
The auditorium was filled for the reading which is both a tribute
to Wright and to the interest in poetry among the lovers of poetry in the
Richmond community. Many well know local poets, who admire poets and their
poetry, were in attendance - so a good guess is that it was a little of
both poets and poetry fans.
Wright could be described as a poet who uses words to reveal the
elements of what we see around us - nature, the weather, landscapes, and
the people who enliven those elements. Wright spent much of his early life
( born August 25, 1935 ) in
Tennessee, North Carolina, and Mississippi. Much of his poetry is set in
Appalachia - but not to be pigeon holed - he also writes of experiences in
San Diego, Montana, ... to name a few.
Wright has a dry wit which he injected into the dialog as a
prologue to each poem. This worked well with the audience and kept them
chuckling as intended. Unlike some poetry, Wright’s poems lacked a
definitive crescendo to let the listener know he was done. Nevertheless,
his use of vocabulary was descriptive and easy to follow - much in the
vernacular of an every day person trying to put into words what he is
seeing - albeit, sometimes with fifty dollar words.
He finished his one hour reading with some poems he had written
this past summer in Montana. He claimed he had not read them since he had
written them - but you got the feeling that this was just his “country boy,
aw-shucks” ploy working the audience.
When finished Wright was treated to at least a ninety second round
of applause. -- partly out of courtesy, partly because he was good (and he
was) , but mostly because Richmond poets seem hungry and supportive of
good poetry venues -- and this was.
Upon exiting I was amazed at how quickly a filled room can become
empty. I expected more would stay around and chat with Wright. A few of
the local poets who comprise the Shockoe Espresso poets were seen bending
Mr. Wright’s ear near the podium, but for the most part, when it was
over -- it was over. People rushing home to get a late dinner ( 7:00 PM )
may have been the reason. One thing is certain, they did not leave
hungering to hear fine poetry or a fine poet -- they had just been treated
to that.
copyright
Ó
2003
Critique of MEN SPEAK
Performance at Artspace
by Wesley Childress
Poetry and prose is alive and well as was in evidence Saturday, April 13, when six of Richmond’s young and not so young men writers and performers took the podium at
Artspace. The event was the fourth
yearly rendition of Richmond’s Menspeak.
Despite being a weekend filled with events ranging from the Strawberry Hill Races and Ukrops 10 K to that ever lingering income tax deadline, approximately 30 friends and fans of poets and poetry were treated to a diverse and entertaining menu of rhyme, rhythm , and prose. The readings were moderated by Marian Hollowell, one of the founding members of Artspace and its performance series.
Jimmy Warner, self described poet, jazz saxophonist, web designer, painter, master of languages
and mythology, a true "renaissance man", kicked off the evening’s performance. Despite being one of the new comers to the Artspace performance series, Jimmy is no novice to the
Richmond writing and performing community. He has been reading and performing on a regular basis at many Richmond poetry venues for a number of years. Regularly he can be found among the Shockoe poets who meet at Shockoe Espresso on the second and fourth Sundays of each month. A bi-speckled Jimmy, using his glasses more to peer at his audience for emphasis than for reading clarity,
entertained everyone with a medley of poems, most notably interlacing his saxophone playing days into the themes.
Kelley Lane, who has been reading at Menspeak since it's inception in 1999, is a frequent reader of his poetry throughout Richmond . A resident of Oregon Hill, he is an avid student of local history. Kelley , along with local poet Shann Palmer ( scheduled to participate at Womenspeak in May ), heads up
the Shockoe Poets readings mentioned earlier. He read several poems including one centered around the Jacobs House, located in Oregon Hill and its role in the Underground Railroad.
Hunter Robertson, a V. C. U graduate who resides in Hopewell, was by far the youngest of the night's presenters. The quality of his work, however, was in no way diminished by his lack of age. He gave several readings including a short story, the theme of
which centered on an interracial relationship and the white boy's mom’s reactions.
D. L. Hopkins, local actor and Menspeak participant in 2001, had the audience applauding each of his readings. His poetry can best be described as performance poetry and his theatrical delivery certainly added to his work. One poem had the audience listen in on his conversation with a friend’s answering machine. It reminded one of an updated version of a Bob Newhart
monologue.
John Hayden Hollingsworth, a retired cardiac specialist, is also a participant from past Menspeaks.
He read a biographical story about his years of attending the shore with
his families -- families as in first with parents, second with wife and
kids, third with grandchildren, and lastly as one divorced. He described the changes of the times and the changes in his family as they paralleled the changes at the beach. It was a piece that all could relate to in a most moving way.
John Hartman, who also has been a frequent participant at Menspeak and many other venues on the local scene, presented several poems with a variety of themes. His delivery and style had the audience smiling, and downright laughing at times. As the closing poet he left the audience with a sense of wanting to hear more.
© Wesley Childress, 2003
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