Author Archive
Oral Fixation @ Dallas City Performance Hall
Buy Season Passes and Flex Passes
Dallas’ ever-buzzier live storytelling series for adults, hits the big leagues with its 5th Season at the stunning City Performance Hall in the heart of the Dallas Arts District. The season opener, “Push the Envelope”, is a metaphor for the unconventional series itself. Get in on the action Wednesday, September 16th at 8pm. This entertaining evening will take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride exploring true life tales about breaking through the comfort zone.
MEET THE CAST:
Will Richey of DaVerse Lounge and the Festival of Ideas shares the story behind his passion for helping others express themselves. Dallas social change activist Christian Yazdanpanah reveals how his childhood struggle with poverty inspires him to push for educational reform. Mary Kreider faces her biggest fear in public speaking class. Suzette Drouillard deepens her relationship with her daughter by sending 28 cards in 28 days for her 28th birthday. Wayne Applebaum wanders far from his Orthodox Jewish upbringing in NYC to find his limits tested when his son develops leukemia. Donald Griswold falls deeply in love with the neglected Russian baby he adopts after a painful chapter in his life. And Justin Nygren of The Grove takes a huge risk professionally to keep his family afloat. This show features real-deal envelope pushers who will bravely share their truths on the massive City Performance Hall stage.
Click the red BUY button on the upper right corner of this screen to purchase your ticket today!
Sanderia Faye In Conversation with Greg Brownderville
Who: Sanderia Faye / Greg Brownderville
What: First Hearings, A Conversation
When: October 22, 2015, 7:00 PM
Where: The Wild Detectives, 314 West Eighth Street, 75208
Hosted by: Charles Dee Mitchell
Sanderia Faye’s first novel, The Mourner’s Bench, takes place in Maeby, Arkansas. The year is 1964, and eight-year-old Sarah Jones feels it is time to take responsibility for her own sins. When a revival comes to The First Baptist Church, Sarah plans to take her place on the mourner’s bench and prepare to give her testimony. But things are changing in Maeby, Arkansas. Her own mother is a civil rights activist, the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee has come to town, and tensions are running high.
Sanderia Faye will read from The Mourner’s Bench on October 22 at The Wild Detectives. After the reading, award-winning poet Greg Brownderville will lead a discussion with Sanderia. Greg is Assistant Professor at Dedman College of the Humanities and Sciences at Southern Methodist University, and he comes from the same area of Southern Arkansas as Sanderia. They will talk about books, small Southern towns, race, and whatever other topics arise.
After the discussion, Sanderia will be signing books.
Former Welcome to WordSpace Page
Wordspace supports and celebrates the creative use of language, we sponsor over 50 events a year including: Author Readings, Book Signings, Poetry Slams, Performance Art and Songwriting.
Since 1994, WordSpace has presented programs with thousands of writers across a broad interdisciplinary spectrum. We are proud to support emerging writers and the Texas arts communities.
In addition to emerging writers, WordSpace have also presented such luminaries as Robert Creeley, Townes Van Zandt, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jeffrey Liles, James Kelman, Dagoberto Gilb, Terry Allen, Ben Fountain, Ed Sanders, Andrei Codrescu, Dan Savage, Amy Sedaris, Nikki Giovanni, Sandra Bernhard, John Waters, Laurie Anderson, Johnny Dolphin, Anne Waldman, Philippines PEN award recipient, Edwin Cordevilla, Persian exiles-in-London poets, Abol Froushan and Ali Abdolrezaei, Korea’s Presidential Award recipient Tae Joo Jah, Our Summer Internship Program hosts young writers from universities around the country and we create programs to give voice and venue to area youth.
FIRST HEARINGS: JOE R. LANSDALE
What: First Hearings with Joe R. Lansdale
When: Thursday, July 2, 7:30 pm
Where: The Wild Detectives, 314 West 8th Street, Dallas 75208
Hosted by: Charles Dee Mitchell,
More Info: Contact WordSpace@WordSpace.Us, 214-838-3554
A recent reviewer said that it seems like Joe R. Lansdale has written about a thousand novels. That’s an exaggeration, but the man has written a lot of books — books that have earned him the reputation as the master of East Texas Gothic and gotten him compared to Mark Twain. And yes, he can make those two things work together.
Lansdale is best known for his crime novels featuring Hap and Leonard, two aging , East Texas good old boys who get into bad situations with very bad people. Those novels are funny, vulgar, and marked by outbursts of outrageous violence. In 2016, Hap and Leonard will appear in a six-episode series on Sundance Channel.
This new novel, Paradise Sky, is a sprawling Western that offers a highly fictionalized life of Nat Love, the African American cowboy who became famous as the dime-novel hero, Deadwood Dick. The action moves from Texas to Arizona, up to South Dakota, and back to Arkansas. Along the way, Lansdale takes on every major trope of the Great American Western and plays
them to hilt. Nat Love is an engaging narrator who brings to life his short stint as a Buffalo soldier, his time as a bouncer at the Gem Theater in Deadwood, South Dakota, his friendship with Bill Hickock, and his battle with a psychopathically vindictive enemy who pursues him halfway across the continent. And since this is a Lansdale novel, you can bet it is also funny, vulgar, and marked by outbursts of outrageous violence.
This will be a great summer evening at The Wild Detectives.
MasterPiece at Dallas Poetry Slam
When: December 18, 8 pm
Where: Heroes, Greenville Ave.
Hosted by: Dallas Poetry Slam, SlamMasters GNO & RockBaby
What: WordSpace Night @ DPS
Poet, actress, host, and entrepreneur MasterPiece is a 6 time award winning national Poet. She has performed in over 30 different cities across the U.S., starred in two major stage productions, and produces one of the most successful spoken word events in the DFW metroplex. The triple threat model, writer, and actress has shared stages with elite artists such as Tank, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Tweet, Lalah Hathaway, Taalam Acey, Rudy Francisco, Aja Monet and many more. She is a featured Poet on All Def Poetry with over 23K views and endorsed by Russell Simmons himself. She is the first artist to grace a dual magazine cover for Spoken Visions Magazine and has been featured in local publications the Dallas Observer, Southern Dallas Magazine, and The Dallas Entertainment Journal.Book MasterPiece for any spokenword event by contacting info@masterpiecepoetry.com.
Verb Kulture at Dallas Poetry Slam
When: Friday, November 20, 8 pm
Where: Heroes, Greenville Ave.
Hosted by: Dallas Poetry Slam, SlamMasters GNO & RockBaby
What: WordSpace Night @ DPS
Verb Kulture is a perfect word to describe her. She is poetry in motion. Verb was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago. She is a performing artist that possesses many talents which include being a Spoken Word Artist, a Slam Champion, Dancer, Musician, Producer, Writer, Host, Motivational Speaker and so much more. She is the founder and CEO of Verb Kulture Ent. This young woman has a gift of bringing people together and reaching an audience. Her dynamic performances grabs your attention and speak to your heart. She is currently the producer of some of the biggest shows in Dallas/Fort Worth area including the Annual Changing Faces Masquerade Ball and the Annual Harlem Renaissance Extravaganza…Verb has been performing for the majority of her life and believes that everyone has a story to tell and the capability of making a difference in the lives of others. This national artist has been seen on many stages and has performed with many Grammy Award winning artists. She was a featured artist on season 3 of Tv One’s Verses and Flow show where she shared the stage with Mary Mary and Vivian Green. Her talents have landed her many great opportunities. When she is not on the stage, you can find her producing empowering shows presented by Verb Kulture Ent. like W.O.W. (Words over Wine), Poetry’s Love Affair with Music, and Beat Street Poetry. She is a true lover of all art forms and provides a platform for all up and coming talent. Verb is currently working on a project to be released this year which will feature and include Grammy Award winning musicians. You can find Verb hitting the stages with her new band “Jus Lyke Muzic” soon. To keep up with this renaissance woman and all of the great works she is creating, follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @verbkulture
Rachel McKibbens at Dallas Poetry Slam
When: October 23, 8 pm
Where: Heroes, Greenville Ave.
Hosted by: Dallas Poetry Slam, SlamMasters GNO & RockBaby
What: WordSpace Night @ DPS
Admission: $5
Poet, activist, playwright and essayist Rachel McKibbens is a New York Foundation for the Arts poetry fellow and author of the critically acclaimed volume of poetry, Pink Elephant (Cypher Books, 2009.) Regarded as one of the most dynamic speakers in the country, McKibbens is a legend within the poetry slam community, noted for her accomplishments both on and off the stage: she is a nine-time National Poetry Slam team member, has appeared on eight NPS final stages, coached the New York louderARTS poetry slam team to three consecutive final stage appearances, is the 2009 Women of the World Poetry Slam champion and the 2011 National Underground Poetry Slam individual champion. For four years McKibbens taught poetry through the Healing Arts Program at Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan and continues to teach poetry and creative writing and give lectures across the country as an advocate for mental health awareness, gender-equality and victims of violence and domestic abuse.
Rudy Francisco at Dallas Poetry Slam
When: Friday 18, 8 pm
Where: Heroes, Greenville Ave.
Hosted by: Dallas Poetry Slam SlamMasters GNO & RockBaby
What: WordSpace Night @ DPS
Rudy Francisco completed his B.A in Psychology at 21 and continued his education by pursuing a MA in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology. He has made conscious efforts to cultivate young poets and expose the youth to the genre of Spoken Word Poetry through workshops and performances at schools and community centers. In addition to his contributions to education, Rudy Francisco is the co-host of the largest poetry venue in San Diego. Rudy’s goal is to continue to assist others in harnessing their creativity while cultivating his own. Rudy Francisco is the 2009 National Underground Poetry Slam Champion, the 2010 San Diego Grand Slam Champion, the 2010 San Francisco Grand Slam Champion and the 2010 Individual World Poetry Slam Champion.
ArtSpeak: Moni Bell and Mad Mother Gobblin
When: Saturday, July 18, 9 pm
Where: Mighty Fine Arts, 409A N. Tyler in Historic North Oak Cliff 75208
The work of Moni Bell traces some dark paths through sharks, uncertainty, impending chaos and more sharks. Her world is full of jagged sharp edges but rendered in exuberant colors and patterns and humor mitigating the darkness and keeping it at bay. What she arrives at is a perilous balance between heaven and hell, which pretty much reflects our own dilemmas. Expect as much with her musical performance which will allow you to dance with the sharks and if you get bit so what? Its part of the thrill of life!
