Author Archive
FIRST HEARINGS: RENEE ROSSI AND JEFFREY DAVIS
Who: Renee Rossi and Jeff Davis
What: First Hearings
When: June 2, 2016, 7:30 pm
Where: The Wild Detectives, 314 West 8th St, Dallas 75208
Hosted by: Charles Dee Mitchell
WordSpace welcomes back Renée Rossi and Jeffrey Davis, two poets who have read for WordSpace before and both of whom have new books out.
Renée Rossi
How’s this for a resume? Renée Rossi, who lives in Dallas, is a practicing otolaryngologist, holds an MFA in Creative Writing and is a certified practitioner of Ayurvedic medicine. She has published two poetry chapbooks, and at First Hearings will be reading from her new collection, Triage.
Jeffrey Davis
Jeffrey Davis, who has lived in Dallas in the past but is now based in New York, is a writer, speaker, and consultant. Through his Tracking Wonder project he is often interviewed for his views on the role of creative mastery in shaping a meaningful life and , as he puts it, “doing business as unusual.” He is a poet who also has a regular column in Psychology Today. At first hearings he will read from his 2016 book, Coat Thief.
Following their readings, the two friends will discuss how their professional lives and poetry combine to make them the writers they are.
karen finley thanks you
Dear Friends,
Thank you for attending the WordSpace presentation of Karen Finley’s The Jackie Look. We hope you enjoyed the evening. If this was your first time to attend a WordSpace event, please visit out website to learn more about who we are and what we do. We produce over fifty events a season, ranging from poetry readings and book launch parties to poetry slams and performance art. Our events take place in venues all over Dallas, and most of what we do is free. Take a look at our calendar, grab a friend, and check out the lively local literary scene.
And please consider becoming a WordSpace member. Everyone who reads or performs for WordSpace receives an honorarium. That means that in addition to the nationally recognized authors and performers we present, dozens of local writers and artists get paid for what they do. This is a basic tenet of what we have done since our founding in 1994. Memberships help make this happen. Memberships also come with discounted tickets and other benefits described on the membership page of our website.
Sign up for our newsletter and like us on Facebook to see announcements of both local events and the visiting performers we have scheduled in the upcoming season.
Thanks again for attending The Jackie Look. Team WordSpace: Steve Cruz, Dee Mitchell, Laney Yarber, Jerry Kelley, Brenda Randall, Karen Minzer, Richard Bailey, Sara Cardona and Rock Baby.
Sweatloaf at ARTSPEAK
When is this? Saturday, April 30
Where?…on Earth? Yes, it’s at Mighty Fine Arts, 409A N. Tyler St. in the OC
Who is responsible for this? Wordspace presents ArtSpeak
ArtSpeak features performance art in conjunction with exhibition openings at MFA Gallery.
This month, new work by Clay Stinnett “Texican Spaghetti Wrestling” will also feature a sonic assault by Butthole Surfers Cover Band “Sweatloaf” offering up an unholy miasma of punk lyrics, art rock, avant garde and psychedelic upheavels. More fun than legally recommended! Performance starts around 8:30ish.
“Texican Spaghetti Wrestling” featuring new work by Clay Stinnett. This show opens Sat April 30 with a reception for the artist from 6-9pm and will run till Sun June 12. Clay Stinnett has an ecumenical appreciation of all things white, brown and black trash. The detritus of culture washes through his brain pan and emerges in lumps of inspiration and horrid insight. The Id monster lies abruptly under the mainstream consciousness and only a mere scratch effort reveals the awfulness that informs us amerikans.(Note the current Republican struggle of dumb assery) But Mr.Clay doesn’t revel in anti-intellectuosity, he is a grand social observer and satirist, a progeny of Rabelais, an upholder of the noble tradition of stripping the pants off “authority”. So dont miss the opportunity to witness and absorb the full frontal and unfettered Clay Mind in all it’s turbulent excess and glory and get marked as having been exposed to some real “Art” for a change!
Buddy Mohmed @ ArtSpeak.
Saturday, March 12, Wordspace presents Artspeak with Buddy Mohmed. The American Bedouin himself will offer up a small sample of his virtuoso musical abilities with a rare solo performance. Master of all string instruments Mr Buddy has lent his talents to myriad ensembles and groups. This will be a rare chance to catch him in the intimate confines of MFA Gallery. Performance starts around 8ish. Mighty Fine Arts is located at 409A N.Tyler in Historic North Oak Cliff 75208.
This performance is in conjunction with the exhibition opening for “Through the Looking Glass” featuring new work by Yuni Lee. This show opens Sat March 12 and will run till Sun April 24. Yuni Lee’s lively engagement with paint reveals a lyrical sensibility. There are no static passages in her pictures, shapes and colors swirl and flow in subtle abandon. There are flash points of vivid color that might obliquely reference her Korean heritage but her intent is not meant to be specific. Ms. Lee cultivates an abiding passion for the act of painting and her exuberant work resonates with her avocation and consummate skill.
FIRST HEARINGS: MIROSLAV PENKOV
When: Thursday, March 24, 7:30 pm
Where: The Wild Detectives, 314 West 8th Street, Dallas, 75208
Hosted by: Charles Dee Mitchell
Miroslav Penkov was born in Bulgaria in 1982 and came to the United States in 2001. The Guardian praised is first story collection, East of the West (2012) for its combination of “toughness, vulnerability and bravado.” The New Republic wrote, “These stories are not the promising work of a first-time author. They are already a promise fulfilled—wise, bright, and deep with sympathy.” East of the West was published in eleven countries, and Penkov’s translation of his work was the bestselling book in Bulgaria in 2013.
Miroslav publishes is first novel, Stork Mountain, this month. The novel tells the story of an emigrant who returns from America to search for his grandfather, a man who disappeared three years before into the Strandja Mountains on the Bulgarian-Turkey border. The young man encounters the ecstatic Christianity of the region, the mysteries surrounding his grandfather’s life, and the shameful secrets of the past.
WordSpace sponsors Miroslav Penkov for a reading and book signing at The Wild Detectives, March 24 at 7:30 pm.
Three Literary Short Films by Richard Bailey
When: Thursday, May 19, 7:30 pm
Where: The Margo Jones Theatre in Fair Park, 1121 1st Ave, Dallas, TX 75210.
Admission: This is a free event.
ONE OF THE ROUGH (17 min.) A poetic road movie that presents a driving dream of color, doubt, philosophy, and wonder. The title is from a line in Whitman’s Song of Myself (“…an American, one of the roughs, a kosmos”). Like the persona in Whitman’s poem, the driver marvels about America in a way that is dreamy and intense.
AN ERRAND OF HIP AND CHIN (10 min.) Casey is a young man who enjoys hooping and playing drums. Then one day a mysterious phone call sends him on an errand to take a message to the people. Borrowing loosely from the Book of Amos, the film is an adventure story that batches the prophetic imagination and the popular enthusiasm of hooping.
A SPIRAL WAY (17 min.) Meet Leon Gordon Agee, a small town storyteller and songwriter. He weaves macabre and philosophical tales. He is especially fond of “lady of the lake” and “goddess of the forest” stories. And his adventures reveal currents of magical realism flowing secretly across the landscape of the American south.
Richard Bailey makes films with mythic emphasis, poetic language, and sharp humor. His films have shown in festivals across the U.S., including SXSW, Black Maria, Dallas Video Festival, Anthology Film Archives, and have recently shown in Europe at Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, Scotland, Here Be Dragons: The International New Genre Festival, England, and Proyector International Video Art Festival, Spain. He has work forthcoming in the Journal of Short Film, a peer reviewed journal in DVD form. Find out more at www.TropicPictures.comWelcome to WordSpace
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People are Talking
From Artists, Educators, and Media:
“I did my first public reading at a WordSpace event in 2002 and the thriving literary community centered around WordSpace has been an essential part of my development as a writer.”
Ben E. Fountain, National Book Critics Award Winner
“Since the WordSpace organization has relocated to Oak Cliff, the subsequent heightened interest in literature and creative writing here has proven to be both inspirational and enlightening. WordSpace’s presence here genuinely feels like a gift to the neighborhood.”
Jeff Liles, Artistic Director, Kessler Theater
“Thank you for such a fine time and soul cleansing experience in Dallas.” Andrei Codrescu
“…in addition to its willingness to blur the lines between written word and other art forms, WordSpace has remained a source of support across a broad spectrum of local literary interests.”
Peter Simek, D Magazine
“The effect of WordSpace programs and the role they play in the positive development of young people is invaluable. These programs deserve your support.”
Scott Davison, Booker T. Washington School for the Visual and Performing Arts
WordSpace has presented programs with thousands of poets, prose writers, songwriters, playwrights, performance artists, storytellers and scholars across the broadest possible spectrum. Ongoing series include ArtSpeak, Pegasus, First Hearings, African Diaspora: New Dialogues, Salons, Next Generation, WordSpace at The Kessler, Oral Fixation and Dallas Poetry Slam Features.
They Say The Wind Made Them Crazy @ ArtSpeak
When: Saturday, January 23, 9 pm
Where: Mighty Fine Arts, 409A North Tyler St, 75208
Hosted by: Steve Cruz
Wordspace presents the first Artspeak of 2016 with a rare performance by “They Say the Wind Made Them Crazy”. Guitar virtuoso grand master Gregg Prickett and musical partner vocalist Sarah Ruth Alexander expand the notions of music and poetics with stunning soundscapes and atmospheric improvisations. Sheer brilliance will prevail as your third ear will unfold and your sonic horizons enhanced! This performance is in conjunction with the art reception for ‘Shabby Saints and The Rusty HooDoo Blues” featuring new work by the legendary Andy Don Emmons! Art Reception 6-9 and performance around 9ish! Mighty Fine Arts is located at 409A N.Tyler in Historic North Oak Cliff 75208.
WordSpace @ Chalet Dallas
When: Sunday January 31, 2-5 pm
What: WordSpace @ Chalet Dallas
Where: The Nasher Sculpture Center
Admission: Adult: $10, Seniors 65 and over: $7, Military with ID: $7, Student with ID: $5,Children under 12: FREE, Members: FREE WordSpace is honored to partner with The Nasher Sculpture Center to present literary programming during Piero Golia’s Chalet Dallas.
Piero Golia is a conceptual artist, architect and myth maker. For Chalet Dallas, he has collaborated with architect Edwin Chan to completely transformed the Nasher’s Corner Gallery into a luxurious gathering space that integrates architecture, entertainment, and works of art by Pierre Huyghe, Mark Grotjahn, Jeff Wall, and Christopher Williams.
The Naples-born, Los Angeles-based artist Piero Golia has been described as a mastermind of monumental gestures and precise orchestration. In 2013 he opened Chalet Hollywood, arguably the most radical and ambitious representation of this characterization. Working with architect Edwin Chan, Golia transformed a storage area off of Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles into agesamtkunstwerk, or total work of art, integrating architecture, entertainment, and works of art by Pierre Huyghe, Mark Grotjahn, Jeff Wall and Christopher Williams. Golia’s intent was to create a space of rare beauty that would gather visitors from the vast reaches of L.A. to meet in a luxurious environment that encouraged interaction and led to a more developed sense of community. For over a year on select evenings, Golia opened the Chalet to friends and visitors for gatherings that ranged from extravagantly large-scale to quiet and intimate. Golia designed these evenings with an unpredictable structure, mingling artists and celebrities, as a way to build a mythology around theChalet and encourage meaningful interactions between visitors united by their shared experience in the space. After sixteen months of operation, Chalet Hollywood closed November 3rd, 2014.
With the help of the Nasher Sculpture Center, Golia was able to resurrect the Chalet and bring it to Dallas in an effort to extend his utopian idea of community building through carefully orchestrated social gatherings. Again, Golia worked with Chan to reconfigure the architectural elements of theChalet Hollywood to its new environment in the Nasher Corner Gallery. Reusing nearly all of the original elements from the Hollywood version, Chan has recreated the feeling of Chalet Hollywoodinto a space that is unique to Dallas, transforming the gallery into a warm and convivial environment with modular white oak furnishings, Venetian plaster walls, and textiles designed by Johnson Hartig.
Also from Chalet Hollywood, Golia has included Pierre Huyghe’s aquarium—an ecosystem of crabs and floating rocks; Mark Grotjahn’s painting Untitled (My Beautiful Brother Eric Baboon Face 43.30)of 2011; Jeff Wall’s photograph A Sapling Supported by a Post of 2000; and Christopher Williams’ piano, handed down from generations at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf and rumored to have been played by Joseph Beuys, the father of social action as art, during his tenure as professor there in the 1960s.
Chalet Dallas follows a similar structure to its Hollywood predecessor. On certain evenings, it operates akin to a salon, where a wide range of guests and performers meet to experience whatever entertainment Golia has arranged for the evening. In addition, the Chalet will be accessible during the daytime as a place for museum visitors to gather, view the works of art, and experience the environment. On select Saturdays, public tours will highlight certain aspects of the evening gatherings, providing a sense of Chalet Dallas as not only a physical structure but also a space for myth-making and social engagement.
Clancy Manuel, Laney Yarber, Chaitra Lineham at MFA Gallery
What: ArtSpeak
When: December 12, around 9 ish
Who: Clancy Manuel and Laney Yarber perform in conjunction with Chaitra Lineham’s opening
Where: Mighty Fine Arts, 409A N. Tyler Street, 75208
Wordspace presents the last Artspeak of 2015 with Mighty Fine Arts in Historic North Oak Cliff 75208.
“Blurred Vision Meets Ambient Noise” with performance and music by Clancy Manuel and “Psych Lights” by Laney Yarber! Starts around 9ish!
Mighty Fine Arts presents “Menagerie” featuring new work by Chaitra Linehan. This show opens Dec 12 with a reception for the artist from 6-9pm and will run till Jan.17. Chaitra Linehan’s animal pictures aren’t meant as empirical portrayals but are subjects engaged in her own interpretive narrative. Though she is considerably knowledgable about the birds and beasts she renders her intentions aren’t steeped in accuracy but are more inclined toward poetic homage. The collage plummage of her bird portraits imbues them with immediacy and personality as well as aesthetic virtuosity. Her paintings of wild beasts and critters are steeped in darker implications and dilemnas. The “Menagerie” that Ms. Linehan conjures is meant to inveigle delight and wonder but with decided undertones of menace. Also on Opening Night, “Psyche Lights”, featuring spoken word and music by Clancy Manuel and light show created by Laney Yarber.
